£1200 spent and cat still not well. Don't know what to do.

[Worriedkittycat]

At the beginning of the week my cat had vomiting and diarrhoea and not eating. After 2 to 3 days I took him to the vet. He had pain relief, anti sickness, fluids and blood tests.

Only inflammation showing on blood tests. He came home and ate something so seemed positive.

He went back into the vet the next day for the same treatment, more fluid and pain relief. That was yesterday. He didn't eat anything at all yesterday. But he's had no vomiting and his poo is starting to slowly get more solid.

Today he went back again for the same treatment. The problem is he's still not eating anything.

But the three days of treatment has cost us just over £1200 which we've put on a credit Card. Dh is saying we can't keep paying more. Cat is due back to vet tomorrow morning but if he still hasn't eaten anything the vet is going to recommend further treatment including possible x Ray, etc.

We're down 1200 that we didn't have in the first place, my cat still isn't eating and we still don't know what's wrong. It could even just be stress and the fact that he's been poorly that has put him off eating or it could be something worse. I just don't know what to do.
:( any advice

Sorry about poorly cat. Don't wait to insure the healthy one, do that tonight.

Thank you. They have checked his heart but not his teeth. They can't look in his mouth. He won't tolerate it. That's something that's bothering the vet - They really want to check it. I think they're hoping I'll agree to the xray tomorrow because then they'll be able to have a sneaky look in his mouth whilst he's sedated.

We had a cat that had weight loss, intermittent vomiting and diarrhoea, spent about that much money only to be met with lots of shoulder shrugging. Moved house, he was desperately unwell. Took him to a new vet at new house, who instantly said 'everyone knows this breed gets inflammatory bowel disease'. Said cat was so close to death he didn't hold out much hope, but £40 and a big dose of steroids later he was cured. Lasted another 8 years.
Swap vets. And try some cheap steroids.

Not drinking is a bigger issue.
I am surprised they've not examined his mouth if they think the problem might be from there.
It's tricky when it's not clear cut what the problem is and the elimination game is expensive. Hope you get some more answers soon.

Love, you need a different vets - that's a ridiculous price, and I say that as someone who takes their cats to the vet whenever they need it.

Are you in London? Perhaps that's where the issue is? I paid less than half that for my cat to have his broken hip operated on, 8 days of in house care, after an emergency late night admission.

Honestly though, I'd have the cannula removed, and let the creature be for a few days. You said that he's a jumpy and nervous cat and this won't be helping. The only thing to consider is if maybe he needs checking out with an x-ray to confirm that there's nothing in the intestines that shouldn't be, but as there's no way the treatment you've described should cost that much, you need to find a different vets for that.

You must be worried. Do you feel like he's ok and just not well or in terminal decline?

And yes, I missed the bit about not checking his teeth? Ffs these vets aren't very good... I've heard this before, with a vet recommending PTS so I moved vets, an operation later and my beautiful boy lived for another 6 years (at which point he was 16 yo)

My cat hasn't got a choice at the vets, they clamp him down and prise his jaws open, all over and done with in seconds. The vet sounds crap tbh as tooth issues are very common and stop them eating.

Very stressful,the vets bills are ridiculous. We had a £600 emergency vet bill that our insurance flat out refused to pay. I'm definitely going with Pet Plan with future cats.

Hope he gets better soon 🙏

I had this with my 10 year old cat recently. Stopped eating and drinking and lost lots of weight. Vet did bloods, painkillers, anti sickness and a ultra scan. They found nothing unusual. After a week of regular painkillers and anti sickness she started eating again. The vet then said cats can be so fickle with eating

My final bill was £700 so feel you are paying more than the going rate.
Have they scanned him?

My cat is back to normal weight and right as rain now! Maybe he ate something she shouldn't of, maybe she was attention seeking!?

I’m so sorry that your cat is poorly but I would be extremely unhappy with your vet. If a cat isn’t eating one of the first things that a vet should do is check the teeth and the mouth! Plus that bill is stupidly expensive for the treatment maybe you could ring another vets and ask them for their opinion on both the cats health and the cost. Hoping your furball is on the mend soon and also agreeing with others that the stress of going to the vets could possibly be making it worse. 💐

If the mouth is ok it might be worth checking for pancreatitis. It needs a special test for a thing called Feline Specific Lipase. It’s not cheap but a grumbling pancreas is painful and needs a lot of pain relief and supportive therapy.

