Is my vet taking the piss ? TW

[sharplettuce]

I got a new kitten, now both my cats have worms. I treated them both but called the vet the next day because I'm worried about the little one, as she's been kind of exhausted and slow to move around since I brought her home. The receptionist said I should bring them both in, in case they need a stronger treatment. It's £100 just for a double consultation, and I don't know what treatment will cost on top of that. I'm tempted to just keep them home, treat again in 2 weeks and make sure the little one is getting lots of good food to get her strength up. What do you think

The kitten was dropped off to OP by a feckless man in a vehicle.

Goodness knows the kind of place the kitten was born in.

Clearly not a loving home, or the mother would have been spayed.

The laws in UK as to the breeding and selling of animals are ridiculously lax.

Pet shops ought not to be allowed to sell live animals - too many are not properly looked after {reptiles &c}

One chap was visiting Harrods, looked in at the Pet dept, {many years ago} and fell in love with a Persian kitten...he bought her there and then, and carried her home on a 120 mile train journey - in his arms.

That's just insane.

Thankfully Harrods closed its pet department for good.

Your kitten could have a virus, bacterial infection, parasite(s). And she could have passed that on to your older cats.

You need to take all three to the vet!

I would go to a different vet with the little one for a second opinion.
I don't see why the older one needs to go in as long as they are fit and well.

"would go to a different vet with the little one for a second opinion."
She hasn't even had the first opinion yet ;-)

I'm an experienced cat owner and unfortunately it sounds like this kitten will not last long.
Hopefully you didn't pay too much for it?
I hope it pulls through but honestly by the sounds of it you got it from a kitten farm so even if it did make it you are looking at behavioural and physical problems later on in life. I thought the standard was 12 weeks to be fully weaned? Correct me if I'm wrong.
Did you manage to get a vet appointment?

@Flammenwerfer

best reply in the whole thread !

and the most truthful !!!

It shouldn’t matter how much purchase price was- An animal wether he or she was £1 or £2,000 needs appropriate veterinary attention if it’s unwell.

Agree about the behavioural issues of kitten farmed cats.
Too many taken too young from their mothers.

Don’t use that, it’s been mentioned as ineffective online so many times. Saying that, dead worms in the litter is a good sign. I’d want to see a vet who can recommend a proper wormer that won’t overwhelm the kitten’s system when you’ve already wormed it. You can buy decent stuff eg Drontal/Cestem/non-branded equivalent online from Viovet, Animed etc, but in this case, see a vet. Having said that, if it isn’t worms, I fear you won’t have it long.

I’ve just spent £5K on a dog’s broken elbow, nasty accident on holiday so we rushed home after an emergency vet appointment. This is an extreme example, but don’t get a pet if you don’t have the necessary finance in place.

It will be because if the kitten has infected the older cat, they could just keep reinfecting each other. I had this when one of my cats picked up worms, had to have them both on panacur in the end, and replace their litter trays. They were both insured so both saw the vet, who explained what was happening. It was so frustrating!
Just thinking about what else it could be, too. Worms can effectively cause malnutrition, as they absorb the nutrients from the food before the kitten can. There’s also FIV, cat flu, fleas, all sorts of things. Basically with a kitten it’s like with a baby, things that a healthy older cat could shake off can be fatal to a kitten. I will never forget the case of the baby (human) who contracted cold sores from a kiss from an adult, and the baby died as a
result because their immune system hadn’t had a chance to develop yet, and it was overwhelmed by the virus. It’s the same with other mammal babies, they are so vulnerable.
It’s generally best to get a kitten from a rescue centre. They are desperate for homes for them during kitten season as there are so many, and these sorts of problems shouldn’t happen. The various cat charities do online guides to cat care, which also cover things like illnesses, symptoms, what to do. Would be worth reading these as would have saved you needlessly chucking stuff out and doing a load of boil washes, as well as helping you to establish whether a vets visit was needed, what wormer to use and how etc.

so you bought the cat through some advert on the internet
who has now vanished !

you didn't insure it from the day of purchase

a vet that you spoke to wants you to bring both cats in - well doesn't that make sense ?!!!

don't you know / realise that infections and parasites can spread from pet to pet ?!!!

but you are more concerned about YOURSELF and I quote
' I'm not sure how to handle my house as well, I'm washing everything at 90 degrees or throwing out anything they could have been on. I'm thinking about binning my rugs as they're too big to fit in the washing machine '

and you have the nerve to wonder if a vet is trying to rip you off !!!

