potential foster fail with senior cat - how expensive is vet care for a cat with arthritis and CKD?

[hexevans]

hi everyone!

tl;dr: how much does it cost (in the near long-term) to adopt a senior cat? what is the price of gabapentin? what is the price of other medications that treat chronic kidney disease? how much can i expect to pay for vet care on a monthly or yearly basis?

i'm facing a potential "foster fail" situation and i wanted to check in with the community here and receive some realistic insight on how much vet bills cost for a senior cat.

some context: i am fostering a 16-year-old calico cat for the animal shelter. her name is Callie. she was surrendered there last october. she has pretty bad arthritis, likely as a result of being declawed, front and back. she limps quite severely but still gets around our small home. she takes gabapentin twice a day for pain and anxiety. she is also at stage 2 with chronic kidney disease, so is on a prescription diet. she was returned to the shelter by a previous foster because she kept peeing on their bed. we only had one incident, but allowing her two litter boxes near the bed, plus an accessibility ramp, seems to have resolved the issue for now.

we want to adopt her, but are concerned we won't be able to provide full veterinary care for her. we love her very much, and she's adapted so well to our home. me and my partner are both introverts and artists who spend a lot of time at home, which is great for her, because she doesn't like to be alone. we've modified our home so that she has access to a a selection of litter boxes and sleeping spots close to us. she likes our routine and has connected deeply with us. the shelter is a bit surprised by her good behaviour, because in a clinical setting, she's extremely aggressive and basically screams bloody murder anytime she sees someone! it takes an animal behaviourist to get her into a carrier. i think she has some severe trauma, either from being brutally declawed (her feet are so tiny) and/or abandoned. but with us she's an angel, as long as we respect her needs and boundaries!

so to those who have adopted a senior cat: how much did it cost you? as my summary states above, what can i expect to pay monthly for gabapentin and CKD medication? (the shelter doesn't have her on any CKD medication for now). as i mentioned above, she has quite a limp; how much for x-rays keeping track of her arthritis? how often should vet visits be?

alternatively, has anyone kept a senior cat as a foster cat for the long term with the shelter still providing medical care? i'm a little distrustful of their euthanasia policies and am worried something would happen to her if she became more of a financial burdan to them.

thank you in advance for any wisdom you share! we love her, pretty sure she loves us, and want to make the best choice for her well-being. she's had a tough time and deserve a comfy retirement.

p.s. i'm attaching a pic of her.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi - you might check with your vet regarding costs and you also might check into insurance.

This might help a little although it isn't truly current - there are other costs sources on the internet such as aarp and others;
What is CareCredit? | CareCredit
and there's this;
How Much Does A Vet Visit Cost?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Bless you for considering adopting Callie!!! A lot of what you ask, especially about costs, truly depends on your location and the vet(s) you see. I personally would have reservations about continuing as a foster and relying on the shelter for care of a cat in her condition. You want to be as much in control of the choices made for her care as you can.

My cat (18+yo) has been with me for over 16 years, is front paw declawed, has arthritis and CKD - among some other ailments that could potentially afflict Callie as she ages. Most cats with CKD need at least 2 if not 3 yearly blood tests to check their kidney related levels - and all else regarding their health - so that adjustments can be made to their treatment as needed.

If Callie will eat the renal foods (wet is best) that is great, but if she won't then other measures will be needed to help her body flush out the toxins that accumulate as the result of poorly functioning kidneys. A lot of these cats end up taking phosphorus binders, or other types of meds, to help with clearing their system of the toxins. These are not necessarily costly either for the most part, and many are OTC. Eventually, she will likely need sub-Q fluids as her kidney function continues to diminish and she cannot drink enough water to keep herself hydrated. Over time many CKD cats need an appetite stimulant and anti-nausea meds to help them feel better and continue to eat well, there are many low-cost ones on the market. None of these items, stand alone, are that expensive; the costliest items will be the vet visits and blood work.

Regarding gabapentin - if using the basic med, it isn't expensive either. But, beyond this pain med, you might benefit from a joint support supplement like Cosequin or Dasuquin, both are OTC and not costly either. If you want to go further, I would ask a dedicated vet (vs. shelter vet) about two other prospective treatments - which are not cheap - but seem to be making a significant difference in the lives of cats with arthritis - both are monthly injections. Adequan and Solensia. The former contains a joint support supplement and has been around for a while now. The latter is newer but does not contain a joint support supplement. Both seem to be reaping good results for many cats - including mine - however, the Solensia may not be the best choice for cats in CKD Stage 3 or 4 as the trials did not include cats in those stages. These products are things you can investigate over time while you are giving Callie gabapentin to help her out.

