Advice needed on escalating vets costs of an older cat

[LisaP]

Hi All,
I rescued a cat from its owner about 6 years ago. At the time the cat (Elmo) had a really bad skin condition & stomach problems & I was in a position to help so I did. The vet found that most of Elmo's problems were due to an allergy which once treated (once a year) he was right as rain. We have had years of no real issues however now Elms is about 16 years old & over the past few months or so he has developed liver & kidney problems which has meant lots of expensive tests & two lots of tablets. Unfortunately my situation has changed quite a bit since I first had Elmo (redundancy & a substantial wage cut) & although I can just about afford the pills the tests costs (about £200 a month) are too much. Obviously I don't want to give Elmo up but I am struggling & am not sure if there are any ways around this. I have tried the PDSA & Cats protection but they are not able to help. Please if anyone can offer any advice I would really truly appreciate your help.

[lilynmitz]

Firstly thank you for taking this little puss I hand. I'd have a chat with your vet about this. My Lily had kidney problems and hyperthyroidism, among other things, but once we had her stabilised we just did 6monthly tests, and so long as I kept a really close eye on her diet and meds, her appetite and thirst, litter tray output, weight and general behaviour as indicators of health, we felt this was enough.

[LisaP]

Firstly thank you for taking this little puss I hand. I'd have a chat with your vet about this. My Lily had kidney problems and hyperthyroidism, among other things, but once we had her stabilised we just did 6monthly tests, and so long as I kept a really close eye on her diet and meds, her appetite and thirst, litter tray output, weight and general behaviour as indicators of health, we felt this was enough.

Thanks for your notes. I have another appointment this Friday I will try to speak to her then. I really do hope I get to keep Elmo as it would break my heart to have to give him up.

[bobbys girl]

Hi Lisa,

I agree with lilynmitz, I think once you have Elmo stabilised then testing every month should not be necessary.

Good luck with the old fella,I know just what you are going through, wanting the very best for your friend, on a limited budget is tough.

Best wishes

Sue

[Mayday21]

Hello my Elsa had hyperthyroidism & didn't cope with the meds so she had radio iodine treatment. She does have kidney issues & have her on potassium tabs & Ipakatine. She has blood tests every 3 mths. Oh & she was 9-10 when diagnosed last Aug. she's thin, coats ratty but she's happy in herself. She's on RC Renal only & with wet food that changes atm she likes Aldi's pet food chicken breast in a clear sauce. Keep us posted on Elmo. Vivian

[LisaP]

Hi Lisa,

I agree with lilynmitz, I think once you have Elmo stabilised then testing every month should not be necessary.

Good luck with the old fella,I know just what you are going through, wanting the very best for your friend, on a limited budget is tough.

Best wishes

Sue

Oh good. This is making me feel a bit better. thank you.

[LisaP]

Hello my Elsa had hyperthyroidism & didn't cope with the meds so she had radio iodine treatment. She does have kidney issues & have her on potassium tabs & Ipakatine. She has blood tests every 3 mths. Oh & she was 9-10 when diagnosed last Aug. she's thin, coats ratty but she's happy in herself. She's on RC Renal only & with wet food that changes atm she likes Aldi's pet food chicken breast in a clear sauce. Keep us posted on Elmo. Vivian

Oh dear, it sounds like Elsa has been through a lot. I hope she's ok. Elms just seems so fine you just wouldn't know he was ill at all. I know that I really should have sorted insurance for him but I was told that because he had an existing problem (the allergies) most places wouldn't cover him. Unfortunately I was miss informed & I didn't know that until now. I will update my post after Fridays vet visit. I am so nervous about telling the vets I can't really afford all the costs but I can't see any other way.
Thanks for the info, etc.

[booktigger]

What are they testing for? Buster had both liver and kidney issues, we only tested him every 3 months and only because he showed no symptoms, or it would have been 6 months. One thing you can do for kidney issues is a urine sample

[meriad]

What meds is he on at the moment? You may be able to get a generic equivalent which will be a bit cheaper as well. Monthly blood tests does sound quite excessive (and quite expensive )

My Molly was on meds for quite a few years (Fortekor for her kidneys and metacam for arthritis) and same as everyone else we only did bloods for her every 3 or 4 months.

[Lulu54]

We found our four elderly cats all cost us around £1000 in the 2 years before they died so our current cats were all insured when young. The insurance is very cheap and over 10's have a £150 excess which is a lot better than £1000. We have an account in which we've saved £150 per cat in case of emergencies.

[lilynmitz]

I've tended to find insurance premiums can be much higher for older cats, and insurance companies won't cover a pre-existing condition anyway.