I've grown very wary of drs cause of personal experience, and now vets.
After researching I've learned that my story is the same as everyone's and the fate may be the same but I'm in denial.
I had been away for a while and left my cat with a family member and came back to see that my cat has been having nasal discharge and at first the trusted vet we've been going to thought it was URI. Which i understood. Everytime he gave her a steroid shot she seemed fine. But the problem wouldn't go away and he kept saying this is weird. When we x-rayed, we misdiagnosed her with FIP but now that I think about it, I think that was mucus she'd ingested over a few months.
The FIP tests came back negative but we just continued to give her shots whenever there seemed to be a flare up but her breathing always sounded a bit weird. Keep in mind throughout all this, my cat had NEVER lost her appetite. EVER.
Well, the 'snoring' sound began and i always took her and the shot along with the clavamox antibiotic she got always helped her. This time it didn't last long and when they x-rayed her face there seemed to be some kind of mass next to her eye. He said there wasn't anything we could do. I was devastated and refused to believe it because the steroid always seemed to work.
I went to another vet. I felt safe in the place and everyone was nice, and seemed to really want to figure out what was wrong. They took their own x-ray and just saw 'mucus' and 'no mass' and radiology report stated no cancer but not to rule it out. I thought the new medication she was prescribed would help. It turned out to be Piroxicam which I've come to hate so much.
We also started nebulizing her with sterile water and two other agents I can't think of the name now. One is to break up mucus the other was an antibiotic.
They said it 'might be allergic rhinitis' and was told to keep her on Piroxicam. Lo and behold for the first time ever she lost her appetite. She stayed in bed all day. I kept calling them telling them her snoring is driving me crazy and she is also very uncomfortable and can't put her head down when she sleeps. I decided to keep monitoring and that maybe she'd eventually start eating. They just kept saying the medicine takes a couple of weeks, but I'm thinking why wait a couple of weeks when she's obviously uncomfortable now. She no longer has the will to eat. I called nearly everyday and by the weekend I said no I can't keep giving this piroxicam it's killing her. When monday came and i told them she has stopped eating and drinking water they said ok bring her in. I also noticed on Sunday when i stopped the piroxicam, discharge began in her OTHER nostril which has NEVER happened before and the crazy thing is the mucus is drying up and i'm having to keep wiping because without that nostril, her breathing is limited. the other nostril is basically defunct where the 'mass' or whatever was 'not' found.
I had also asked to speak with the vet but they always sent the receptionists. I know she is busy and all but maybe if i talked to her one on one it would be fine. So the morning I take her to be checked cause she's not eating, she basically defecated on herself, which she has NEVER done. This is a cat of mine who has always prided herself in being clean.
I finally had a sit down with the vet and i said can we just give her something else because i don't think this piroxicam is working. can't we just go back to a steroid because that gives her immediate comfort and she's clearly uncomfortable. they said again it takes time for the piroxicam to work, just to keep using the nebulizer. they took her blood and EVERYTHING came out fine except for glucose levels but we assumed it's stress. she told me to kick up nebulizer to three times a day. i remember asking her since the discharge is coming out from the other nostril which has never happened doesn't that mean it's getting worse? she says it could mean it's finally draining.
i did the nebulizer 3 times a day, i took her back to get fed since she stil wasn't eating, she tells me she's sounding worse and they need to flush out some mucus! I was a bit irritated because that's what i said the other day! when i went to pick her up I felt like i was being scolded and told "make sure you're following the rules religiously with the nebulizer and everything the vet has told you to do" i got so frustrated because i'm thinking, if i'm this concerned about my cat calling you almost everyday i realize something isn't right, don't you think i'm doing everything i've been asked?!
i also asked when she was getting the mucus flushed, can we PLEASE put her on something else other than Piroxicam because I don't see what's going on. And when I picked her up they said something is blocking the bridge of the nose...which was not there when I first brought them...which means the Piroxicam isn't working...and they say well like we said it will take a couple of weeks.