POOR FUCKING KITTEN

please don't come back and tell us the kitten died, or it was so poorly that the Vet had to put it to sleep

OP, you really need to prioritise getting the kitten to the vet. You've highlighted so many risk factors that you seem to be ignoring or just plain naive.

You bought a kitten from an online ad, said the transaction was odd, and don't realise that there can be dodgy cat breeders. The previous owner may not even be a breeder, his cat may have just had kittens that he wanted to get rid of. You don't seem to be aware that regardless of whether it's a dog or cat, if they are young you should really see them at their home with the mother and the rest of the litter, to get an idea of how they've been treated. Not just dropped off at the doorstep. Most sensible people selling kittens do the responsible thing of not selling until they've been vaccinated & wormed.

You have no way of really telling how old this kitten actually is, for all you know the kitten could be younger. Could be malnourished or weaned too early.

You say that the kitten has been lethargic, bloated belly, clearly has worms. You've not been able to weigh properly and have underdosed.

You may mean well but seem to be quite neglectful of the fact that your kitten really needs to be checked by the vet. Not buying more worm treatment at the petshop.

"the grotesque profiteering by the ''Groups'' that is so scandalous.It'sonopoly.
Even my lovely small independent has been taken over.
{Experienced vet, recently retired...she used to say how she kept her prices fair ''As she liked to sleep at night''.}"

She wasn't too principled to take the corporate dollar when she sold up though was she? 😆

That’s really bad!
You’d have expected a kitten from Cat’s Protection to be free of worms ( on a worming plan)
We had a very poorly Lurcher puppy from RSPCA and were told she’d been wormed and to carry on with it.

A few days later I saw sticky proglottids around her rear end- had one on my hand that moved slightly 😳

Took her back to RSPCA for checkup and the vet there said “ We only treat for tapeworm in puppies if evidence is seen as the drug can be quite severe on young pups
.
Thankfully after an injection I never saw another proglottid.

When you see the vet, please give them a detailed list of when/what wormers your kitten has had.

Also let them know that your kitten almost certainly wasn't wormed until you got him/her and came from a dodgy background.

It is likely your kitten has a huge build up of worms, the underdosed and over the counter ineffective (yet still toxic!) wormers have killed some, but not all of the worms and there could be a blockage, a ball of dead/dying worms releasing toxins into your kittens system.

The vets really need to know this history that there may be a massive worm burden, may be a blockage, may be worm damage already done, may be damage done by the cheap wormers.

They should also not vaccinate your kitten until they are healthy and fit, but if you don't explain the full history... they won't have the information needed.

This, and take out Pet Insurance.

Kittens can go downhill VERY rapidly. Something that's minor in a healthy cat (e.g. fleas) can kill a kitten
She needs to see the vets tomorrow at the latest, if she is eating and drinking normally and isn't vomiting/has diarrhoea. If she's not eating/drinking and/or has vomiting/diarrhoea she needs to see a vet today. All areas of the UK have emergency provision; the details will be on your regular vet's website and/or on their answerphone.
Your vet isn't taking the piss.
If both your cats have worms visible in their faeces then that's a heavy worm burden in both. Both will need treating; vets can only prescribe if they see (or have recently seen) the animal.
Yes, under the guidance of a vet it is safe to worm the cat again with whatever they recommend. Be sure to take the packaging from whatever off-the-shelf wormer you used.
No, you/your family are not at risk so long as you practice good hygiene, especially around handling used litter.
Your kitten may be lethargic for a variety of reasons: could be the worms, could be all sorts of other things. Some more serious than others.
Vets are very expensive. Get the kit insured asap. And be prepared to fork out for a hefty bill for this treatment.
As others have said: only get a kitten from a bona fide rescue (e.g. Cats Protection or a local, reputable, shelter) or - if you want a pedigree - from a quality breeder where you see the kits with their mum. Never buy from Gumtree/Facebook etc. It's a hard lesson to learn and I'm sorry someone fleeced you.
Longer term, please only use prescription flea and worm treatment and ensure you use the treatment at the correct intervals. You can get the script from the vet and buy online - it's cheaper. Supermarket/pet shops flea and worm treatment isn't very effective - it's a waste of money in most instances IMO.
I hope your kitten recovers.

kittens often are expensive. I’ve got a litter at home at the minute. Handed into my practice after being dumped, they’re around 7 weeks old now. They’ve been with me since they were a few days old and they’ve cost me £1000 in that time. That’s before I’ve vaccinated or neutered them. Pets cost a huge amount of money to care for correctly.

