- Joined
- Jan 31, 2021
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- 196
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Hello all!
Late night thinking about a recent trip to the vet. First off I will say that this vet has always been great to us, even gave me advice off the record before I rescued Sassy and the was still living outdoors. A number of friends also take their cats to the same vet and have nothing but positive experiences.
And yet.
I bring Sassy in for her first checkup because she’s acting funny about a year ago, right before I rescued her. They do a lot of blood work ($675) and everything is fine. I bring her in for her six month checkup sick months later - senior cat exam (Sassy is 12) is supposed to be a hundred bucks. They request a couple hundred dollars in blood work, which I agree to.
I bring her in for her six month checkup in March. Doctor wants more blood work and urinalysis, another six or so hundred dollars. Everything is great and normal, minus blood pressure and teeth (see below).
I bring her in for a follow up a few weeks ago as the doctor was concerned about high blood pressure at said checkup. Blood pressure is VERY high. Doctor requests blood work to rule out thyroid issues. Three hundred bucks. Thyroid is fine. We put her on blood pressure medication.
I bring her in for her follow up exam this past weekend. Blood pressure is normal with medication. Doctor says she has a heart murmur, which is new, and requests EKG and blood work. ($650). Doctor says it could be thyroid and wants to check this again, too. ($300). Doctor says one kidney is slightly smaller than the other, wants blood work and urinalysis ($300). All previous blood work and urinalysis have shown perfectly healthy kidneys as recently as April. Teeth do look bad, though, they will need to be pulled ($1200) with blood work to check heart function before anesthesia ($400). I decline the thyroid check and mention that they just checked her thyroid a few weeks ago. I agree to the dental work in the future, but I just…
This is my first cat, and she is a senior cat and a rescue, but it sure seems like a whole lot of very expensive problems keep showing up suddenly in my cat with no other symptoms, and that she needs a whole lot of blood work. Is it possible that a senior cat will suddenly develop a heart murmur like this? I think I read that 60% of healthy cats can have one when they are stressed, and she hates the vet. Is it possible that a cat with no other symptoms will suddenly have a kidney shrink? Is all this stuff really that expensive in Portland, Oregon? What is going on?
I have pet insurance and I love my cat, I’m more worried that I am being nickeled and dimed due to my inexperience as a cat owner. That said, I also want to make sure that if these are real issues I can get her the care she needs as soon as she needs it.
thank you!
Late night thinking about a recent trip to the vet. First off I will say that this vet has always been great to us, even gave me advice off the record before I rescued Sassy and the was still living outdoors. A number of friends also take their cats to the same vet and have nothing but positive experiences.
And yet.
I bring Sassy in for her first checkup because she’s acting funny about a year ago, right before I rescued her. They do a lot of blood work ($675) and everything is fine. I bring her in for her six month checkup sick months later - senior cat exam (Sassy is 12) is supposed to be a hundred bucks. They request a couple hundred dollars in blood work, which I agree to.
I bring her in for her six month checkup in March. Doctor wants more blood work and urinalysis, another six or so hundred dollars. Everything is great and normal, minus blood pressure and teeth (see below).
I bring her in for a follow up a few weeks ago as the doctor was concerned about high blood pressure at said checkup. Blood pressure is VERY high. Doctor requests blood work to rule out thyroid issues. Three hundred bucks. Thyroid is fine. We put her on blood pressure medication.
I bring her in for her follow up exam this past weekend. Blood pressure is normal with medication. Doctor says she has a heart murmur, which is new, and requests EKG and blood work. ($650). Doctor says it could be thyroid and wants to check this again, too. ($300). Doctor says one kidney is slightly smaller than the other, wants blood work and urinalysis ($300). All previous blood work and urinalysis have shown perfectly healthy kidneys as recently as April. Teeth do look bad, though, they will need to be pulled ($1200) with blood work to check heart function before anesthesia ($400). I decline the thyroid check and mention that they just checked her thyroid a few weeks ago. I agree to the dental work in the future, but I just…
This is my first cat, and she is a senior cat and a rescue, but it sure seems like a whole lot of very expensive problems keep showing up suddenly in my cat with no other symptoms, and that she needs a whole lot of blood work. Is it possible that a senior cat will suddenly develop a heart murmur like this? I think I read that 60% of healthy cats can have one when they are stressed, and she hates the vet. Is it possible that a cat with no other symptoms will suddenly have a kidney shrink? Is all this stuff really that expensive in Portland, Oregon? What is going on?
I have pet insurance and I love my cat, I’m more worried that I am being nickeled and dimed due to my inexperience as a cat owner. That said, I also want to make sure that if these are real issues I can get her the care she needs as soon as she needs it.
thank you!