After trying for a couple of weeks, I finally managed to get the sweet old things to the surgery today.
I knew that both have rickety back legs and that Dandy's teeth are in a bad way. But my 15 minute appointment stretched to nearly an hour, with lots of blood tests and thorough examinations.
John is a very fetching, very thorough vet. I first came across him when he took over the surgery and came to visit my mother's cat...with his shapely, tanned Aussie legs in a pair of shorts.
Beano and Dandy have been with him since they were kittens, 16 years ago. Now that they are old boys, they are beginning to show it.
Dandy is a big cat, but recently I've noticed I can feel his backbone. John put him on the scales and discovered that this gentle giant, who another vet in the srugery said last year should lose weight, has lost a kilo. A blood test has shown he has extreme hyperthyroidism. Other tests are pending. All i have to do now is get some pills down his throat twice a day...And get him back to the vet's in a few weeks' time for a repeat test.
Beano has really lost the ability to use his back legs properly, a weakness that first showed itself over 8 years ago, but is now quite severe. John thinks it's more likely to be a neurological problame than the arthritis I had thought. Renal tests show he is able to cope with a treatment that may improve his mobility.
I'm not very happy that at the same time as my income has taken a nose dive, I have a vet bill of over £400 (and ongoing refills to contend with) on top of the new boiler, which is arriving on Monday and being fitted on Tuesda). If I'd got the boys to the vet's earlier, I would have foregone the boiler and got them to have another try with the old one. But there's no way I'll deny them their treatment, even if I have to go wthout food (which would probably be good for me!)
Looking at their pictures, and knowing that their characters are as sweet as their faces are beautiful, I imagine you would agree you'd do the same.
Beautiful one-eyed Beano
Gentle giant Dandy
The way I look at it is, people would do it for a human child w/o question, so why wouldn't pet parents do it for their furkids? I hope that both kitties respond well to the new treatment options!!
ReplyDeleteI had to take my 5 year old Chihuahua, Jonah in to get dental work done and found out that he needed 5 of his teeth extracted. Cost me over $500. The Greatest expense in that was the anesthesia that was $300 dollars.
ReplyDeleteI just put off getting my own dental work done for a few months. Totally worth it, IMO.
Jonah has gotten the nickname "Gummer" now that he's missing his front teeth.
Val, you are a wonderful Mum to your kitties, and I know that *they* know how lucky they are to have you.
ReplyDeleteEven though I am not a cat lover, I must say they are beautiful cats, I love the striped cats color. I agree, that if a person has an animal, they are indeed responsible for that animal and should do all that is possible to care for it. This idea comes from when I was a young-un on the farm caring for the calves that got scours in the winter and bedding them with straw ,administering meds. and crying when they didn't "make it". I always get tears in my eyes when they have that ad on T.V. about mistreatment of animals. Hope your cats respond to the treatment.
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