My 10yr old indoor Cat Has Anemia & abdominal bleeding

[goholistic]

I understand why you feel the way you do, @MelsBabies.   

  There's nothing wrong with doing your own research, educating yourself, and exploring other courses of action. But I do think its important to have a relationship with a vet for routine check-ups and emergencies. You wouldn't want to withhold proper care in a critical situation (i.e., urinary blockage) as it could mean the difference between life or death. Perhaps the lesson learned here is to find one that won't vaccinate your senior cat. (I'm sure the pictures alone would prove your case.) I have also heard from others that they had a bad experience at Banfield. Such a shame. As you know, I am in the same boat and am on the search for a vet who understands the issues with my senior boys and will keep their best interests in mind.

I have heard of Hampl and am interested in their pancreatitis set for Sebastian, but I plan to review it with my holistic vet first. I believe you said you spoke with a homeopathic vet over at Hampl, so I'm glad they were able to guide you. I have done remote (aka long-distance) consultations, as well, and they been quite helpful. But I still have a local vet as my main vet.

As my username suggests, I support a holistic approach to cat health. Actually, it would be more accurate to say I'm more supportive of an integrative approach, which combines various types of veterinary medicine (Western, Chinese, homeopathy, etc). But natural does not always mean it's safe. Herbs in particular can be toxic or hard on certain organs (i.e., kidneys, liver). It could be dangerous to administer certain natural treatments without the supervision of a holistic vet. If homeopathic medicine is the direction you want to take, I encourage you to work with a homeopathic vet. It is a complex field of medicine that I still have yet to fully understand. If the local one charges $180, then perhaps setting aside a small amount of money each month would enable you to go see that vet a few times a year. By the way, that seems to be the going rate for a homeopathic consultation. The one near me charges $145/hour. It might even be more than that.

Sending lots of vibes that he continues to improve... 

 

 

[catwoman707]

@GoHolistic  I am interested to hear what you find out about the pancreatitis set as well, please keep me informed if you will for Krissy.

Thanks!

 

[reba]

I want to second what Go Holistic said, which is that any extreme position will not serve you or your pet well.  So while I would definitely avoid a vet that chooses to work for a corporate behemoth (Banfield), I think there is something to be said for researching the vets in your area.  The costs of running a practice are so high that cheap veterinary care is almost never available.  In fact, case in point, the mobile vet in my area is the same price as the brick and mortar vet.  The problem is she doesn't have any of the expensive diagnostic equipment, but I would use her for many things simply because she's very unlikely to try and run a bunch of unnecessary tests.

Please remember that the people selling homeopathic meds are in business as well.  That doesn't make them dishonest, but the same conflict of interest exists for them as it does for any vet.  And I also had the thought that your baby may have improved anyway.  They say that a lot about people too - it's not the meds, it's that the thing has to run it's course. 

Anyway, I think you are right that research is key.  Id've never known about the dangers of vaccines or how some are better than others.  Right now I'm torn over if/whether to get their next rabies shot, especially after reading your story!

Finally, I thought Id just mention that I have pet insurance with a really high deductible ($1,000) and the premium is under $10 per month.  Now I'm sure it'd be much higher for older cats and there's the pre-existing condition problem.  But as everyone here probably knows, it takes nothing to run up a $1,000 vet bill.  Anyway it was great to be able to tell the vet to do whatever it took when my cat got sick and not go home sweating  over the bill.  Once it hit the deductible I was off the hook for 90% of the bill.  Oh and against all my expectations, the insurance paid within a few days after they got the information from the vet.  And my premium didn't go up either the next year.   So all the stuff you read that pet insurance isn't worth it, I found not to be true at all.

PS Please don't give up on antibiotics, they are really miracle drugs when used properly.

