Kidney issues in 1 yr old cat

[darlili]

for a good vet visit and that he's feeling good today!

I wonder if it might be worthwhile picking up one of those little disposable litter pans at the grocery store (well, my Dominicks has them) or at the pet store, just to have for car trips and vet visits. Poor little guy - he's trying so hard to poop in the right place.

BTW, how was his reception at home...anyone hiss at him because he smelled 'funny'? And, hoping all is going well for you and your husband, both with the home loan and getting some sleep at night!

 

[frankthetank]

Originally Posted by darlili

for a good vet visit and that he's feeling good today!

I wonder if it might be worthwhile picking up one of those little disposable litter pans at the grocery store (well, my Dominicks has them) or at the pet store, just to have for car trips and vet visits. Poor little guy - he's trying so hard to poop in the right place.

BTW, how was his reception at home...anyone hiss at him because he smelled 'funny'? And, hoping all is going well for you and your husband, both with the home loan and getting some sleep at night!

I felt HORRIBLE for poor Joey. He HATES having an accident. About a week and a half ago he pooped on the floor...just a tiny little poo, but he frantically tried to cover it until I cleaned it up. On his way home from the animal hospital, he had gas and it was so smelly....he was frantically covering like he thought he had an accident. We tried warning the vet that if he is that frantic about scratching and looking around like that, he really has to go and the vet just said to let him go in the sink but I felt bad because Joey knew it wasn't where he was supposed to go. He really is the best kitty ever and so diligent about his litterbox habits. Having a disposable one is a good idea, I think we will have to do that, especially if he will need a lot of visits. Part of the problem was it was (TMI SORRY!!) super runny diarrhea so he couldn't hold it or anything, it had to come out!

The reception at home has been mostly okay. His two best friend kitties definitely looked for him while he was gone, toby jumped on him ready to play soon as he got home, but backed off when he realized joey wasn't up to playing just yet. He is still hanging arond with him though...unfortunately Billy is having an issue. Billy, Joey and Toby usually sleep all together on the bed with us at night but Billy keeps hissing at Joey bc he smells different, and since Billy can't see he only relies on smell....so we are hoping Billy figures it out here soon...

 

[jalindal]

Vibes for you and Joey and his cat buddies - I hope everything calms down soon.

 

[frankthetank]

And my baby Joey has normal creatinine and BUN levels!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Two days after stopping fluids, which means that for right now he is just fine! They are thinking it was an acute attack on the kidneys that caused it. OMG I am SOOOOOOOO glad we opted for day 2 of IV fluids!!!!!! The Vet told us the first day that if they didn't come down, in most cases they wont...but that if it was her cat and she could afford it, she would do it. And we did, and he is now okay. We go back on April 14th for a recheck to make sure they are still down. And he is still on his prescription food although he is not a big fan of it. Cleasrly if he starts showing any signs like last week, we will rush him back in.

For the bad portion of the day....one of my daycare parents were late picking the kids up so we were almost late to the appt, so Hubby was already in a bad mood. We get to appt, and the petnurse is checking Joey out and shows us a computer screen total for todays visit...$100!!!! When we went Monday, I specifically asked him for the total for Wednesdays visit because money is tight and we don't get paid til the end of the week and have lots of bills to pay, and the Vet said 24 bucks for the testing. I asked if we would have to pay yet another doctor visit fee and he told me NO. So when she showed us 100 my husband almost went off! He didn't yell but told her we would have to leave because we were quoted something way different. He told her what they quoted us, she went and spoke to Vet and said it was a confusion bc he quoted us the 24 for the actual visit, PLUS testing cost...but when he said it Monday, ad I even clarified, he said something wayyyy different. SO husband was way pissed, I was crying bc I just wanted to know results, and the lady didn't know what to do. Husband was telling her we would never be back there bc it was ridiculous.
She had the vet come talk to us and I told him that I asked him for the entire total of the visit and told him that there was NO point to Mondays visit since he said we couldn't test levels til at least Wednesday and had they told me that on monday instead of telling me to bring him in right away, that I would have never even come in Monday. I told him that when he told us about the testing taking a couple days, I even told him that if we were going to be charged another office visit, we could not afford the testing! It was a VERY frustrating 20 minutes, but they ended up removing the office charge, and running the blood test for ONLY creatinine and BUN like they originally told us they would. I felt bad, and felt like we caused a scene but sheesh when I have to ask you twice for the exact total of my visit and you tell me but than the day of visit it is 4x that, it is an issue!!
But overall, Joey is home, resting, fine and wont have to see a vet for a month. Poor baby was shaking the whole way there. I love him so so so so so freaking much. Thank you for all your vibes, good thoughts and responses. Joey says thank you too!

