Don't know what to do for the best

[Justonedayatatime11]

My teeny weeny tiny little white cat is unwell. She came to me from the RSPCA full of giardia, practically yellow with both her eyes semi closed and they didn't tell me she was from a feral colony.
She's 18 months now and this morning at the vets she was weighing 2.5kg she still has baby teeth, some of which need to come out. Vet also wants to do full bloods etc. She looks so unwell. I don't know what to do for the best for her. My insurance doesn't cover dental work.
For now she's had antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and she's not in any pain. She's my baby, and I feel like I'm failing her

Could you do the bloods and dental and see if you can get to the bottom of the issues?

Call your local RSPCA and they may well agree to cover the vet's bills. They do this for people on a low income, which when it comes to vets, is practically everyone. Good luck.

I can do the bloods, but to have a dental and the teeth removed it's going to be into 4 figures. I'm hesitant to call the RSPCA as that's where she came from in the first place

You can't not do a dental though if it's needed. Tooth pain is awful.

I know. I'm going to have a ring around and see if any vet will let me do it on a payment plan somehow

They may.
The RSPCA could help. What did they say when you told them they had sent you home with a very poorly kitten?
Could the Giardia mean she needs special food?

RSPCA denied all knowledge, totally washed their hands of her. Apparently there's an RSPCA clinic fairly near to me so I'll give them a call

Good luck.
If you're on certain benefits won't Blue Cross help?

Are you on benefits OP.

There is certain vets that do work for free with provided infomation.

Do you have a chantry vets close by?
They take payment plans.

Hope DK is ok soon.

4 figures for dental and bloods???
Have ring round other vets and see if they can do a better price!

I'm in two minds about the dental work... Do YOU think she has dental issues OP? If she's off her food then she probably does... She's obviously a small cat but do you think she's under weight? It's just that I've heard (and experienced it first hand) that it's a good way for vets (and human dentists) to make money.... obviously that's not always the case.

My own vet keeps trying to persuade me to book my dog in for a scale and polish under anaesthetic and at the cost of hundreds. I've resisted for 4 years and saw a different vet last time that said that while she has the beginning of gingivitis, it doesn't seem to be progressing and to carry on doing what I'm doing...

She definitely needs the teeth out. I'm certainly not denying that. But there's more going on than just the teeth, and they'd need to find out before a GA for the teeth anyway. All so confusing

Shop around. Mine had a GA, dental and three teeth out for £200 ish

Will they let you do a direct claim so you can just pay for the dental and excess and the insurance pay the rest of the bill directly to the vet?

Mine had 5 teeth out, blood test for kidney function, post op pain relief for £343 in the Midlands.

He’s 9 by the way.

I'm going to have all the blood work done tomorrow. They won't do the dental until all bloods are back in case she can't manage the GA. She really doesn't look well. I got hold of the RSPCA who weren't much help, other than to tell me that although Snow wasn't tested for FIV, the adults in the colony were witness tested for it and all came back negative. Although it doesn't completely rule FIV out, it does make it less likely. The RSPCA quote to do the bloods was marginally less than my vet, but the RSPCA vet categorically will not do a T4 test on an 18 month old cat, which is something my vet is keen to do. So I guess we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Just back from vets. Waiting on blood results but he thinks it's FIV. Which shouldn't be a death sentence, but he thinks if he x rays her before teeth removal and there's issues with the bones of her jaw then the kindest thing may be PTS. I don't know what to do, just devastated. She's such a tiny little thing and I feel like I've let her down

Make sure they do full bloods and not just a snap test. I had a false positive for FIV on my cat with a snap test

They've done full bloods, just waiting on results. I've got a horrible feeling I'm going to lose her she's just lifeless atm, not sure if thats the metacam or not

You're doing your very best for her. At least she's having pain killer as well. It's a worrying time, but don't think that you've let her down when you've done the exact opposite of that and given her a loving home. She's adorable.

You absolutely and completely and totally haven't let her down. Not at all.
You have sought veterinary advice. You are looking for a treatment. And if that isn't possible you will make the difficult choice to let her go. You will suffer. She won't.
You are doing absolutely everything a loving pet owner/cat slave would do and she's lucky to have you.
I'm hoping it isn't the worst news. Do they know how sick she was as a baby or is this a new vet?

It's a new vet so I've given them what history I had, but given she was feral, there's not a lot to go on. She's still wolfing down her food and has just been in the garden for a while. I can't bear to consider being without her

If she is eating but skinny I wondered if she couldn't get the nutrition out of the food for some reason as a result of the giardia. (I'm no vet!)

She's an absolute darling who is VERY lucky to have you. There is absolutely no way you can say you are letting her down. The fact you are considering taking on a four-figure bill on a payment plan is proof of that.

Fingers and claws crossed for you here, OP.