caliopi
New member
Ok so this is a bit of a long story but you need the facts to undertand why I am so angry.
Aside from our birds we also have 3 cats (we did have 4 but sadly Dash died suddenly last year). In January this year we noticed Macgregor (my son named him!) was throwing up quite a lot. At first I thought it was furballs so changed his diet and kept an eye on him but he continued so we took him to the vet. The vet checked him over and said he had "a bit of a sore throat" and gave him antibiotics. He really did not improve so two weeks later we are back at the vet who decided this time he may have developed an allergy to his dry food and told us to stop giving it to him which we did much to his upset as he has always preferred dry food. It is important to know Greggie is only 7 yrs old.
We can't help but notice that despite eating well Greggie is losing weight so in March we are back at the vet, this time we requested a blood test as we are getting really worried, the vet however is not and thinks he is a good size cat. By this time after doing a lot of internet research ourselves we are really concerned he has kidney problems but the vet states "NO" on the grounds "he looks too well and his coat is so good". The vet thinks it is more likely Giardia and changes the medication and says it will take upto a month to get rid if it.
Now it is April and we are back at the vet,really alarmed because of the weight he is losing. Now Greggie was a BIG cat, not fat just BIG. He looks smaller than his mother Whinnie now and she is our smallest cat who the vet also knows and when we say how this is worrying us we are told "he is a good,healthy weight. When we mention our concern re the kidneys the vet says he is fine.
Now it is May and we are back at the vet this time we demand a blood test as Greggie has lost half of his bodyweight. Again the vet insists he is a healthy weight and reluctantly does the test just to appease us.
We get a call the next day. Greg has kidney disease please come to the vet. We are told to use new meds and a new dry food ($75 a pack) which we do. I cannot help but notice that despite the meds and the new diet Greggie is throwing up even more and I ring the vet and am told the illness can make them vomit. We research everything we can online re kidney disease and even order this special oil that is supposed to help but nothing is working. The vet tells us we are doing all we can and some cats just don't respond.
Now I can see every bone on his body. My husband is talking to a client who cancelled her appt with him as her cat just died so they get talking and he tells her about Greggie. She tells us to go see her vet who only sees cats. I email them to see if they can help. That was 2 days ago.
Friday night we notice Greggie has just peed on the floor and there is blood in his urine. I fear the worst and prepare my kids we may not have him much longer and ring the cat vet first thing yesterday morning to see if they can see us. They are fully booked but agree to see us after their last appt.
We arrive at the cat vet who asks us what the problem is. I give him the rundown and the vet is immediately alarmed at the weight loss and says it is a serious sign. We put Greggie on the table and the vet has a good feel and says........... " He does not have kidney disease" he then tells us he is 99% sure he has intestinal tract disease and it is serious. He did an ultrasound in front of us and showed us how swollen his intestines were, 2 1/2 times larger than normal and that he needs a biopsy and blood tests and urine which he does there but the biopsy needs to be done once the blood work comes back. He changes his meds,changes his diet and gives him shots for b12 and something else and says had we not bought him in we would not have him come next week.
I AM SO MAD!!!!!!!!! When I think of all those wasted months with a vet who refused to listen to us, who put Greggie through months of pain and suffering because they would not listen to us and nearly cost him his life. I am livid that Greggie nearly died and still might because this illness went untreated for so long that it has now caused damage to his kidneys,lungs and bowel that will shorten his life and that he has spent 5 months throwing up and wasting away so he now has less reserve to fight his battle. But most of all I am mad at myself for not trusting my instincts and going to another vet sooner but believing the vet knows better than me. I will never make that mistake again.
Aside from our birds we also have 3 cats (we did have 4 but sadly Dash died suddenly last year). In January this year we noticed Macgregor (my son named him!) was throwing up quite a lot. At first I thought it was furballs so changed his diet and kept an eye on him but he continued so we took him to the vet. The vet checked him over and said he had "a bit of a sore throat" and gave him antibiotics. He really did not improve so two weeks later we are back at the vet who decided this time he may have developed an allergy to his dry food and told us to stop giving it to him which we did much to his upset as he has always preferred dry food. It is important to know Greggie is only 7 yrs old.
We can't help but notice that despite eating well Greggie is losing weight so in March we are back at the vet, this time we requested a blood test as we are getting really worried, the vet however is not and thinks he is a good size cat. By this time after doing a lot of internet research ourselves we are really concerned he has kidney problems but the vet states "NO" on the grounds "he looks too well and his coat is so good". The vet thinks it is more likely Giardia and changes the medication and says it will take upto a month to get rid if it.
Now it is April and we are back at the vet,really alarmed because of the weight he is losing. Now Greggie was a BIG cat, not fat just BIG. He looks smaller than his mother Whinnie now and she is our smallest cat who the vet also knows and when we say how this is worrying us we are told "he is a good,healthy weight. When we mention our concern re the kidneys the vet says he is fine.
Now it is May and we are back at the vet this time we demand a blood test as Greggie has lost half of his bodyweight. Again the vet insists he is a healthy weight and reluctantly does the test just to appease us.
We get a call the next day. Greg has kidney disease please come to the vet. We are told to use new meds and a new dry food ($75 a pack) which we do. I cannot help but notice that despite the meds and the new diet Greggie is throwing up even more and I ring the vet and am told the illness can make them vomit. We research everything we can online re kidney disease and even order this special oil that is supposed to help but nothing is working. The vet tells us we are doing all we can and some cats just don't respond.
Now I can see every bone on his body. My husband is talking to a client who cancelled her appt with him as her cat just died so they get talking and he tells her about Greggie. She tells us to go see her vet who only sees cats. I email them to see if they can help. That was 2 days ago.
Friday night we notice Greggie has just peed on the floor and there is blood in his urine. I fear the worst and prepare my kids we may not have him much longer and ring the cat vet first thing yesterday morning to see if they can see us. They are fully booked but agree to see us after their last appt.
We arrive at the cat vet who asks us what the problem is. I give him the rundown and the vet is immediately alarmed at the weight loss and says it is a serious sign. We put Greggie on the table and the vet has a good feel and says........... " He does not have kidney disease" he then tells us he is 99% sure he has intestinal tract disease and it is serious. He did an ultrasound in front of us and showed us how swollen his intestines were, 2 1/2 times larger than normal and that he needs a biopsy and blood tests and urine which he does there but the biopsy needs to be done once the blood work comes back. He changes his meds,changes his diet and gives him shots for b12 and something else and says had we not bought him in we would not have him come next week.
I AM SO MAD!!!!!!!!! When I think of all those wasted months with a vet who refused to listen to us, who put Greggie through months of pain and suffering because they would not listen to us and nearly cost him his life. I am livid that Greggie nearly died and still might because this illness went untreated for so long that it has now caused damage to his kidneys,lungs and bowel that will shorten his life and that he has spent 5 months throwing up and wasting away so he now has less reserve to fight his battle. But most of all I am mad at myself for not trusting my instincts and going to another vet sooner but believing the vet knows better than me. I will never make that mistake again.
What an awful experience! I do hope Macgregor (love the name
