Am I Being Crazy?

I definitely couldn't afford something insanely expensive - like when they told me Daniel had a lens luxation and that it would be $3000-$3500 for the surgery, plus $300 to actually get to the vet because it was 6 hrs away, plus the cost of the initial exam, plus taxes. All insanely prohibitive to my current finances. If Daniel didn't have cancer, and that cost wasn't prohibitive to my finances, I would have had the surgery done to save his eyesight though. As you said, as long you aren't basically putting yourself in huge financial burden, if you are willing to spend the money on your pets, there's nothing wrong with that.

I would happily spend hundreds to have Jack checked and helped if that's what needs be, and if he's fine, the hundreds are still worth it for my own peace of mind.

Still waiting on the call though. It's 4pm now. Am hoping that it's just a matter of her trying to call and someone having been on the phone.

Well, Jack is home now. The vet did several x-rays and checked him all over. He has a heart murmur. The vet put him on Fortekor - 5mg a day. He needs to go back again to get checked, to see how he is doing on the medication and to check the murmur again. I'm thankful I went with my gut and had him seen. Obviously, worried about the murmur, and need to find the right wet food to try and get him eating so there's that, but feel better that I know what is wrong.

I am glad you took him. Sometimes we have panicy feelings for a good reason. Always trust your gut. And now you can start to heal.

Bitter sweet news really. Not good that they found a murmur but good that you persisted with your insistence to have Jack thoroughly checked. Well done. The murmur can be managed with medication and you now can relax and look after Jack. Try not to worry so much now and enjoy pampering Jack. Im sure he will love that. Let us know how he is doing.

It is bitter sweet. I was hoping that I was just being paranoid. So I'm now relieved he doesn't have cancer, but worried about the murmur. He is on medication for it. Though, the more I read about it, the more worried I get. The vet tech next door wasn't sure of the grade of murmur as the vet didn't tell her, so I am not sure how serious it is. Apparently serious enough to put him on 5mg of Fortekor a day. She said his kidney levels (BUN I think?) were at 11 so the very first step toward having kidney issues - she said these go hand and hand, the heart and kidney issues but since it was 11 it wasn't like he had renal failure or anything - she said they had cats come in with levels in the hundreds. I am hoping the medication is more about limiting future damage than that it's a really bad murmur. -fingers crossed-

Give the vet a ring and ask what level the murmur is, it should be on his record. It could be a low number but for your sake as a worrier ( and I'm another ) it is good to know

Apparently it's a grade 2 - which is low grade, so not as bad as I feared. Though from what I read, the grade is more about how loud the murmur is than why the murmur is there. The medication is definitely preventative to stop things getting worse, which is good. I'm not sure if he'll have to be on the pills forever, or if the murmur will resolve with the help of the medication but will find out more. I'm hoping that the next visit I'll be able to take him myself and be there to ask more questions.

I just looked up grade 2 murmur and it said grade 1and 2 are called innocent murmurs that have no impact on a cats health. Can be caused by stress. This could be a result of Jack loosing his brother.

That could be why he only gave me enough meds for a week and wants to recheck him after that - am waiting to hear back about the check-up appointment now. If it can be caused by stress, it could also be because he was in the clinic the whole day, with all the other animals that are in and out and it was a really busy day yesterday with multiple surgeries. It definitely makes me want to be the one that takes him the next time.

Good idea that you take him in next time. Between now and then make a list of all the questions you have and ask on the visit. This is something I do as on the day my mind usually goes blank and I forget what I was going to ask.

That's a good idea - my mind usually goes blank too and I remember half way home something I had wanted to ask.