my cats-obese, bad teeth, heart murmur, heart worms

My husband took our two cats to a new vet today to get them their annual shots.  This is the first time he has ever done this and he didn't bother asking prices before he took them in. 

The vet said both of our cats are in serious trouble.

One is morbidly obese and needs three teeth pulled.  However, the vet noticed she has surprisingly clean ears. (Despite how much she hates the other cat, she lets him clean them for her...haha!)  The other has a heart murmur that could be fatal if untreated. 

Sigh, I love my cats but am not about to spend $1000+ to treat these things.  I am going to put the obese kitty on a diet(vet recomends 200 cals a day...that seems so low!!!)  but I don't want to do anything about the teeth.  And the heart murmur thing sounds silly...he said that there is no real way to tell if its fatal, but we could narrow it down with pricey xray or ultrasounds. 

Finally, my husband bought heartworm medicine for them...$90 to cover a year.  I had him take it back.  Growing up I had lots of cats and dogs around and we never gave the cats heartworm medicine.  I grew up in oklahoma where there are lots of mosquitos and they have been fine. 

My question to you all is was that a bad move?  Am I being cheap or is it ok to skip out on this medicine? 

Also, how much would you pay to save a pets life? 

If I knew for sure that he had the heart murmur and it was terminal without the treatment, I don't think I would pay more than $500 to fix him.

Here is my opinion as the owner of 2 cats. The teeth need to be pulled. If left in it can cause tons of pain for the cats to the point they may not eat.  Once they stop eating it can be hard to get them to start again. I mean would you walk around with bad teeth knowing its gonna (if not already) cause you pain.

The heart murmur IMO needs to be treated if its treatable. I would not be able to live with myself it one of my cats dies because I did not treat something that is treatable.

As for the heartworm medicine well I am undecided on that. My cats are strictly inside cats and we hardly ever get sketters in the house. So we don't bother. If they were inside/outside or strictly outside I might consider it.

 

 

I think what you did was fine its a cat (well 2) but they arent people you shouldn't have to pay that much. get a insurance cover incase the worst happens, but i dont think it will. It seems to me the vet is ripping you off, the medicine was way too expensive for something so silly, you dont know anything (im guessing) about cat's teeth he tells you they need to be pulled to get more money off you. A xray is a still picture a heart murmor wouldn't show but they are expensive. either ignore it and see how they are. or get a second opinion. Good luck with the cat diet lol you should make a new CC account for him/her.

oh and your last question, I dont have pets but my family who all have insurance on their pets have paid up to £1000 (about $2000) on operations the insurance covers that though. Oh and all vets rip you off thinking about it. A cat with cystitis, two injections £80 (about $150)

Unfortunately, I'd have to say that the bad move was not having routine pet care in the first place.    :/

I wouldn't go into debt to save a pet.

I love my dog and he's been part of my family for 9 years.  The past 6 months have been really hard health-wise, culminating in a diagnosis of brain cancer that is causing mini-strokes that temporarily affect his ability to walk.  This diagnosis was made by observing the dog.  There will be no brain scans or surgery.  I'm actually ready to put him down now, lest he have a stroke that alters his gentle mood and we have a bite or worse to deal with.  My husband argues that we should wait.

If the cat is in pain over the teeth, I would have them pulled.  If I couldn't afford that... I don't know.  I wouldn't want an animal suffering in my house.

A death from heart worms is horrible and slow.  Give them the medicine.

eta:  I live in FL and have a dog, not a cat.  It seems the consensus is that heartworms are a different issue depending on the type of animal and the area.  I've seen a dog die from heartworms and it's not something I would subject a pet to over $90.  That's JMO, though.

Original Post by momto2siameses:

Here is my opinion as the owner of 2 cats. The teeth need to be pulled. If left in it can cause tons of pain for the cats to the point they may not eat.  Once they stop eating it can be hard to get them to start again. I mean would you walk around with bad teeth knowing its gonna (if not already) cause you pain.

The heart murmur IMO needs to be treated if its treatable. I would not be able to live with myself it one of my cats dies because I did not treat something that is treatable.

As for the heartworm medicine well I am undecided on that. My cats are strictly inside cats and we hardly ever get sketters in the house. So we don't bother. If they were inside/outside or strictly outside I might consider it.

 

 

 You are reiterating everything I am feeling guilty about!  I feel bad, but then again, I don't trust this vet since this is the first time we've gone and I feel like nothing is certain enough.  The teeth might need to pulled, the heart murmur could be nothing...or it could be fatal.    Thanks for the advise! But so much money....bleck...I don't know what to do.