 

[melsbabies]

I strongly disagree with those of you who believe he got well on his own by this "thing" running it's coarse. I am the one who has been dealing with my cat from the moment these symthoms begun, and I am telling you that is Not the case at all, he was in critical condition and not expected to live through the night I took him from the hospital. The vet himself told me that if I do not euthanize him now, and decide to take him home, I risk watching him suffer and die at home slowly. I took that risk, with no direction, and he just got weaker and weaker. He Wasn't eating or drinking, I had to syringe feed him food blended in my blender, iron, and water. This was no joke, he was beyond lathargic, sleeping whole days through, and the few minutes he was awake were spent gasping for oxygen. I was mortified. I found out about homeopathics and the rabies detox by the Sheer grace of GOD, and started the homeopAthics on Friday (6 days ago) and he literally started improving hours after treatment was applied. Within a full day, he attempted to eat on his own, and within two, he was behaving normally eating, and using the litter box. It was a miracle to witness! No one can take that from me, believe what you want! I have the facts before me. I know what I did, and I know how all of this unfolded. The antibiotics were NEVER even nessesary, my cat showed no signs of bacteria in his blood work. They were treating him "blindly" since they had no idea what was the cause of his anemia and fluid buildup in his abdomen. It clearly was a bad reaction to the vaccine! The metals and toxins in the vaccine all got trapped into his belly fat, and the body is smart enough to want to get it out, so he started licking himself raw.. It was never infected. All he needed was some Tlc, and the homeopathics! Yet none of these vets told me anything about my options with them, or any other meds. I have read reviews online about so called "good vets", and took my boy to these very people who did nothing but rape my savings account. My cat won't need a vet as long as I continue to feed him right and take care of him as I always did. He was perfectly healthy before the vets got ahold of him! He looks different to me now, even with all I am doing... He just has something about him that looks changed perminantly. This angers me to no end. This has also greatly affected my own health, I have been having back to back anxiety attacks/panic attacks these days. I feel sickened by what they have done. It isn't "JUST" .. They did my cat a great injustice! It has taken all of my money, time, and energy just to try and save his life, yet alone, restore all that was broken. I'm just grateful to know I have him on the right track now. He is making great progress.

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• melsbabies
• Sep 24, 2014

 

[goholistic]

Oh! His tummy does look better!

Almost like a big bruise that's starting to heal (I think someone else mentioned this already).

Just curious. Did he lose the hair on his stomach? Or was it shaved?

How's his appetite?

 

[melsbabies]

@goholistic his tummy was shaved by one of the vets, and his appetite is consistently growing. He always loved food, and is eating religiously as he always did. I'm happy to say he is keeping the food down, not throwing up, and using the litter box consistently too. His tummy has improved greatly! It's amazing how the antibiotics did nothing for his skin condition, and the Homeopathic meds have had such a great effect on him. Goes to show you, when a symptom is treated correctly, progress is achieved. I can begin to take a breather today, lord knows I haven't been able to relax... And even today feels challenging until I see him restored 100% to the healthy boy I remember.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm just so happy he's doing better

 

[melsbabies]

So am I! [emoji]10084[/emoji][emoji]10024[/emoji] words can't describe the peace I feel in my heart knowing my boy is recovering. It's all I wanted. I am keeping my vow with God, and I'm getting closer to him, he is the only one who could've given me the guidance and strength to know what to do to get my boy back, after the vets took all my money along with all my hope. Luckily I don't take NO for an answer. It just makes me feel sooo sad to know they are doing this to many cat owners, and many people likely are listening to them and putting their animal to sleep without giving them the chance they deserve to help them get better. We trust these people, we believe them, and listen to their advice. That's why I say, challenge them! Just because they are Doctors doesn't mean they are right or have all the answers! You gotta fight for the ones you love! Do not give up or give in when there is hope! If an animal has life in him/her, you don't take matters into your own hands and take their life! You take matters into your hands to help heal their life. Euthanasia should be the very last resort once you tried all else, and once the animal has let go of life already on their end. My boys eyes told me otherwise! And today, he is ALIVE and well.. We exchange kisses & hugs each day & night... I feel like the luckiest woman in the world to have him. We are both blessed to have each other. [emoji]10084[/emoji][emoji]128591[/emoji][emoji]128591[/emoji][emoji]128591[/emoji][emoji]10084[/emoji][emoji]10024[/emoji]

 

[hexiesfriend]

What homeopathic treatments do you have him on now that started this process? I'm sorry I tried to read the thread and got a little lost. Your kitty looks great!!!

