Problem with Kitten

[spacecowboy831]

Not sure where I really should start with this. I picked up a kitten which I paid £200 for on 21/05/2023 When I got him home i noticed he was sneezing a lot so took him to the Vets which they said he had cat flu he was prescribed a weeks worth of antibiotics and eye drops which cost me £130. 3 Weeks on my Kitten is still sneezing.

I have to admit I am feeling quite stressed and don't know what to do for the best. I realise I will probably need to take my kitten back to the vets. I feel bad because I wont be able to afford to do this until I am paid again on the 26th as I have already spent out £130 on vets bills which came out of this months salary June.

I am also feeling guilty because my cat of 15 years died in January this year. I said at the time I would never get another cat but 4 months later I did. But I know this sounds bad but I think I am regretting it. with my 15 year old cat I spent 2 years back and for vets trying to get him treatment and it was very heart-breaking. I also know I could be being selfish here but I am not sure I want to go through this again especially as it appears the first lot of treatment as not worked.

Sorry to go on. I am just not sure what's best. I guess I'm just after some advice.

Thank you

Sorry you are going through this it does sound very stressful and sad. How is your kitten now? Where did you get it from? £200 is a lot of money especially if the poor thing wasn't even well! Could you contact the person you got the kitten from and ask for help with vets costs or a partial refund to cover the costs? Hope your kitten gets better soon! You have done the right thing getting another cat, as hard as it my seem at the moment.

Where did you get the kitten?

Fwiw my cats came from a rescue. One of them (brothers of same litter) had a virus when they were little and at times of stress (eg when they moved to us, when we were getting an extension built efc) he always always sneezes. It's a stress thing :(

How is your cat otherwise?

Like others have said where is this kitten from?

Cat flu sadly will never go away now the kitten has it. It can be treated but the virus lays dormant and can reappear in the future. Have you got insurance for the kitten?

How old is the kitten?

My cat had cat flu when he was 18 months old and was very poorly but fully recovered, has never had any symptoms since so it is fully treatable.

I think you will just have to bite the bullet and pay for treatment.

The first thing I do when I buy a new pet is sort insurance, so make sure you do this if you plan on keeping the kitten. Vets are so expensive now and with out insurance it could end up costing £1000’s of your kitten gets injured or sick.

It’s not fully treatable. It can lie dormant for many many years, but it’s still there. Once they have it, they have it.

https://www.msd-animal-health.ie/species/cats/cat-flu/

If you are struggling financially might the PDSA be able to help? I think you have to get the wee kitten seen if he is poorly, they can go downhill fast when they are small. Vets are so expensive so would definitely echo pp’s suggestion of insurance, although often the excess means it’s not worth claiming for just a routine visit. I was £70 a couple of weeks back for the vet to tell me our cat had eaten something she shouldn't have, which I knew because by the time we got to the appointment she was absolutely fine!

Are you really asking if you should keep the kitten based on it being unwell/your previous cat?

Don't get a cat if you can't afford to properly care for it.

If you cannot afford to pay for the care of any animal then don't buy one! This is why so many go into rescue centres or are thrown into the street and ignored. I help out at a local rescue centre and in the last week alone there have been over 60 cats handed in as strays or no longer wanted as they can't afford them.

On the flip side, if the breeder has sold you a poorly kitten, then contact the breeder and explain how much this has cost you and the kitten is still poorly and what are they going to do.

But if you live hand to mouth each month, don't have a pet!

Just an Update. The Kitten is doing fine he was treated by the Vets with antibiotics. He as now had is vaccination and yes I do have insurance.

In response to @Judystilldreamsofhorses Judystilldreamsofhorses. I was just going through some anxiety issues after having a Poorly cat. Surely thats only natural giving what happened to my older cat. I was just scared of getting close to him in fear of losing him to ill health. But I have managed to form a wonderful bond with him.

In response to @OnTheRunWithMannyMontana and @TheLifeofMe I don't think this dignifies a response as you clearly did not understand I paid out a lot of money and it was a few days before my payday. So that's why I was a bit short. However as I said above. I took it to the vets and he is now doing ok.

Just to clarify it wasn't a case of not being able to afford It I was just going through some stress at the time which is sorted now.

@spacecowboy831 The vet treated cat flu (a virus) with antibiotics (that don’t work on viruses)? Either this isn’t true or you need a new vet!

I’m glad your kitten is recovered.
But I have to say that I do agree with the above poster.
£130 is not really a lot of money on vets bills.
We had to pay £1200 last august when our cat had an accident that required surgery. We had to pay it and then claim it back.
You really need financial back up plans to take care of a pet properly.

@Madwife123 I’m not a liar. He was given synulox which I had to cut in half and give twice a day plus eye drops. They said the antibiotics would help With the infection and not stop the sneezing.

So the kitten has cat flu AND an infection?
Because cat flu isn’t an infection, it’s a virus.

It’s quite important for future to know if your kitten has cat flu or a bacterial infection as if this is cat flu the kitten will carry it forever, it can’t ever be fully treated and can flare up again in future so it’s important to be aware of the early signs. The cat flu vaccine also won’t work. It only works on cats who don’t already have cat flu. Finally if you didn’t have insurance in place at least 14 days before the kitten became ill cat flu will now be an excluded condition and never covered. If this is a bacterial infection you don’t want them recording it as cat flu!

@Smartiepants79 Again I already stated it was just a few days before payday. So was a little short I managed to sort it and sort my finances out going forward. I’m quite happy to pay for any treatment going forward.

People just don’t seem to look at the bigger picture and just want to be judgemental.

@Madwife123 They were treating a secondary infection. With regards to insurance. I took out one that covers pre existing conditions.

The Vet told me that the vaccine should hopefully help is immune system should help him fight off the cat flu in future. I understand that they can have flair ups.

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-and-advice/pet-health-hub/conditions/cat-flu#:~:text=With%20treatment%2C%20symptoms%20of%20flu,%2Dups'%20throughout%20their%20life. PDSA mentions antibiotics as a treatment for cat flu as do other sites regarding secondary conditions.

That’s all fine but I had to find that money immediately. My cat had a hole in her chest and required immediate surgery. She couldn’t wait even 24hours. It had never happen to a pet of ours before and it made me realise how naive I’d been.

@Smartiepants79 I did find the money straight away. I had a backup option. Again if I needed to get him urgent treatment then I would now be able to.

As I said I’m really glad you got her sorted out and I’m sure she’ll be well loved.
I just feel it’s important that people realise the financial commitment they make when they take on these cute balls of fluff.

@Smartiepants79 i knew what financial commitments I was making. I was spending over £100 a month for nearly 2 years with my 15 year old cat who was unwell. Trying to give him the best treatment.

Yes for a secondary infection, meaning the kitten has cat flu AND an infection. But antibiotics don’t treat cat flu and your initial post only mentioned cat flu.

The moral of the story here is never buy an unvaccinated kitten. A little bit of research prior to buying an animal stops situations like this and that ‘cheap’ kitten certainly isn’t cheap once you’ve paid the vet bills!

@Madwife123 Whats done is done.

Hindsight is such a wonderful thing.

@Madwife123 The only reason I mentioned Cat Flu because that was my main concern at the time.

I could post an essay on it if you like.