- Joined
- May 16, 2023
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hello all,
today i took my cat kiki in to get seen for an uptick in vomiting over the last couple weeks. vet did basic bloodwork and an ultrasound, and sent out blood for another test that i forget the name of at this moment. she said it would help see if kiki is not able to absorb any vitamins, or something like that. i can send what its called in a little bit.
overall, given her clinical signs (vomit, slowly decreasing appetite, slowly losing weight), and based on the results of the ultrasound (thickened intestines?), the vet said the most likely culprits are either IBD or lymphoma, her guess is low-grade.
she told me i should consider a biopsy, which would be able to say if its lymphoma or not. there are some things i am considering about this, and i will of course discuss this with her next week, but i just need somewhere to bounce ideas off or at least just get my head on straight.
first, she did say that lymphoma is not curable, and with chemo treatment kiki could get 1-3 more good years before the cancer ultimately wins. the thing here is that the biopsy alone costs around 3500 (i asked for a ballpark), and while i didn't think in the moment to ask how much chemo costs, google ranges from 3000-5000, with a 50-70% remission rate (meaning she gets those 1-3 more years). thats just not feasible for me. thats at LEAST 6500 dollars all at once. i know it is wrong to get a cat without being able to pay vet bills but my god, i wouldnt even be able to pay that much for myself.
due to this experience, i am immediately getting my younger, healthy cat on pet insurance, but that doesn't help kiki. i'm just not sure i can even justify a biopsy if i don't see how id be able to pay for treatment, especially considering it only gives her a limited amount of time. if this was a situation where it would cure her and not be likely to return, it would be different.
is it wrong for me to not do the biopsy and pray that it is "just" ibd? the vet gave me steroids and told me i have to give that to her long term either way. this is manageable. this is easy. i can do that for years, as long as she has left. i just feel sad at the idea that there might be cancer inside of her slowly taking over.
the vet also strongly recommended a novel protein, limited ingredient diet. she gave me a prescription for rayne prescription food, which is very expensive but still manageable. it's not that i can't pay for medical care, it's just that cancer care is so ****ing expensive for such a bad prognosis. she also suggested stella and chewy rabbit raw food or instinct rabbit if the prescription is unfeasible.
the horrible thing about this is that kiki is the worst picky eater ive ever encountered in my life. i showed her the sample bag of rayne today and she acted like it didnt even register as food to her. i really want her on a good diet for her condition but i dont know how i can convince her to eat something she has already decided is bad. i also had been giving her liquid treats like churu and delectables to help her water intake, as she straight up doesn't drink water, so i guess i can't do that anymore. this whole situation is so stressful and i am just sad that i might lose my cat soon. any experiences or advice help.
today i took my cat kiki in to get seen for an uptick in vomiting over the last couple weeks. vet did basic bloodwork and an ultrasound, and sent out blood for another test that i forget the name of at this moment. she said it would help see if kiki is not able to absorb any vitamins, or something like that. i can send what its called in a little bit.
overall, given her clinical signs (vomit, slowly decreasing appetite, slowly losing weight), and based on the results of the ultrasound (thickened intestines?), the vet said the most likely culprits are either IBD or lymphoma, her guess is low-grade.
she told me i should consider a biopsy, which would be able to say if its lymphoma or not. there are some things i am considering about this, and i will of course discuss this with her next week, but i just need somewhere to bounce ideas off or at least just get my head on straight.
first, she did say that lymphoma is not curable, and with chemo treatment kiki could get 1-3 more good years before the cancer ultimately wins. the thing here is that the biopsy alone costs around 3500 (i asked for a ballpark), and while i didn't think in the moment to ask how much chemo costs, google ranges from 3000-5000, with a 50-70% remission rate (meaning she gets those 1-3 more years). thats just not feasible for me. thats at LEAST 6500 dollars all at once. i know it is wrong to get a cat without being able to pay vet bills but my god, i wouldnt even be able to pay that much for myself.
due to this experience, i am immediately getting my younger, healthy cat on pet insurance, but that doesn't help kiki. i'm just not sure i can even justify a biopsy if i don't see how id be able to pay for treatment, especially considering it only gives her a limited amount of time. if this was a situation where it would cure her and not be likely to return, it would be different.
is it wrong for me to not do the biopsy and pray that it is "just" ibd? the vet gave me steroids and told me i have to give that to her long term either way. this is manageable. this is easy. i can do that for years, as long as she has left. i just feel sad at the idea that there might be cancer inside of her slowly taking over.
the vet also strongly recommended a novel protein, limited ingredient diet. she gave me a prescription for rayne prescription food, which is very expensive but still manageable. it's not that i can't pay for medical care, it's just that cancer care is so ****ing expensive for such a bad prognosis. she also suggested stella and chewy rabbit raw food or instinct rabbit if the prescription is unfeasible.
the horrible thing about this is that kiki is the worst picky eater ive ever encountered in my life. i showed her the sample bag of rayne today and she acted like it didnt even register as food to her. i really want her on a good diet for her condition but i dont know how i can convince her to eat something she has already decided is bad. i also had been giving her liquid treats like churu and delectables to help her water intake, as she straight up doesn't drink water, so i guess i can't do that anymore. this whole situation is so stressful and i am just sad that i might lose my cat soon. any experiences or advice help.