I am not trying whatsoever to discourage you from adopting Callie - I actually encourage it so that she can live the rest of her life with the best loving care possible for a cat with CKD. These cats, just like mine, needs folks who care enough to take the extra steps that are needed to keep them feeling good and functioning as best they can. I would recommend you read up on CKD through this web site - Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat (felinecrf.org). It is comprehensive, and can feel overwhelming when you start out, but it has been a wealth of information to so many, including me, regarding the care of CKD cats.

I hope I have helped more than hurt Callie's chance of being adopted by you - and cared for like all senior kitties so deserve. I can answer questions as you have them and am more than willing to do so!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I had a calico named Callie who also had CKD, but not arthritis. She didn't go to the Vet all that often, typicallly twice a year for bloodwork, but we've been going to the same Vet for 30 years with various pets, so have a great relationship with them and they often just let us communicate by phone if we have a quick question or just need a refill. I read the above link "front to back", so if something came up I would simply call our Vet and ask about it and save myself an office visit . For example, when she started vomiting froth in the mornings, I looked it up and discovered perhaps using Pepcid A/C would help, so called and asked if I should do that rather than take her in.

As to sub-q fluids, those are pretty expensive when done by the Vet, but really inexpensive when done at home. And that link tells you all about places to get supplies, etc. All you need is a prescription for the fluids from your Vet. And for prescriptions, the internet is probably the cheapest, even for the food, although we got our fluids from Walgreens for about $9 for 2 liters. I'm sure they've gone up though. It's been awhile since we lost her.

All in all, I would say the most expensive thing is the bloodwork, which at our Vet runs around $300 a pop for a full workup. We did a full workup once a year, then a smaller one that captured all the kidney values the next time around. Mostly though, we treated the cat, not the numbers.

 

[hexevans]

thank you everyone for your replies! Furballsmom , i will definitely look into insurance. i guess i was dubious because from my understanding insurance doesn't cover issues that were known previously - such as the CKD and arthritis - but i will educate myself and see what's available in canada.

FeebysOwner , i really appreciate the detail you went into in regards to your cat with CKD and arthritis, it gives me a realistic picture of what caring for Callie might look like in the future, and the kind of steps i can take on my own to give her better care. this will be a beneficial resource as i consider my options. i would say it's encouraged me to adopt Callie, especially over a long-term foster situation.

and thanks too to mrsgreenjeens for your experience! i would be comfortable administering sub-q fluids on my own, so it's good to know that's an option to lower the costs.

all the best to you kind souls!

 

[Furballsmom]

Let us know how things go with you

 

[Alldara]

hexevans I'm in Canada as well. Most will not cover pets over 10 years old (I tried to ensure my 15 year old cat). They won't cover pre-existing conditions either.
What you can do, and what I did was take the $50 you'd spend on insurance and put it in to a high interest savings account (credit unions have good ones sometimes. Shopping around is recommended. When I opened mine they said if I put $200 in, they would match it. So I started with $400).

Then, we also have a program called PetCard. It's financing for a vet bill. Petcard - Canada's Veterinary Financing Company

I dont know about CKD specifically, but I spent $300/ 3 months in vet bills for each of my senior cats near the end of life.

 

[hexevans]

hello everyone!

first, thank you A Alldara for letting me know about PetCard! and also the idea about a savings' account, which my partner and i have started.

we ended up adopting callie when the shelter offered us to adopt her for free. when we got her medical report, we were surprised to see she'd been considered for euthanasia twice because of her age, illness and disability making it hard for her to be adopted. so we made the right choice. it's very clear she still wants to enjoy this life, so our goal is to give her most loving and comfortable life possible. we've started saving for at-home euthanasia too because she fears the vet so much and she deserves a peaceful exit.

thank you all again for your realistic and helpful insights. honestly this experience has me wanting to continue adopting senior cats in the future. i wish it were more common for people to adopt older cats, enjoy their wisdom and give them a dignified retirement.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yay . That's such wonderful news!

 

[Alldara]

Oh that makes me so happy that you were able to make it work.