Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The good, the bad and the ugly


So it was vet visit day.  I was worried about Skippy and possible health issues that might have contributed to Bri's death.  If he had Bordetella, was it causing problems, and what would it do to him.  Fleurp has been licking concrete and then more recently eating dirt, and then this last week sitting on the counter seeking attention.  I made an appointment for them to see the vet before the whole Ollie thing, and it worked out as Ollie spent the night at the vet, and they had their appointment and I picked him up.

The good?  Skippy is good.  He even coughed while at the vet, and the vet is unconcerned.  He looks good medically, and he was a real charmer while he was there.  Very comfortable and relaxed.  He's a good little boy.
Skippy

The bad? Fleurp.  She is anemic.  When I googled licking cement and eating dirt, that is what came up, and that is what it is.  Her red blood count is down, and her white blood count is up.  She's on pred and doxy.  We also took an xray and low and behold she is also *eating* concrete,  *headpalm*  Hopefully two weeks of meds will get her back on the right track, and we have a recheck at that time.  The vet thinks it is a reaction to the vaccines she had a few months ago, so he refuses to vaccinate her any more.  I totally  hate the idea of steroids, but you do what you have to do.

Fleurp & Jack the PhotoBomb king
the ugly?  Well I guess that depends on your definition.  I mean beauty is in the eye of the beholder isn't it?    I'm not sure if I should censor these photos at all, because they are quite "frankenkitty-esque" but it saved his life, and considering what was there it is a dramatic improvement.  My vet even told me he cried when he was done the surgery because he was so impressed with how well he (actually I think he meant both himself and Ollie) did.  Part of me wishes I could have seen what it looked like with out he fur covering it up, but part of me is glad I didn't.  Apparently my friend Sandy (who works there) cried when she saw it all shaved and had to leave.  I don't think Dr. B was expecting Ollie to be so unwilling to relinquish anything to this.  He bragged about how well Ollie was walking, how he climbed right back into his cage, how he was upfront of the cage and not hiding, and how well he ate.  There was a lot of bragging about the whole thing. (photos to follow)  He got the antibiotic injectable shot, which I wish he hadn't have done.  There are some risks to that, and Ollie is easy enough to pill (which really is surprising considering how cranky he is over most things) and pain meds, and they sent me home with metacam, which I am also not a fan of again because of the side effects, but *sigh* you do what you have to do.

The bill was a little scary.  $1200 for the three of them.  $500 alone for simply the surgery fee of removing the tumor, then the sedation, pain meds, exam fees, blood work (for two) xrays for Fleurp, etc  Fleurp is due for a recheck in two weeks, more blood work, another xray and another exam.  *PSA* You should adopt a kitty when you are financially stable!!

So, I got Ollie home and set him up in the bedroom with food (OOOH MOM!! CANNED FOOD!!! YUM!!!  {he ate three bites and walked away}) and covered the bed with a sheet because he was oozing a little. he so wanted OUT OF THAT ROOM!!!  he's never been a fan of being locked away, so this probably will not last, but at least I am not there listening to him complain.  Tonight will probably be another story.  He was so bright eyed, you wouldn't think he just had surgery, but I'm sure the pain meds were making him very happy.  I kept trying to take his photo of his bright inquisitive eyes, but he wasn't a fan of the flash, and kept turning away.  he was happy to be home though, and would rub on my legs, even head butted me a few times.  Seems like such a high price (cash wise) to pay to give him what short time I'm sure he has (the vet gave him an anti-inflammatory and recommends it once a day, I asked for how long, and he said the rest of his life, and it took me a minute to remember that is a finite amount of time)   $800-$900 for what, possibly six more months of laughs, snuggles, kisses and order among the kitties.  Seems like such a high price, but when I consider the one thing I want that is about that much money (an IPad) I realize that this will bring me much more joy then that, and it was worth it.  If he lives another six months, it works out to $5 a day. (ok it is daunting when I look at it like that) but since I don't drink lattes nor go out for lunch each day... well you know what I mean.  And to listen to Ollie, he's going to be here till the next ice age, cause frankly those other kitties would be in chaos with out him!

Ok

2 comments:

  1. Holy crow, that's quite the incision! Wow! Poor Ollie! We're sending him (Fleurp too) lots of purrs and healing Light and really hoping he beats the projected 6-month life span. You never know what can happen!

    That's also a high vet bill, though I realize for 3. Yeah, if I had known how much I'd be spending on my vet bills, I probably wouldn't have adopted, because I'm not financially well-set at all. But then I'd have lost out on knowing my beloved fur family members. So is it worth it? Yeah, in the long term. It can be pretty difficult to manage in the short term (i.e. couple of years to pay off the bills), though.

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  2. well there is a difference between not being well set, and being financially unstable. I was at the shelter last month and someone had to turn in their cat because they couldn't afford the vet bill. It was heart breaking.

    Thank you so much for your well wishes, we really do appreciate it!

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