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

When we got our puppy, he was riddled with fleas and worms. I took him straight to the vet when we picked him up because of the horrendous conditions of the place he lived. He was scabby on his neck from itching, it was awful.

They gave me panacur paste or something like that, which I have since found out can be purchased from Pets at Home for £7.50! www.petsathome.com/product/panacur-worming-paste-18-75-percent-for-cats-kittens-dogs-and-puppies-5g/20990P?productId=20990&purchaseType=one-time&size=5g

They also gave me a 3 day course of flea killing tablets which cost £25 and turns out I could have got them from PAH for £15! But I was lucky and didn't have to pay a consultation fee as I took him straight from the house as I was concerned. He had absolutely no checks before we got him so i booked him in for that there and then. We've had him just over 2 weeks now and he's had his vet check, chipped, first set of vaccinations, no more fleas or worms. The vet said he's a healthy happy pup. I'm sure the people we got him from were puppy farmers so as soon as we got home, we reported them to rspca because no animals deserve to live like that. Thankfully all the puppies went quickly so they were all saved but they had 5 other dogs.

Unfortunately these are costs nowadays- after my cat was spayed I asked could they check the stitches. He literally looked for five seconds, gave a pat-€150. Always take to the vet if unsure though. Hope she’s ok

So you didn't get her from anywhere reputable or get insurance in advance of her coming home.

Now she's riddled with worms, weak and lethargic.

You need to take them both to the vet. Today. This is what happens when you don't get animals from reputable sources 😩

Do take her to the vet with her being so little. Pets at Home vets open on Sundays without an emergency vet charge

If you are coming on here to ask random strangers if you should take a pet to the vet, and mention that you might not because of cost, you are in no position to own a pet.

And why a TW in the postbtitle? What is triggering about irresponsible pet ownership?

All kittens and puppies are born with worms {assuming roundworm?} - the person you got her from should have been using a kitten appropriate wormer.

Worms alone oughtn't make a kitten ''drowsy''...I'm not a vet, but that sounds concerning.

Definitely take the kitten in for a check over in case she has something more seriously wrong with her.

@oakleaffy a bad case of worms can definitely make kittens incredibly drowsy - it can even kill them if not treated.

I agree with you.
Pet owning is far from cheap these days, Vet's fees have massively increased in real terms compared to 10 yrs ago.

Vet's fees/insurance has to be factored in to the cost of keeping a pet, including their wormers/external parasite treatments - much better bought via a vet than from a pet shop using the vet's ''Healthy pet club''.

If you can't afford vet's fees, and aren't eligible for free vet treatment {PDSA or similar} then don't get an animal.

Glad your puppy is doing better now. That sounds alot better than what I was imagining for costs though- I was worried it could be costing hundreds of pounds

I just didn't expect someone to sell me a sick kitten, before I have a chance to get insurance

That must be a really severe infestation. Poor kittens.

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

You don't need to wash or bin anything, just take your kittens to the vet for appropriate medical treatment.

@oakleaffy yeah it's pretty nasty! Obviously it's rare in pets as most people treat regularly and the animals see a vet, but it's definitely a thing with ferals or farm kittens.

The worms can cause issues with poo, dehydration and even blockages 😩

A reputable seller will have 4 weeks free insurance in place- as would a reputable rescue.
A woman I know bought a lovely cat {against all advice} from one of the shitty online ad pet sites.

The kitten {a Maine Coon} was clearly unwell.

{Uninsured by the Greeder}

The vet said the kitten had congenital heart problems, and the woman returned the kitten to the greeder - the cat was over £1,000.

It sounds a very bad breeder selling wormy kittens. {as was the Greeder who was breeding cats with heart issues}

Why buy a kitten before you get insurance? You can't buy a car and drive it on same day unless insured, whether you buy from a dodgy dealer or fancy showroom.
You pet could die between getting from the shop/kittenfarm. Again, irresponsible

And why the TW in title? You didn't answer

I would imagine receptionist said take both cats in case kitten passes them onto cat. So you’d have to treat both?
Can you see any worms? Please treat the kitten, poor bugger.

There’s PDSA who will treat for free /reduced costs if you claim any benefits and live in an area they cover, you can check on the PDSA site. RSPCA might help as obviously you’ll be reporting who you bought the kitten from.

Trigger Warning because worms, not everyone wants to read about these things

Yes I can see dead ones in their litter. I honestly would report, but there was only an online ad- he dropped her off to me, and it's been taken down now

OP, I really hope your kitten is ok.

Please do take on board what other posters have said about reputable breeders/rescues/insurance.

I don’t want to kick you when you’re down, you’re clearly worried about the little kitten right now, but you do really need to take responsibility for what is happening.
It is really very easy to get insurance for a pet, you can often fill a form out online and have insurance almost instantly. It’s really important to get animals from reputable breeders (preferably, don’t buy from breeders at all and use rescues instead, but that’s a whole other thread). A reputable breeder will have had insurance in place for your first weeks at home, will have wormed and de-flead etc. Did you ask if the kittens had been wormed? Did you see the mother cat?

A lot of this information is pointless to you now, the most important thing is to get your cats to the vets. But you should acknowledge what I and other posters have said in case you want any more pets in the future.

Take her to the vet for God's sake! You get a pet you pay the price to look after them. If you're not willing to do that then don't get a pet. And if you're complaining about the cost of taking two cats to the vet maybe you should have stuck with one.

Also next time get one from a reputable place! Mine are rescues they came wormed and flea treated. Had all their jabs and had a months free insurance.

You can claim on your pet insurance.

The cat protection provide financial help if your on low income. That's shocking that someone sold you a kitten like that. Get them to the vets and properly seen too.

She doesn't have insurance.

Further to my last post - you should never buy or rehome an animal without seeing their home. Do you think he was happy to deliver her to you from the kindness of his heart or because he didn’t want you to see the environment he’d been keeping her in?

I tried to be diplomatic and sensitive on my last post but honestly it is so frustrating that people obtain animals this way. What made you trust this man was giving you a healthy animal based on his online advert?!