the cat is finally getting around and almost acting like her old self. but she doesn't sound like her old self and will only eat chicken sometimes if i feed her. i've started feeding her via syringe so that she can take the piroxicam...then last night i was devastated to find that the mucus had blood in it...but then she also seems to be slowly acting like herself. and today morning she finally drank water on her own for the first time since last week. she has the will to eat and will get excited if i open a can but as soon as i set it in front of her she loses interest. whenever i sit down to eat she comes to sit in front of me...which she NEVER used to do. and i'll try feed her chicken which she will only eat if i feed her.
I feel like carrying on with the Piroxicam was a mistake and has changed her forever. She was also on antibiotics but the vet said maybe we should stop that because of her apetite and i explicitly said i have been giving her clavamox and she has not had problems since Piroxicam but i read maybe those are the side effects.
Anyway I called them to say there is blood in her mucus but she seems to be in better spirits. their response? well if there is blood it might be a tumor and there's nothing we can do but continue with the meds she's been taking.
i understand vets can be stressed out when you have desperate customers like me. but i'm a paying customer and the fact that you wont and have refused to consider other options is baffling to me. i know long term steroid use isn't good but why not for short term? i know piroxicam and steroids can't be used at the same time but why not give the steroid for short term then as it weans off start the piroxicam? why does it have to be piroxicam? i feel now the swelling in her nose has grown to the point where even a steroid wont fix it. i feel like i've ruined my cat. i don't want to let her go.
i'm not really expecting anyone to respond with suggestions. i just need to vent because i'm so tired and disappointed. i even felt that the staff sometimes got annoyed with me, maybe it's all in my head. i guess they are also stressed. i wish i could afford a private vet to just really focus on getting my cat better and actually listen to me. i don't know. now looking for a new vet is stressing me out. i feel i wont be listened to. i know the vet is the professional but why can't i have a say? i'm so tired and it's hurting me to see my precious baby suffer like this for something i feel can be dealt with a bit differently.
After researching I've learned that my story is the same as everyone's and the fate may be the same but I'm in denial.
I had been away for a while and left my cat with a family member and came back to see that my cat has been having nasal discharge and at first the trusted vet we've been going to thought it was URI. Which i understood. Everytime he gave her a steroid shot she seemed fine. But the problem wouldn't go away and he kept saying this is weird. When we x-rayed, we misdiagnosed her with FIP but now that I think about it, I think that was mucus she'd ingested over a few months.
The FIP tests came back negative but we just continued to give her shots whenever there seemed to be a flare up but her breathing always sounded a bit weird. Keep in mind throughout all this, my cat had NEVER lost her appetite. EVER.
Well, the 'snoring' sound began and i always took her and the shot along with the clavamox antibiotic she got always helped her. This time it didn't last long and when they x-rayed her face there seemed to be some kind of mass next to her eye. He said there wasn't anything we could do. I was devastated and refused to believe it because the steroid always seemed to work.
I went to another vet. I felt safe in the place and everyone was nice, and seemed to really want to figure out what was wrong. They took their own x-ray and just saw 'mucus' and 'no mass' and radiology report stated no cancer but not to rule it out. I thought the new medication she was prescribed would help. It turned out to be Piroxicam which I've come to hate so much.
We also started nebulizing her with sterile water and two other agents I can't think of the name now. One is to break up mucus the other was an antibiotic.
They said it 'might be allergic rhinitis' and was told to keep her on Piroxicam. Lo and behold for the first time ever she lost her appetite. She stayed in bed all day. I kept calling them telling them her snoring is driving me crazy and she is also very uncomfortable and can't put her head down when she sleeps. I decided to keep monitoring and that maybe she'd eventually start eating. They just kept saying the medicine takes a couple of weeks, but I'm thinking why wait a couple of weeks when she's obviously uncomfortable now. She no longer has the will to eat. I called nearly everyday and by the weekend I said no I can't keep giving this piroxicam it's killing her. When monday came and i told them she has stopped eating and drinking water they said ok bring her in. I also noticed on Sunday when i stopped the piroxicam, discharge began in her OTHER nostril which has NEVER happened before and the crazy thing is the mucus is drying up and i'm having to keep wiping because without that nostril, her breathing is limited. the other nostril is basically defunct where the 'mass' or whatever was 'not' found.
