Orpheus Watch

Our cat Orpheus has been sick the last 4-5 days. We had assumed it was his food (we were feeding him Whiskas, and that isn’t very healthy for a cat). He started with hairballs and continued puking once or twice a day. After a day or two he started having diarhea, so we got him new food (Wellness and some high end dry food) and he was still sick through the weekend. Fast forward to Saturday and we were sure we would need to take him to a vet on Monday. That is until he started passing blood (and a lot of it). So last night we took him to the emergency vet.

The vet techs were pretty cool. They knew he has a history of trying to kill vets and vet techs ever since that bad vet visit last year. We had dosed him up on a sedative (thanks ashcake for showing us how to pill a cat). So they at least were able to handle with him. We then talked with the vet and explained what had happened and that we needed to limit what we could do financially (plus the fact it is a 16 year old kitty, don’t want to do anything to prolong him that would decline his lifestyle.

The vet came back with a $600+ estimate to do all the testing. First, we don’t have that kind of cash, there is no way at this point I can do that. Especially since my chase card just went up to 30% (for nothing we did) I cannot afford it. We explained that to the vet and asked if there was something less invasive. The second reason we declined (and I would have done so even if I had the cash) is the extensiveness of the test. Orpheus is 16, going on 17 years old. True, he could live a few more years, but there is a limit of resources I am willing to spend (god this makes me sound like a cold mutha-f**ker). I love the little guy, but $600 to just test him, let alone treat him (which we wouldn’t find out to the next day) was beyond my ability. 

The vet did say she didn’t think it was hyperthyrodism, nor did she think it was diabetes due to the rest of his health factors. She did bring up CRF (chronic renal failure), which is terminal but not necessarily immediately. That was the same thing  hubby and I had thought. We were braced to having to have him euthanized, when she said the other option was to give him fluids, antibiotics and see how he does. I am willing to spend the $200 for that. I don’t want to dismiss him, I would like to keep him with us if he can, so I said yes. Of course this takes the utility money we were saving up (the extra money this month, because we know next month the bill will be higher than normal), but we will make due. On a side note, this is of course the same week we incurred our FIOS bill (not much more than cable/internet and a lot better, but this month we get double billed as we pay the last of our bills from cable/internet and start fios) and I just got the bill for my ankle surgery. Although to be fair, $130 for a $10,000 surgery is worth it, and I am not complaining at the amount, the timing sucked, but not the amount.

They gave him fluids/antibiotics, gave us a script of antibiotics to get him, and yes I paid $28 more for probiotics to help with his diarrhea, even though I am skeptical of those. We brought him home drugged out of his mind. He laid on my chest most of the night, and when I wanted to eat he laid on hubby the rest of the time. Eventually we crawled in bed and he laid with us for awhile, then started his in and out process. This means for a few hours he would druggedly crawl out of bed, then back into bed. Eventually he laid up with me and went to sleep (but if I turned away to get more comfortable he would whine at me until I wrapped him up in my arms again). This was how my 5.5 hours of sleep went last night.

I woke up this morning and found that he seems pretty much normal, he was a little piggy and ate some wet food. He then came out and laid on me a little more. His eyes are pretty much normal (all night his third eyelids were halfway up his eyeballs, it was a little creepy). He has now wandered off to somewhere else in the house. I am hoping that his perking up is not temporary, but we will see.