Taking on kittens can means big vet bills. My cat ended up needing a cardiologist who saw him every year. It was £7000 per day. Times that by 21 and he was an expensive cat. I spent well over £100,000 on him over the years. Get them insured. Best thing I ever did

See if the vet has a pet health plan - ours is a monthly fee of £15.99 which covers flea and worm treatments, their jabs, two health checkups a year, the microchip, and a percentage off spay/neuter. Makes all this stuff way more affordable.
Our kittens arrived with roundworms and one had tapeworm 🤢 the treatment from the vet sorted it all out and now we get monthly treatments included in the health plan which works out well financially. I urge you to look into this before heading for an appointment. Sounds like the kitten needs seeing ASAP poor baby.

It wasn’t good. She had been at a foster home rather than a rehoming centre. The foster mum was devastated and rushed over with panacur for her. We gave her that straight away and she was in the vets two days later for her initial checks anyway. They were happy that panacur would have done the job but it turned out it hadn’t because they were back two weeks later. That time the vet prescribed something stronger and got rid of them.

^This^

I have the plan for my cats. My 7 month old kitten has been seen 7 times now. Once for an initial check up, twice for vaccinations and because she is putting on weight quite slowly 4 times to be weighed. During her weigh-ins she has been given her monthly flee and wormer and had her nails trimmed. So far this has cost me nothing out with the cost of the plan. We’re just waiting for her to reach 2kg so that I can get her spayed and I will get a percentage off that and a free microchip. It’s well worth the money for the peace of mind.

I hope your little kitten does well. She may not have come from a reputable breeder or a good home but you have her now and can, hopefully, give her the very best future.

OK OP, let's be realistic. I have two cats:

Monthly insurance: £45
Monthly Food: £100
Flea and worm drops, Flepreva: £30
Annual vacs and check-up: £15
Cat feeding lady when we are away: £25
Emergency fund for things like dentals: £25

£240pcm for starters. They have the very best because they are loved and we are responsible owners.

They came from a rescue when 7 months old. They were £150 each: spayed, chipped and vaccinated and wormed and de-flead.

Pets are a luxury and need to be budgeted for.

If the kitten is ill, they both need the vet.

Also, I don't think vets take the piss. They are highly professionally qualified and have to fund: premises, suppprt staff, state of the art equipment and indemnity insurance. I love our vet. When our old boy died they sent a beautiful card and a little plant. Rather more than our GP did when my father died.

"All vets take the piss …. Don’t care what anyone else says - I haven’t met a vet that doesn’t think about the money first ..pet after.
I'll never have another pet once my little bundle of joy goes- I was ripped off by all vets …insurance costs … all a joke".

And this is why, after 15 years of being an RVN, I have finally left the profession.
You have obviously never seen vets and nurses in tears in the staff room, crying over our cases, or working until after midnight for zero pay when your shift finished at 6.30pm, or coming in to check on patients on your day off, or trying to do your best for your patients when what you can and cannot do/prescribe/advise is now dictated by your corporate boss after your family run vets sold out to a chain corporate group.

For anyone NOT out just to slam our profession, my advice would be NEVER purchase "pet shop" brand flea/wormers, they are generally ineffective, sometimes dangerous, and cost you more in the long term when you have to ultimately purchase the correct treatment from a vet.

Please consider the life long investment any pet will be. If you have no spare money to pay vet bills and for medications or unexpected costs, you should re-consider getting a pet. If the financial burden is already too much at 10 weeks old, consider that a cat might live for 20 more years of yearly checks, boosters, worm/flea medications, not to mention illness/disease or accidents and monthly insurance premiums.

OP I have no wish to "flame" you but Mumsnet is not the place to be seeking veterinary advice. I hope the kitten is okay and you are seen promptly tomorrow and receive the correct treatment. Please don't try medicating with shop bought treatments for any illness, especially when your pet is so young and possibly immunocompromised.
Good luck.

@HootyMcBooby thank you for this viewpoint.

I love my vet - granted they aren’t great at admin but the provide excellent and compassionate care. I have never felt ripped off - I have used their out of hours service and they didn’t charge extra for having appointments on a Sunday morning!

I am sorry you have left the profession due to people’s attitudes.

In all my years of being a pet owner, I’ve found vets to be far very cautious, even more so with tiny new animals. I never been turned down for an urgent appointment. I find it shocking a vet would be given all the information about the kitten’s health and still think it’s ok to wait.