 

[nikers]

Ok. You said this happened after his vaccine right ? Do you think they could have accidently hit a vein ? I tried to google it but can't find anything specific on the subject. It's not unheard of though.

 

[zoneout]

Hitting a vein wasn't the problem. I believe the injection was in a hind leg/flank.

 

[sarah ann]

His reaction looks very similar to my cat with severe allergies. My cat will itch so bad he rips his face apart. His entire chin, around his mouth, above his eyes will turn right red and ooze blood. About an area as large as my hand. The skin looks just like your cats stomach used to look.

Allergic reactions are also common on the stomach. Did any of the vets you took him to administer steroids? There are long acting steroids which could also explain his recovery as they take time to work.

 

[reba]

I am so, so happy for you because he is better as I understand the torture of feeling totally helpless when you cat is suffering.   I think what we are all trying to get across is that you not throw in the towel on the veterinary care, or put blind trust in holistic remedies.   Plus, this discussion reminded me of the suffering caused by thinking it's is all about the try.  This often does nothing but allow a pet to suffer in agony because we don't want to accept the diagnosis.  Now in your baby's case the was no diagnosis so it was worth it to keep researching other alternatives.  But what if he gets a urinary tract blockage? Are you going to let his bladder explode because you all vets are evil money mongers?  Or cancer?  C'mon now, you strike me as much more intelligent than that.

Vets, like most doctors, are pretty disappointing when they can't figure out what's wrong.  And we want them to be pro-active in helping us when they don't know, we want them to call us and tell us they stayed up all night researching veterinary journals and calling their colleagues to ask if they've seen anything like this.  They just aren't like that in my experience (and it's exactly the same for human doctors).  You obviously realized that you always have to be your pet's own advocate, but demonizing vets just takes a tool out of your toolbox - one that is critical to keeping your animal alive and pain-free.

 

[zoneout]

Yeah but why are school loans being used as an excuse for unprofessional behavior. Vets are the only people that seem to play this card all the time. If I go to my accountant and he makes a mistake on my tax return he corrects the issue no charge.

 

[reba]

Vet's aren't the only one's who talk about the cost of schooling.  Anything with 3-4 years post graduate training necessarily results in huge school loans unless you're wealthy.  Plus you're out of the workforce for an additional three years on top of your 4 years of undergrad.  Human doctors also talk about graduating with outrageous amounts of debt.  I'm not sure where the unprofessional behavior links up with this reality, but it is a fact of life for anyone graduating from vet school.  And I certainly have never had that offered as a reason for what they charge, it's just what normally comes to mind when people ask why vets costs so much.  Take a look at your average vet office, a 2 vet practice will employ anywhere from 10-15 people.  That's a lot of people to pay year round.  Then you have rent, supplies, insurance and all the rest of it.  The average practice has to bill probably $1,500 a day just to break even. 

I'm more inclined to agree with you on the mistake point, but I'm not sure that applies here.  They never told her what was wrong, they all said they didn't know.  My take away from that was it's probably not worth getting more than a second opinion unless you're going to see a specialist.  But I probably would have done the same thing, what a nightmare to have your kitty be that sick and not know what's wrong. 

 

[melsbabies]