I've just had exactly the same issue over three days and identical treatment. Also cost £1200. Cat older - though. Cat seems better last two days. We will see.

Took him to the vets this morning and we've agreed to remove the IV and keep him home for today to see if it's just stress preventing him from eating, so no stressful stay at the vets, no more IV annoying him, etc.

Except we're day three of no food. He isn't drinking either but he's had days of fluid. (Apart from today).

Vet wants to sedate and IV again tomorrow plus start with scans, x rays, etc. If he still isn't eating by tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be day four of no food or drink. He was alao sick twice in the night last night. Just White foam. She did give him another anti sickness injection this morning in case it was nausea preventing him from eating.

He seems so much better, brighter and perkier. Just still not eating and two more episodes of sick.

What a shitty little post that is. Shameful.

That's insane.

My dog was hit by a car, was taken in for observation, put on a drip, given pain meds and I picked him up after 6 hours.

£150!

Try some liquivite, I've had cats that wouldn't eat manage this, also lick e lix can get them going. As for the insurance, I know plenty of people that have recently cancelled policies, the vets will probably be used to people requesting cheaper options. It's easy to be judgemental when you aren't struggling yourself.

When our cat stopped eating, the vets prescribed steroids. I'd be asking whether that would be suitable here, at least just while you think about other options to investigate what the issue is. He had them injected the first time but after that it was tablets (very cheap, less than £10 for the first lot).

Also, we thought we'd tried everything going food wise but it was Felix cat soup that got him to eventually eat. A cat that would never normally eat anything like Felix!

We have tried every food option. His normal wet and dry food. Tuna. Chicken. Mackerel. Mousse, soup, etc. Even treats like the lick sticks, dreamies. Everything.

Will ask about steroids when we take him back tomorrow

I'm so sorry your cat is poorly OP. Hopefully he gets better now he's back home with you and not in the vet surgery.

However, I have to agree with those who are saying to find a new vet. I've taken all mine to the vets at one point or another for lack of appetite/vomiting and none of them have ever needed blood tests, fluids or day stays. In nearly every case, they're given a mixture of steroids to stimulate their appetites, a painkiller injection and antibiotics. It's never not worked and costs around £60 all-in.

In fact, I was at the vet with my kitten a couple of months ago after he'd refused all food for 48 hours. He got a steroid jab and some pain medicine which did boost his appetite but he was unfortunately sick a few hours later, so they gave him an anti-sickness jab and some anti-biotics and he was fine within 48 hours. I think the two appointments in total came to £85 and that's because one of them was on a Saturday.

Please look for a new vet.

My cat was given 5 days worth of mirtazapine to stimulate his appetite, worked well.

I dab lick e lix on my fingers and shove some round my cats mouth so he has to lick it off. I've also used a syringe of cat soup at the back of his mouth when he was very poorly once. Worth a go.

Look for a cheaper vet, your costs sound outrageous.
Cats do get diarrhoea and vomiting occasionally and they do get better. It doesn't mean they need every expensive test going.
Try chicken and rice post op cat food you can order it online, or at pets at home, and plain water to drink. Give the cat peace and quiet in a room with litter tray in so you can see what's going on and how much the cat is drinking and peeing.
Ask a different vet if you can have a steroid injection, that's the best thing for inflammation and doesn't cost much.
My old cat who incidentally lived to 21 often had awful diarrhoea and vomiting and although I had pet insurance and had every test going as a result they never found a cause for it 5k later.
They wanted to do a biopsy but I decided the poor old girl had had enough at that stage.
So she had a steroid injection, plain simple food and rest and on each occasion got better on her own.
Don't panic.
Some vets really do take the piss sometimes.

When my cat stopped eating I got him to start again by feeding dry food and dry treats one at a time off the floor. If they've been feeling sick, the smell of food or a large amount can put them off so they need to start with tiny bits again to get past the food aversion.

Our old cat loved the gravy from cooked liver, quite smelly but always perked her up.

Ask them it's a good idea to have a scan and look into your cat's stomach to see if they can see what the matter is, the white foam may be from acid caused by a lack of food