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Welcome to the world of the Vincent D'Onofrio obsessed - and a bit of real life thrown in.


Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Keeping Vets RIch

It's been quite a few weeks for vet visits. What with check-ups and vaccinations, then poor Henry, not to mention Amber needing a blood panel and coming back with a diagnosis of hyperthyroidism. She has to go through it all again in two weeks' time. Both she and Shelley are now on daily medication for the rest of their lives, unless Amber needs surgery later.

Beano and Dandy needed dentals, but because an operation means starving the night before, and the usual nighttime abode (my bedroom) for those who must escape the food-filled kitchen has been occupied since February by Shelley, the dentals didn't happen. I was a bit worried about this, because Dandy had developed a bump on his nose, and I was going to get it checked out when he had his dental. It didn't get any worse, but it didn't go down, either. Then when he came in on Friday evening, I saw that it had got much bigger and turned into a veritable lump in just one day.

So today it was off to the vet's, who thought it was likely to be a basal cell tumour (which apparently is unlikely to metasticise (sp? can't be bothered to drag out the dictionary and look, I've never seen this word written down) and I left Dandy there to be operated on and also have his dental.

Well, of course, nothing is ever as easy as you think. The removal of the lump went well, but the teeth needed a lot of attention. Unfortunately for the vet's patience, my bank account, and poor Dandy's time out, he produced so much mucous while anaesthetised that he kept clogging up the breathing tube, which they had to change four times!

The bill came in at just over £400.

And now Dandy is running around like a headless chicken, wearing an Elizabethan collar that spooks him. But provided he doesn't rub his new slimline nose on anything, he has almost no scar, as John, the (very attractive Australian) vet did a bit of plastic surgery, only suturing the inside of the wound.

So cheap at half the price, really.

Dandy before...


...and after



8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I well remember when my long-deceased doggie had to wear one of those collar things to stop him scratching stitches out of a wound. He was COMPLETELY freaked out by the thing, and it's kind of hard to explain to pets that it's for their own good ;0)

val said...

They never react like you'd expect, though. Placid Shelley had his off within seconds, tamed feral Mitzi was pretty good for a week, and naughty Beano, when he had his eye removed, was as good as gold with a collar for 10 days.

jazzy said...

Aaw, poor kitty cats. And yes, we do keep vets rich! When Samson's hind leg had to be amputated I had to pay more than 1.500,- Euro. Most of this money went to the drugstore.
Anyway. Hope that your sweeties will get well soon.
-hugs-

JoJo said...

Vets do cost a lot of $$, but it's the price we happily pay to have the love and comfort of our beloved furchildren. I figure, if one would do it for a human child, then why not for a furchild?

Music Wench said...

Awww....your poor babies. Vets can be expensive. I found a country vet who charges reasonable fees for office visits. Some of them out here will really charge outrageous fees.

Jane said...

My cat Button ripped her collar off in 2 seconds flat! I'm dreading my next vet bill, I have two kittens (Ryder and Dakota) that have to be 'fixed', plus have all the blood work, rabies shots, ear mite treatment, flea treatment, and so on and so on...But it's worth it :)

SnarkAngel said...

My Smokey also has hyperthyroidism. Last blood panel revealed I needed to increase his medication. Thank goodness the medication isn't too expensive ... but ohhhhhhh ... those blood panels! LOL

Eliza said...

I don't really want to tempt fate by saying anything..so I won't!

Our vet is pretty reasonable..if only their emergency clinic was within reach..a taxi in the middle of the night to get the cat there is not to be recommended.As for the collars..they've all acted differently, with Sammy (the fidget) being the one who kept it on without fuss.

Tell Dandy he looks very fetching in his 'must-have' fashion accessory..you never know, it might just work :-D

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