I had also asked to speak with the vet but they always sent the receptionists. I know she is busy and all but maybe if i talked to her one on one it would be fine. So the morning I take her to be checked cause she's not eating, she basically defecated on herself, which she has NEVER done. This is a cat of mine who has always prided herself in being clean.
I finally had a sit down with the vet and i said can we just give her something else because i don't think this piroxicam is working. can't we just go back to a steroid because that gives her immediate comfort and she's clearly uncomfortable. they said again it takes time for the piroxicam to work, just to keep using the nebulizer. they took her blood and EVERYTHING came out fine except for glucose levels but we assumed it's stress. she told me to kick up nebulizer to three times a day. i remember asking her since the discharge is coming out from the other nostril which has never happened doesn't that mean it's getting worse? she says it could mean it's finally draining.
i did the nebulizer 3 times a day, i took her back to get fed since she stil wasn't eating, she tells me she's sounding worse and they need to flush out some mucus! I was a bit irritated because that's what i said the other day! when i went to pick her up I felt like i was being scolded and told "make sure you're following the rules religiously with the nebulizer and everything the vet has told you to do" i got so frustrated because i'm thinking, if i'm this concerned about my cat calling you almost everyday i realize something isn't right, don't you think i'm doing everything i've been asked?!
i also asked when she was getting the mucus flushed, can we PLEASE put her on something else other than Piroxicam because I don't see what's going on. And when I picked her up they said something is blocking the bridge of the nose...which was not there when I first brought them...which means the Piroxicam isn't working...and they say well like we said it will take a couple of weeks.
the cat is finally getting around and almost acting like her old self. but she doesn't sound like her old self and will only eat chicken sometimes if i feed her. i've started feeding her via syringe so that she can take the piroxicam...then last night i was devastated to find that the mucus had blood in it...but then she also seems to be slowly acting like herself. and today morning she finally drank water on her own for the first time since last week. she has the will to eat and will get excited if i open a can but as soon as i set it in front of her she loses interest. whenever i sit down to eat she comes to sit in front of me...which she NEVER used to do. and i'll try feed her chicken which she will only eat if i feed her.
I feel like carrying on with the Piroxicam was a mistake and has changed her forever. She was also on antibiotics but the vet said maybe we should stop that because of her apetite and i explicitly said i have been giving her clavamox and she has not had problems since Piroxicam but i read maybe those are the side effects.
Anyway I called them to say there is blood in her mucus but she seems to be in better spirits. their response? well if there is blood it might be a tumor and there's nothing we can do but continue with the meds she's been taking.
i understand vets can be stressed out when you have desperate customers like me. but i'm a paying customer and the fact that you wont and have refused to consider other options is baffling to me. i know long term steroid use isn't good but why not for short term? i know piroxicam and steroids can't be used at the same time but why not give the steroid for short term then as it weans off start the piroxicam? why does it have to be piroxicam? i feel now the swelling in her nose has grown to the point where even a steroid wont fix it. i feel like i've ruined my cat. i don't want to let her go.
i'm not really expecting anyone to respond with suggestions. i just need to vent because i'm so tired and disappointed. i even felt that the staff sometimes got annoyed with me, maybe it's all in my head. i guess they are also stressed. i wish i could afford a private vet to just really focus on getting my cat better and actually listen to me. i don't know. now looking for a new vet is stressing me out. i feel i wont be listened to. i know the vet is the professional but why can't i have a say? i'm so tired and it's hurting me to see my precious baby suffer like this for something i feel can be dealt with a bit differently.