 

Edit to add:

oh, and they are both strictly indoors...I have yet to see a mosquito inside this year...or outside for that matter!

i agree, juliemae.  prevention is the first, critical piece.  beyond that, i would spend what i could afford, provided that there was a good chance of it improving the animal's quality of life.  i wouldn't spend money just to appease my own guilt or grief (and i wouldn't subject an animal to stressful diagnostic procedures unless i had every intention of following through with necessary treatment).

but heartworm is very regional.  hmking, do some research on your own and find out how high the risk is in your area.

OK, first let me say that I am all for treating treatable illnesses in pets  (in fact I just spent over $200 on a stray tomcat who had an absess in his eye) 

However, the first thing that stands out in this post to me, is that this is a new vet that convenietly found LOTS of things wrong with your pets.  I would get a 2nd opinion.  We have a vet in our area who has a bad rep for rep for "finding" things wrong with pets.  Needless to say people are catching on, and now almost no one is ever in his parking lot.  Not all vets are completely ethical.  

The heartworm issue really caught my eye.  I had always heard cats were pretty resistent.  So check out this website. http://www.heartwormsociety.org/article.asp?i d=16, esp the treatment section.  It basically says no treatment unless a severe case is found.

Do keep you cat on a diet, and if a 2nd opinion says the teeth need to come out, then I would do it, they can abcess and you'll get a really sick cat that is in pain.

Original Post by juliemae2:

Unfortunately, I'd have to say that the bad move was not having routine pet care in the first place.    :/

I wouldn't go into debt to save a pet.

I love my dog and he's been part of my family for 9 years.  The past 6 months have been really hard health-wise, culminating in a diagnosis of brain cancer that is causing mini-strokes that temporarily affect his ability to walk.  This diagnosis was made by observing the dog.  There will be no brain scans or surgery.  I'm actually ready to put him down now, lest he have a stroke that alters his gentle mood and we have a bite or worse to deal with.  My husband argues that we should wait.

If the cat is in pain over the teeth, I would have them pulled.  If I couldn't afford that... I don't know.  I wouldn't want an animal suffering in my house.

A death from heart worms is horrible and slow.  Give them the medicine.

I'm sorry to hear about your dog.  Best wishes. 

We have had routine pet care...but we just moved across states so have to get a new vet.  Thus my reservations...I don't know if I trust the vet.  The cat with the murmur is only a little over a year old...so it might not have been caught last year since he was so young.

I don't think she is in pain with her teeth.  She acts normal and eats plenty(thus the obesity).  Are there any specific signs besides that to show she is in pain?

Quickly reading stuff online it seems like dogs are more likely to get heartworms than cats.  If I start seeing mosquitos anywhere...I will reconsider and buy the medication!

Thanks for the advise!

thanks thmheh...we will go get a second opinion soon!!  and will look into the heartworm stuff some more!  Thanks everyone!

I mis-read your post.  It seemed to indicate that your cats didn't usually get a regular check up, but I see what you are saying now.

Is a second opinion an option? 

eta:  Never mind.  I see you are already working on that.  :)

yeah...we will find another vet asap.  As much as I hope its that this vet is no good, I'm also concerned that maybe this vet is right, and our old vet was just lazy/crappy!  It might be a week or two before we get them in, but I will let everyone know how it goes!

Preventative care is important. If the cats do have these problems (after your second opinion) then you should spend what you can afford. When you get a pet it's your responsibility to take care of it. I have my dog on heartworm and flea/tick meds from April-September when the mosquitos are out. She's an indoor dog but there's still the chance of her getting heartworm. I'm not so much worried about fleas/ticks since I live in Seoul and there's no grass within a 20 minute walk of my apartment. 

Original Post by alibsam:

Preventative care is important. If the cats do have these problems (after your second opinion) then you should spend what you can afford. When you get a pet it's your responsibility to take care of it. I have my dog on heartworm and flea/tick meds from April-September when the mosquitos are out. She's an indoor dog but there's still the chance of her getting heartworm. I'm not so much worried about fleas/ticks since I live in Seoul and there's no grass within a 20 minute walk of my apartment. 

 So when you buy the heartworm medication, does it come with 12 doses...one for each month?  And if you only use it half the year, does it keep till the following year? 

My Cousin is a vet here in Florida, and while dogs are suceptable to heart worm she says that cats are not (in VERY rare cases they can be but not usually) she says the mark of a BAD vet is one that tells me that I need to put my cats on heart worm pills.  I would get a second opinion and when you go to the new vet DON'T tell them why you are there.  Just say you are switching because you were unhappy with your old vet.  I have seen some vets try to get owners in the heart strings so that they can charge for expensive unnecessary tests...   That said.. Depending on what it was I would try to save or at least make comfortable any of my animals...  And you're right 200 cals a day sounds low... I would get a second opinion. 

I have never treated any of my cats for heartworm. I do treat the dogs as they are more susceptible. I did some research on cat heartworms and yes, the death is slow and awful, but very few cats actually get it. Prevention for cats is on the rise because the vets and the pharmaceutical companies are pushing it for cats.