 

[feralvr]

GEESH!! What a time you had at the vet.. It is hard enough having to deal with the emotional stress of Joey's health, and then the bills on top of that....and the confusion and stress of how much everything will cost. I feel for you and certainly think you are wonderful parents to Joey...... I am glad he is doing better though... and

 

[frankthetank]

It was rough...I kept telling the Vet, had we known on Monday that we would be charged for another 25 dollar exam, we would have done the testing that day because we already paid a 25 dollar exam fee that day for really no reason. The exam Monday was scheduled to run the kidney levels but we didn't even do that so paying two exam fees I thought was a little crazy...they could have told me on Monday when the appt was scheduled that we could not do the testing yet, and we wouldn't have even gone in!
End rant. haha
Now we are just worried about our house. They are running our credit again this week for what is supposed to be the last time before final approval....but until final approval they can ask for copies of our bank statements and it worries me because we spent SO much this weekend. Our accounts were looking awesome last week in preperation for this, so this Joey thing is really really hurting us. I just hope it doesn't result in us losing the loan approval. ( But overall, I am so so so glad he is okay.

 

[darlili]

I'm not sure if it will help, but does it show on the credit records that the money was going to vets (medical care)? As opposed to being pulled out in cash?

Re the vet, it can be stressful when there's a misunderstanding, when you're already under a ton of emotional and financial stress..I wonder, though, when things calm down a bit, if it might be a good idea to send them a card, thanking them for their care of Joey, and letting them know you're looking forward to a good relationship with them with good communications on both sides.

 

[frankthetank]

Originally Posted by darlili

I'm not sure if it will help, but does it show on the credit records that the money was going to vets (medical care)? As opposed to being pulled out in cash?

Re the vet, it can be stressful when there's a misunderstanding, when you're already under a ton of emotional and financial stress..I wonder, though, when things calm down a bit, if it might be a good idea to send them a card, thanking them for their care of Joey, and letting them know you're looking forward to a good relationship with them with good communications on both sides.

We did use our debit card so the charges will show up as vet offices...I am hoping they would put two and two together and realize the transfer of money from savings to checking on Friday, and then a charge coming out of checking at a Vet office means that we used that transferred money for the Vet bill. Hubby doesn't seem to think that they will care. I have no clue.

About the vet...I apologized for my husbands attitude like ten times because I hate when he gets like that. And like I told the vet, had they told me on Monday that it was recommended that we do the tests later in the week I would not have gone, and also when we were in the room with the vet and he said he recommended waiting til Wednesday, I told him the ONLY way we could come back another time this week was if we only had to pay for tests and not the office visit...so I really thought we were on the same page, and like I explained last night, had he told me on Monday that we would still be charged an office visit, we would have just tested that day.
I hate causing friction, and was so embarrassed ....but the Vet seemed apologetic too so IDK. This weekend when I get paid I plan to get two thank you cards, one for each vet office to thank them for all their help throughout everything. Without them & all their help, my baby would not be alive.

 

[darlili]

I don't think they'll care either - I think they worry more about people racing out and buying new furniture, or a car, or something - people really have messed up their loans by buying a ton of things for their new house, before they got the mortgage.

And I'm sure the vet will be fine...I've been a difficult client as well a couple of times. Looking back, it was because I was worried about my cats and felt that I wasn't being understood - and sometimes the vet and/or the staff aren't communicating as clearly as they wish, with us as clients, or with each other. I ended up sending a note later myself, because, all in all, they were being really helpful to me and my cat, and it was just a misunderstanding. It's just at the time it's hard to stay totally calm. And you and your husband were under so much stress - it's totally understandable that the reaction wasn't totally 'Emily Post'. The vet probably felt bad himself - he may have forgotten to make a note on the chart immediately or something. You guys probably haven't gotten a good night's sleep in weeks...I so hope that by week's end all will be totally right in your world.

 

[jalindal]

Chances are the people looking through your finances will connect the dots- and they probably have pets and will understand!!! -hugs- for your loan approval, though. My fingers and toes are all crossed for you!

As to your vet- they will understand! I did a couple of internships last year in various vet practices around the place and believe me, when clients got upset (and they did! About everything and anything, and it was totally natural and expected) it was understood by everyone that the reason they were more prone to emotional reactions was because they were worried about their pets! Trust me, your vet sees and hears this sort of thing dozens of times a month- don't be embarrassed. Getting them a card is a lovely idea, and apologizing for your husband's reaction probably got you a lot of brownie points with them. Because even if they understand, it's not nice being in a situation with that kind of conflict. -hugs- Don't worry, though. Even if you were a horrible horrible client, they do what they do for the animals. You're just the person that transports the patient and pays for their treatment.