I want to thank everyone for their well wishes. I really appreciate them!
I would have posted yesterday but wasn't ready to talk about it yet. Don't worry, Dante is home and running around like a crazy cat. But he still has his bad tooth. The vet didn't want to do the surgery.
It was a combination of a couple things. Dante wouldn't calm down in the cage, he was panting and breathing hard all day. They didn't want to anesthetize a cat breathing like that. But that wasn't the main reason. He had an EKG before the surgery to check his heart, and it wasn't good. In fact, it was the worst that it's ever looked. The vet described to me what he thought Dante's heart was doing, simply, it was trying to expel blood from the heart when new blood hadn't yet been pumped into it. He showed me the EKG and the irregularities. He said he hasn't seen this kind of abnormality in a cat before and that it was more than just a murmur. No one there (there is more than one vet) felt comfortable putting Dante under with his heart like that. A tooth wasn't worth him dying on the table. So even though I feel that he would have been fine, they didn't want to take the risk since he was so worked up. In fact, they were so concerned about the EKG they didn't even really care about the tooth anymore.
So what are my options now? Well, not much. Here are my choices.
1) Do nothing.
2) Tell them to go ahead with the surgery no matter what.
3) They can bring in a vet specializing in tooth removal so it can done as fast as possible
4) Go back to see the internist that Dante sees about his heart once a year and get him checked out again.
5) Send him to a feline cardiac specialist to determine what specific heart disease he has because there may be a treatment that could help. And the specialist could determine the best way to handle putting him under.
Of course the best option is number 5. And the vet would recommend number 5, because as he put it, he would hate to have Dante develop problems in the future, only to learn later that they could have been prevented, or at least delayed. But of course, the list is in order of least cost to highest cost. A visit to the cardiologist would start between $500 and $1000 and that just isn't something I can afford right now. So as he put it, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. He is going to get an opinion from the cardiologist for me for free. The cardiologist visits his office about once a week and he'll show her the EKG to see what she thinks. Then he'll call me.
When I think about it, cats never used to have teeth removed when there was a problem, and they did just fine. It would just come out when it rotted out. I know that sounds horrible. And the tooth eventually will become painful to him, but it will come out on its own. I don't think getting the tooth pulled is worth losing him. But I also know that I can't avoid anesthetizing him forever. Sooner or later, he will have to be put under.
My last cat died of feline leukemia virus. He lived a long life for a cat with that disease, over 10 years, but at the end he wasn't good at all. It was hard knowing that he could have passed away at anytime, with no warning.
And now I feel that I'm facing a similar situation again. The difference is, Dante's might be treatable. Who knows when his heart will become a serious problem for him. I try not to think about it and enjoy all the time I have with him, but every time I go to the vet for his shots and check-up I'm reminded of his problem. Veterinary medicine has come a long way but sometimes I think it is better not to know. We had barn cats at home all the while I was growing up. They never went to the vet, we never worried about them. And they lived happy lives, some very long lives. Veterinary medicine can help keep a pet healthy and happy for a long time. But there is nothing worse knowing that there is medicine and technology out there that can help - and I can't afford it.
I can't help but think that if I had a real job I'd be able to help him now, and not later when it might be too late.
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Oh no, what a difficult situation! I agree that the tooth is not worth worrying about.
ReplyDeleteI just wrote and deleted the longest comment ever about the time I paid $700 to have a penny removed from my cat's intestines... anyway, the point is that I sort of understand what you're going through. I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this!
That's rough!
ReplyDeleteI know what my vet would say: if you ain't got the money, you ain't got the money. That's what he told me when I first got my cat from the pound and he had a mouthful of rotten teeth. So, I waited until I could afford to deal with it. So, a cat could live for quite some time with a bad tooth and be happy. However, my understanding is that the infection in the mouth can spread and go to the kidneys and the heart which is why they recommend removal.
Is there a vet med school nearby? Is it possible that you could take him there and it would be cheaper than going to see the local specialist? Is it possible that the local vet would have a payment plan that would make it all more affordable? Perhaps the thing to do is just wait and see what the specialist has to say about the EKG.
My cat is a carrier for feline infectious peritonitis which is what killed his sister. Any day he could get sick. So, I can sympathize with your situation. The best I can do for him is give him with the best possible life I can provide.
Sometimes I wonder about getting pet health insurance, but then I wonder if it's a waste of money?
I am sorry to hear you got such bad news. I wonder if his bad ECG could be just due to stress (exhacerbated by his heart condition)... Healthy humans under stress can exhibit quite irregular heartbeat patterns. I'd wait for that free cardiologist advice. There are so many things that could explain this and not all of them are bad, so don't lose hope!
ReplyDeleteAnd I second mrswhatsit's advice to check out a vet med school. This sounds like a good idea.
If you have those ECG's why don't you post them on your blog? There are quite a few medical professionals roaming the web and they can throw ideas at you absolutely free.
Some pet health insurance will not insure cats over 10 years old. I tried to get one for my 11 yr old cat as he maybe developing asthma. It's worth considering getting one for Danta in case he needs surgery later on.
ReplyDeleteAt least the vet is getting an opinion from the cardiologist for you free of charge. That's mighty nice of him.
I paid $450 for my kitten to poop out a hairband she ate..arghhhhhhhh
Sometimes not knowing the full complexity of things is better... If you can find a way to get him to a cardiologist at a low cost that's great but if not consider my most recent situation.
ReplyDeleteI lost my lil 8yr old orange to kidney stones within 3 days of showing illness. Looking back, I realized 2 years ago when she was diagnosed with congenitally small kidneys that she had the stones then too. If I had the surgery then, she may have lived a couple more year but I would have a debt of $6,000. And I'm sure if I could and needed to, I would have done multiple surgeries. While I loved her to death even when she would harass me, I know I couldn't have afforded to helped her. And I think I would have felt worse knowing and not being able to do a thing than how I feel now loosing her suddenly.
So while wanting to spend the money to find out his true situation, you may find out it's still a more expensive fix in the end.
Is it also possible to do an ekg at home? My vet has a motor home they take for home visits. Maybe his condition is something is as CSS said above and it occurs during extreme stress. Maybe a mobile vet could do it all at home in your livingroom...or at least ekg him, knock him out with some sedative, take him in to perform tooth surgery then return him before his wakes.