I've had 2 cats with a heart murmur. It is usually no big deal. The two different vets I had both said it should just be monitored annually, unless the cat showed signs of fatigue or if he got easily winded. Only then would he suggest tests and/or treatment.  Note 2 different vets told me this quite a few years apart.

Both myself and my mother had cats who had to have some teeth removed. Both times the vets showed us the teeth and they were obviously decayed. My cat had started getting skinny and had quit eating his crunchy food. He gained weight back after the tooth was pulled and ate everything again.

Definitely go to a different vet. If that vet says the teeth are bad, have him show you. I'd definitely spend the money on that. If the new vet even finds a heart murmur in your cat, talk to the vet about it, all of the implications, prognosis, treatment options, costs and what the treatment would do to the animal.

More and more people are choosing to be veterinarians. Enrollment in vet schools in the US is at an all time high. They know people love their pets and some of them will prey on that knowledge to make money.

 So when you buy the heartworm medication, does it come with 12 doses...one for each month?  And if you only use it half the year, does it keep till the following year?

I get it one dose at a time. However, I'm in South Korea right now. I pay $20 for Advantage and Heartguard (total, per month). The vet just adminsters the meds.

Original Post by moonikins:

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I've had 2 cats with a heart murmur. It is usually no big deal. The two different vets I had both said it should just be monitored annually, unless the cat showed signs of fatigue or if he got easily winded. Only then would he suggest tests and/or treatment.  Note 2 different vets told me this quite a few years apart....

 crap crapity crap!  Shiny(the boy kitty with the murmur) practically lives in front of our airconditioning vent and this past winter when we lived in wyoming he loved to sit next to the freezing windows so I didn't think this was a problem, but lately that after tearing through the house(I think he is still in the kitten-extremely playful phase) he will practically collapse in front of the air conditioner vent and pant with his mouth open.  I thought it was just because he is longhaired and its summer but now I am concerned.  Maybe we will have to get him to the vet sooner than 2 weeks...

Original Post by alibsam:

 So when you buy the heartworm medication, does it come with 12 doses...one for each month?  And if you only use it half the year, does it keep till the following year?

I get it one dose at a time. However, I'm in South Korea right now. I pay $20 for Advantage and Heartguard (total, per month). The vet just adminsters the meds.

 oh...the $45 a year each sounds pretty reasonable then!!  I'll shop around.  Thank!!

Original Post by hmking:

 after tearing through the house(I think he is still in the kitten-extremely playful phase) he will practically collapse in front of the air conditioner vent and pant with his mouth open.  I thought it was just because he is longhaired and its summer but now I am concerned.  Maybe we will have to get him to the vet sooner than 2 weeks...

 I have a totally healthy male cat that's one year old and he does this. He runs around like a maniac and then flops down panting. I think it's just because he's so active. I would definitely get a 2nd opinion from a trusted vet. Ask around with your frends and family for a referral to a vet they have gone to for years.

Side note: I've never given my cats heartworm preventive meds (my dog gets it once a month). The cats are indoor only. They get their shots and that's pretty much all we do.

Original Post by hmking:

Original Post by moonikins:

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I've had 2 cats with a heart murmur. It is usually no big deal. The two different vets I had both said it should just be monitored annually, unless the cat showed signs of fatigue or if he got easily winded. Only then would he suggest tests and/or treatment.  Note 2 different vets told me this quite a few years apart....

 crap crapity crap!  Shiny(the boy kitty with the murmur) practically lives in front of our airconditioning vent and this past winter when we lived in wyoming he loved to sit next to the freezing windows so I didn't think this was a problem, but lately that after tearing through the house(I think he is still in the kitten-extremely playful phase) he will practically collapse in front of the air conditioner vent and pant with his mouth open.  I thought it was just because he is longhaired and its summer but now I am concerned.  Maybe we will have to get him to the vet sooner than 2 weeks...

 Don't freak out yet. When the vets said fatigued they explained that the cat would have almost no energy, it would get fatigued walking across the room. Both also explained the easily winded portion as panting after normal walking or even eating, or panting after little movement.

Don't tell the new vet what you think might be wrong. If he doesn't mention the heart murmur, on his own, ask him how heart murmurs affect cats. You could then ask him to listen to your cat's heart again.

Original Post by moonikins:

Original Post by hmking:

Original Post by moonikins:

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 Don't freak out yet. When the vets said fatigued they explained that the cat would have almost no energy, it would get fatigued walking across the room. Both also explained the easily winded portion as panting after normal walking or even eating, or panting after little movement.

Don't tell the new vet what you think might be wrong. If he doesn't mention the heart murmur, on his own, ask him how heart murmurs affect cats. You could then ask him to listen to your cat's heart again.

 check...will do!  thanks!