Cat Chat Feline Forum

I recently adopted a 3 month old kitten from a shelter. He has URI, fleas, and an ear infection. I knew all this when I got him. This is my second cat from a shelter. My two-year-old came from another shelter and only had ringworm. I was so surprised on the terrible conditions of the shelters. Apparently URI and ringworm and fleas are very common when adopting from the shelter!

So my first concern is that I took him to the vet the next day. It's usually vet place I go to but not the usually vet I see. I got a horrible a vet this time. They wanted to do over $500 worth of diagnosis tests. I couldn't afford that right now. Should I get all the bloodwork done? They gave me some medication for the URI and ear infection. The kitten has a bad cough and a runny nose, but other than that he still eats and plays and wants affection all the time. The fleas weren't bad and gave him a bath even though that might not have been a great idea because he has a cold but I didn't want him being dirty with fleas and straight from the shelter. I read that URI goes away over time and most of the time isn't fatal. The vet wouldn't tell me anything about the kitten's conditions because she kept insisting they had do all these tests before determining anything even though I had paperwork from the shelter. That helped bring the cost down.

I guess I really don't know what kind of procedures I need to do for a new cat. Do I need to get bloodwork, leukemia a full workup on this kitten? I have two other cats from I had since just a few weeks old and never had come across such issues with other vets before.

I don't trust the vet I go to. I am in the process of trying to find not such a corporate veterinarian. They are in the business of making money and always say they can't give me anything until they do bloodwork, x-rays, all these different types of tests. But there is one vet I like there who was super nice to me when my 17-year-old passed away even though she made me spend almost $1k on him for tests he didn't need.

That to me does seem rather excessive and I believe a vet should be able to make an informed diagnosis without a load of tests, only if standard treatment fails then further investigation should be considered.

Over my adult life I've had 6 cats, all from rescues, but all adults when I had them and the rescues have all given them a clean bill of health and treated them for worms and fleas before I adopted them, I guess I've been lucky with the rescues I've gone too.

None of them have ever had to have X rays, or scans done. Blood tests have had to be done occasionally, normally I am given the option when they have to have something like dental work done and the vets want to do basic blood test to make sure there won't be any complications, I normally upgrade to full blood work just to be on the safe side. Other than that one cat had to have a few extra blood tests as the one before his dental picked up the start of kidney problems, another one developed diabetes and the blood test was just to confirm the diagnosis (it could have been done through a urine test, but that has it's own problems). The only other test that I've had done was on my current golden oldie when she had a URI a couple of years ago and that was a nasal swab so they could identify the cause of the infection, which would be about the only test I would have thought appropriate for your kitten if the medication he has been given doesn't work.

Hopefully the medication will clear up the URI and ear infection, it isn't uncommon for a URI to effect the ears as the ears, nose and throat are all connected and many specialist cover all three. Giving him a bath shouldn't have hurt him as long as you made sure he didn't get cold afterwards, if you can find a good flea treatment that is safe for young kittens that would probably be the best option, or just a flea comb and a piece of sticky paper to catch the fleas on. From what you have said about the state of him, I would thing that a course of worming treatment wouldn't be a bad idea.

I do believe that finding another vet might be the best option unless you can request to just see the vet you are happy with, and possibly finding another shelter should you ever want another cat.

Where are you, mangocat? I know you have told us before but I don't remember.

When I got my last kitten 30 years ago (in the UK) the vet asked if we wanted the leukaemia vaccine, she said if the kitten has it already there is nothing we can do for her the vaccine will trigger the illness and she will die; if we don't vaccinate she might catch it later; and if we vaccinate and she doesn't have it already then it will protect her. She said if we test it doesn't help because there is nothing we can do. I know this sounds cold but it's all true.

When I was a kid our kittens came free from litters born to cats belonging to people we knew, nobody was flea or worm treated, neutered, vet checked or vaccinated - they were free to good homes and good homes took care of all that, but the kittens' mothers were much loved pets and the kittens were healthy. If they weren't, we were unlucky and we had them treated, we didn't need to sue anyone. Your instincts are sound my friend, there is no need for all this unless the kitten is sick and the shelter knew it was sick and deliberately misled you, in which case the shelter should pay for all this screening and bloodwork or (more likely) take the kitten back, not bother with the expense and euthanise.

I hope you can find a vet you can trust because if you can find one they are such a great partner to have for your animal family, to support and guide you, reassure you, and for peace of mind any time your furry charges really do need help.

Thank you Ruth B and Mollycat. I'm in the US! I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing and being responsible. I found a non-profit that did all the tests the vet I went to wanting to charge me over $500 for under $100 and with good reviews. I feel so stupid and upset that I didn't think about finding a non-profit to go to in the first place. I don't have good experiences with vets but I never had to go to any until this year because of the health issues of recently passed away cat.

The animal shelter I adopted the new kitty from was horrible and all the cats they showed me needed some kind of medical attention. They have over 200 animals in the shelter. My own city's shelter only had a few and they are all quickly adopted. It was one of the reasons why I went to another city to adopt. I did do some more research and it seems there are other cities in near me that do give medical credits, just not the shelter I went to! I seriously considering writing a letter to the Mayor because the process and the conditions of the cats I saw were upsetting.

I'm so glad you managed to get the necessary tests done at a reasonable cost, and hopefully if you were happy going to that vets you will be able to in the future. I don't think we have non profit vets here in the UK, there are a few charities that provide veterinary care if you are on benefit and can't afford it, but otherwise you are left to find a vets you are happy with. I'm lucky I've been with my vets for over 20 years and only had one bad experience, we often see different vets, but they are all good.

While it may have been a problem for you, it is nice to hear that the good shelter near you didn't have any available kittens, it's a sign they are doing well and helping to deal with the cat overpopulation problem. Not knowing how things work in the US I can't give any advice on how to deal with the bad shelters, which unfortunately isn't a problem confined to the US, we have good and bad shelters over here as well.

Good luck with your new kitten, hopefully he will thrive from now on.