@reba With the kind of money these Vets make on a client to client basis, there is absolutely ZERO excuse as to why they cannot go the extra mile and seek advise or further explanation in order to save a animals life. It's in fact both crucial & nessesary that they do so in cases like these to where they can't figure out what is going on. It doesn't resolve anything to come back to me and tell me there is definitely something going on with him, but that they aren't sure what it is. I figured out more on my own without the vets help, what good would they be if my cat was sick or not? They sent my cat home to die in my care, they took my money & never treated him, when in fact there were many things that needed to be done, and that could've been done. For one, he is licking his wound on his abdomen raw (still is doing this, had a bad incident today where bloody fluid was all over my bed & house again... ) I asked that they wrap him, and they said that this couldn't be done due to his pouch slipping out of the wrap. Give me a break! This is a hospital, and they got paid to do something about his condition, not to tell me that there is NOTHING they can do. That provides no resolution to the problem in which I am seeking professional attention. I felt like I was back at square ONE every time I left a new vet office, yet with less money in my packet, and more stress than before. I wish I knew of a honest vet who didnt thrive on the grief of loving pet owners and innocent animals, but 5 different vets in different offices tells me enough is enough. And again, its irrelevant that you discuss with me the cost of a Veternary practice, I am well aware of this, it still doesnt give them the right to charge insane amounts of money to people seeking help in a dire situation. It then becomes a cycle of capitalism. I charge you a fortune to run your office so you can then charge a fortune to keep it running.. Such injustice! meanwhile the animals life remains at stake due to corporate greed, and vets who avoid doing the right thing for a helpless animal in need of prompt help. Now I have to sit and worry about the long term/ perminant affects of these vaccines that were given to my healthy boy BY A VET who I trusted. He has been showing lots of improvement with eating, using the litter box, walking around without breathing heavily.. Etc. yet, today, I woke up to him licking his tummy raw again, and bloody fluid dripping down his hind legs, and all over my bed and living room floor.. And when I say dripping... I mean like a facet left slightly on after being used. Drip drop drip drop.... Can you imagine what it's like to have to wake up to this?? I was still half asleep when I say a bloody trail from my bed room out to my living room. I have zero peace of mind at this time in my life, cause I now have to constantly worry about him and his health.. Also, his hair has thinned out ALOT all over, and he always had the thickest coat. This is definitely not his healthy coat, something is wrong. Oddly enough, I am also now noticing white hairs grow in places where his coat is black, what would cause that??? Like on his tail, ears, down his body where he is black.. Just all over here & there.. Where these areas were solid black coat are now looking salt & pepper, and the coat is much thinner than he naturally has it. Even balding around his head area slightly. I tugged at his hair gently around this head, and some just came out, fairly easily. This is alarming to me, I don't know what it is, and most the sympthoms of hair loss I read on line aren't measuring up.. I still have him on homeopathics but decided not to give him the rabies vaccine detox due to me noticing a little reaction to him from behavior down to more visible spots on his lower tummy.. I am just giving him the Anemia support, iron suppliments, immunity suppliment, Dura aid for fluid retention, blood tonic, and a liver detox. Praying to God this all just goes away COMPLETELY in no time.

 

[melsbabies]

@nikers funny thing is.. For a while a actually thought about the possibilities of him hitting a vain while giving my cat these vaccines, and that could be a possibility.. Especially due to this reaction! The vet who administered these vaccines stuck him back around where his thigh is, yet mentioned my cat didn't even feel it or flinch because of how "fat" he is. Yes, my cat is a big boy... So maybe he did inject him at the wrong site or incorrectly. It can also be a reaction to the kind of vaccine it was. The question is.. Was it "live"... What was in the vaccine?! I still don't have any answers.

 

[melsbabies]

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• melsbabies
• Sep 30, 2014

This is just one small trail I found right in front of my bed room door leading out to the living room, where I came to find it was much worst, so I then panicked.. Grabbed a wet cloth, cleaned my boy up immediately, and treated the area with hydrogen peroxide and styptic powder to stop the bleeding.

 

[momto3cats]

Maybe you would have better luck with a veterinary homeopath who could consult with you and make sure your boy is getting the right remedy for him.

 

[denice]

Maybe you would have better luck with a veterinary homeopath who could consult with you and make sure your boy is getting the right remedy for him.

I agree.  I tend to stick with conventional vets but there are vets that are also homeopaths.  I know you are really down on vets right now but blindly giving homeopathic remedies aren't good.

Just a little story about my own experience with poor vet care.  I did 6 years of vet hopping with a chronically ill kitty and got really down on vets.  I went through a period of time where Patches was doing well, he would get sick but get over it on his own.  He then got sick, didn't get over it on his own, and I waited too long.  He had fatty liver by the time I decided I had to try one more vet.  He survived but he didn't need to get that sick if I had taken him for vet care sooner.  Luckily that was a good clinic and an excellent vet.  My kitties still go there, a different vet because the original one bought an established clinic in another state and is now in business for herself.

Okay I will shut up about this now.