Elderly Cat…… Vets wanting tests after tests.

[19lottie82]

My indoor cat is 16 in November and seems in great health, still very agile / energetic and has a great appetite.

A year ago, I took her to the vets to have her claws clipped and they noticed that she had some dental issues. They took bloods and found out that she had hyperthyroidism (an over active thyroid), gave her medication, and said she would need tests every 3 months. They then said her liver function was low and did more tests. They couldn’t find out what was causing it so they sent us to a specialised clinic for a scan and bloods, who said there was nothing really wrong with her, she was just old. Her levels were a bit off, but nothing majorly concerning.

last week I took DCat back to the vets for her regular bloods. And they’re telling me once again that her liver function has dropped again. Also they couldn’t get blood from one leg so had to try a second one.

theyre talking about more tests yet again, which DCat really hates. I don’t know if they’re chancing their arm as we are insured (paid £3k in vet bills last year, I have to cover 20% of that as an excess), and I hate seeing DCat stressed; part of me thinks, she’s an old cat, is the stress for her worth it? but on the other hand if I stop the tests and get thyroid medicine, which they won’t provide without regular tests, and she got really ill, I don’t know if I could handle the guilt.

what should I do?!?!

Be very up front with your vet about what your priorities are in looking after your cat. I wish I had been better at this with my elderly cat but got there in the end. It turned out my vet really thought I wanted all the tests done when I would have much preferred a bare minimum for the cat's comfort.

From what you have posted I would summarise it as:

I know my cat is elderly, I want her to have as symptom-free a life as she can but I also want to focus on what gives her quality of life.
She hates visiting the vet, having tests and most of all she hates blood tests.
Is there a compromise where we keep her hypothyroidism under control, make sure her teeth don't hurt, but also don't get carried away searching for problems?

FWIW my hypothyroid cat didn't have blood tests every 3 months once she was settled on tablets and we found it very obvious when she was treated and when she wasn't - however that was a few years ago now and vet practice may have changed.

Tell them to get lost.
last years ours wanted us to do a dental. The quote for which was over £1000
i said I wanted bloods first, which showed mild kidney impairment that they said they wanted to keep an eye on. They wanted a urine sample or more bloods. I have done neither and won’t be engaging further. She’s old and happy. When she’s not happy we will have to get vet involved but otherwise less is more imo

That is the best way. Mine was old and happy until she wasn't. 17 years old and had a long and happy life.

Vets can get a bit carried away with testing. They don’t think about the impact on cats for whom the testing is all quite traumatic.

My vet is in total agreement with me about where to draw the line between tests/actions & where the tests themselves impair quality of life for the cat more than the condition.

Tobias is a young cat, only about 6 years old, who has 2 issues - he has FIV, and lower bowel inflammation. The bowel doesn't seem to trouble him too much except for him having the runs all the time, which he always manages to do in the litter tray & doesn't seem distressed about.

The recommended treatment for the bowel is to go to the specialist hospital for a couple of nights, have tests, and possibly an operation. But with FIV, any operation is contra-indicated except for life saving operations. Tobias is also a cat who needs to be sedated just to catch him for his MoT, and being caught up, taken hours drive away to an unfamiliar place & deserted there by his mum etc etc etc would distress him so very much. Then what could we do practically anyway about his problem? Can't operate, he's a "grazer" as is Girlcat so virtually impossible to feed them separately, nightmare to pill....

So lovely vet Cathy agrees that his quality of life is much better just having the runs than going off having loads of tests etc. Sadly he does of course need his MoT, and may well need bloods ongoing due to the FIV, but otherwise he's a fit, healthy (overweight) mostly happy cat.

Do not feel pressured by them OP. I have two cats who both have terminal conditions unfortunately, and I have made it clear to my vets that I will not approve any further testing or invasive treatment. They are both on daily and monthly medication, and see the vets once a month, and that is as far as I’m willing to go now. Not because of the cost, but because of their quality of life.

One of my cats was so stressed after an investigative procedure in the early days of their diagnosis that it broke my heart. I won’t do that again. Some vets understand better than others that keeping an animal alive for as long as humanly possible is not and should not be the end goal. Keeping an animal in a state of happiness and peace for as long as possible is the objective.

We have long age accepted that if DBoycat ever needs any medical treatment beyond a 2 minute exam he will need to be PTS. The boy is savage. The vet has never even completed a standard health check on him.

He's 8 and even though that isn't an old cat, his life expectancy as a street cat would have been a couple of years. He absolutely lives in the moment, I don't think he will care about having his kidney function monitored or anything like that.