That's not a bad price. When Spot had an echo at the specialist, it was about $350.
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It's $350 and up here, so to me, $198 is terrific for an echo. Of course, the crucial part is the experience of the person doing it. It's no bargain if they're not good at reading echos.
It's a shame that Knoxville is too far for you. You mentioned Nashville - if it's about an hour from you and you can find a specialist there, do that. I agree it will probably cost more than the local place, but since this will be your third opinion, and Chase needs expert help (the sooner the better) it's worth it. I'm concerned about whether his heart can handle the amount of sub-q fluids he's getting.
Don't know if you've seen it, but there's a "sticky" near the top of the threads in this forum called "Can't Afford a Vet?" Hope it's helpful.
Keeping those good thoughts going for Chase.
Hope Chase is doing better. Please give us an update when you can.
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We had to stop the sub-Q fluids for now. He will probably be getting his echo on Wednesday. It's still not a specialist, but they do have experience doing them, and they are willing to work out a payment plan for me to make sure I can afford this and whatever else it may show he needs.
Lots of for chase and
for you
I'm very glad you'll be able to get Chase an echo. That's great that the vet's willing to do a payment plan.
Did the new vet advise stopping the sub-Q fluids?
Lots of good thoughts going out to you and Chase. Feel better soon little guy!
PS- When an echo is done for the first time, some vets will also do an EKG. It should be a reasonable price where you are, because even here in the land of astronomical vet bills, it's not bad. Ask the vet if they routinely do EKG's with first-time echos and what the fee is. If you can afford it, do it. You can also request, or they may advise, a blood pressure check especially since there seems to be a problem with Chase's kidneys. If there's kidney disease, blood pressure is *very* important to check. Again, this shouldn't be an expensive test- it's about $40 here, as is the EKG. The good thing about all these tests is that they're not invasive or painful and together they'll give you an accurate picture of what's going on.
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The vet said to immediately stop fluids if he showed any signs of labored breathing, so I stopped them and talked to her. It wasn't severe enough that she needed to see him before his appointment with the other vet for the echo. He is probably actually going tomorrow now. The vet that does the echos is off on Wednesday.
He had his blood pressure checked recently. It was high when he was stressed from the vet, but the vet suspected this and had me sit with him quietly for awhile before testing again, and it came back normal then. I will ask if they want to retest it, and if they want to do the EKG. Assuming everything works out with the payment plan idea, there shouldn't be a problem doing whatever he needs.
They implied there is a possibility they may have to mildly sedate in order to reduce stress on him... is this normal? I worry about him going under even mild sedation in the state he is in, but then I can see where the risks might very well be less than having him stressing out through the entire procedure.
He had his blood pressure checked recently. It was high when he was stressed from the vet, but the vet suspected this and had me sit with him quietly for awhile before testing again, and it came back normal then. I will ask if they want to retest it, and if they want to do the EKG. Assuming everything works out with the payment plan idea, there shouldn't be a problem doing whatever he needs.
They implied there is a possibility they may have to mildly sedate in order to reduce stress on him... is this normal? I worry about him going under even mild sedation in the state he is in, but then I can see where the risks might very well be less than having him stressing out through the entire procedure.
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You are talking such loving care of sweet Chase.
My guess is that they would not suggest light sedation unless it was necessary.
I am sending calming vibes to your precious love.
My guess is that they would not suggest light sedation unless it was necessary.
I am sending calming vibes to your precious love.
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My thoughts will be with you. I hope all the testing goes okay. Please let us know.
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Well... Chase's heart is fine. However, the vet is almost certain he has lymphoma.
When she saw his heart was in decent shape, she went on to ultrasound his abdomen, and his abdominal lymph nodes were greatly enlarged, and the walls of his small intestine thickened. He had a small amount of fluid in his chest.
I've got to decide if I want to pursue this further and test to confirm and look into treating at all.. but the vet said if this were her cat she wouldn't put him through chemo at this point. She doesn't think it would be worth it with the shape he is in. Considering how much it would probably cost to do on top of that... We'll probably be just trying to make him comfortable as long as possible.
I've got to decide if I want to pursue this further and test to confirm and look into treating at all.. but the vet said if this were her cat she wouldn't put him through chemo at this point. She doesn't think it would be worth it with the shape he is in. Considering how much it would probably cost to do on top of that... We'll probably be just trying to make him comfortable as long as possible.
I'm so sorry Wishiwas. My heart goes out to you & your family.
I was sure hoping for much better news. I'm terribly sorry to hear the vet thinks it's lymphoma.
You might ask your vet about a shot of depo-medrol (hope I spelled that correctly). It's a very strong steroid. Last year, one of my semi-feral kitties was ill, and the vet said it was either IBD (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) or cancer, most likely lymphoma. He said we could try the depo. Worst case, it would have no effect, but even with cancer it could give him another 6-8 weeks. Best case, we'd see improvement immediately and he could get an additional shot in a few months. It helped my little guy tremendously, surprising even my vet. I don't know if this is something that would help Chase, but you could see what your vet thinks about trying it.
It's really difficult, but try to be as "normal" and positive as you can when you're with Chase. You know how sensitive cats are, and he'll know if you're upset.
Please let us know if we can help. Lots of us, me included, have unfortunately had kitties with this awful disease.
You might ask your vet about a shot of depo-medrol (hope I spelled that correctly). It's a very strong steroid. Last year, one of my semi-feral kitties was ill, and the vet said it was either IBD (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) or cancer, most likely lymphoma. He said we could try the depo. Worst case, it would have no effect, but even with cancer it could give him another 6-8 weeks. Best case, we'd see improvement immediately and he could get an additional shot in a few months. It helped my little guy tremendously, surprising even my vet. I don't know if this is something that would help Chase, but you could see what your vet thinks about trying it.
It's really difficult, but try to be as "normal" and positive as you can when you're with Chase. You know how sensitive cats are, and he'll know if you're upset.
Please let us know if we can help. Lots of us, me included, have unfortunately had kitties with this awful disease.
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I will ask about it.. she was very nice and willing to discuss anything that might make him more comfortable. Today she sent him home with a B-12 shot to try to get him eating and a low dose of prednisone. If that doesn't get him eating she said a low dose of valium may help since the Cypro doesn't seem to be doing anything for him.
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I am sending calming, loving thoughts to you and Chase....
May the time you have together be warm and sweet.
May the time you have together be warm and sweet.
Just sending good vibes for you and Chase, that he may enjoy whatever time he has left with you, and that you manage to give him a good quality of life. It is heartbreaking to go through this kind of thing, when you are so close to a cat.
I'm so sorry to hear about Chase, it is truly heartbreaking. He knows how much you love him and you have done everything you can to help him.
The B-12 is a good idea - very safe to use and sometimes really does the trick.
Just a thought here: ask your vet if there's *any* possibility that Chase has severe IBD (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Some of his symptoms fit that condition. If there is that possibility, do the "test to confirm" you'd mentioned to determine if it's lymphoma or not. I'm guessing the test would involve aspirating some of the fluid and analyzing it.
Hope the B-12 helps Chase want to eat and feel better.
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I think she said she would aspirate the lymph node with a needle and send it off to be analyzed. I'll ask about it next time we see her. He still isn't eating much right now, but he's perked up a little. He's moving around a bit more, and I got him to eat some chicken and drink some KMR. I bought one of everything at Petsmart just about to try and tempt him into getting back onto cat food. Hopefully he will want something.
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Hugs for you and Chase
I know you stopped the sub-Q's just before the echo, but are you able to give Chase any hydration at all? Sub-Q's are very beneficial and make ill kitties feel so much better. Even if you could do just 50mL per day, it would give him a boost. Also, is there anything your vet can do about the fluid in his chest?
Glad to hear Chase is eating some chicken. KMR has lots of calories so hopefully he'll want more. You can try baby food too - plain chicken or turkey flavor is good (Gerber stage 2). Just make sure whatever you use doesn't contain onion in any form.
Hope your chicken & KMR made you feel better, Chase
Glad to hear Chase is eating some chicken. KMR has lots of calories so hopefully he'll want more. You can try baby food too - plain chicken or turkey flavor is good (Gerber stage 2). Just make sure whatever you use doesn't contain onion in any form.
Hope your chicken & KMR made you feel better, Chase
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