Worried About My 9yr Old Guy

[remmuchan]

Hey everyone,

I want to ask you about something and I am hoping someone can help...
I have been worried about my 9-year-old cat (Bertie) for a little while now. Sometimes I'm told that I'm just over obsessing but there have been some symptoms here and there that all point to pretty bad stuff when I search them online.

The thing is...like many people, I really cannot afford the tests at the vets where I live now. The appointments cost $100 a pop, and just a blood test is $300 which is completely crazy and makes me so angry. According to my searches online, Bertie is apparently going to need like 5 different tests or more. I am at my worst year financially as I am struggling with medical bills, health issues that put me out of work...and a ton of debt. It kills me to not be able to afford the tests.

I first started worrying about him a couple of months ago when his water intake really increased. It was gradual at first but then he suddenly wanted to drink water from the tap like 3 times a day and from his bowl twice. People kept telling me it's just because he eats a lot of dry food/the air was really dry because of air conditioning.

There were no other symptoms aside from this until a month ago when I noticed his voice started sounding hoarse. I thought maybe it's the cold tap water so I made it room temperature. His voice went back to normal for a little while but then it happened again and now it's always hoarse like he's really thirsty. When you look this up online, everything that comes up is super extreme and scary and I find myself crying daily over this. Later on in August...my heart dropped when I noticed that his breathing started sounding really congested.

Now, he has actually sounded a tiny bit congested for 9 years now and vets have ALWAYS said it's normal. But now it's like this gurgling sound when he purrs...He is eating and playing like normal...but I know cats can hide things well.

Last week a new symptom started...he began licking his lips quite a lot. Every day. No throwing up, and he's eating quite well. His teeth & gums seem perfectly fine. Water intake has been a lot better too...I give him a good balance of dry and wet food. He doesn't eat the wet food, he just loves the gravy. He has been sleeping more but I feel that started happening when I started spending a lot of time in bed too for health issues. He did lose a TINY bit of weight but it stopped there, he's at the same weight now. It maybe should be noted that he uses the litter box to urinate and defecates on the floor next to it..but he's been doing this for years. I used to think it was a medical issue but I am pretty sure it's just learned behavior.

I am sorry about this long post. If you made it this far, thank you very much for reading. I am so deeply worried about him & I have called and pleaded with so many vets to offer some kind of help in any way without charging an insane amount. No one is willing to help. I have tried explaining the symptoms to them and asking how tests can be done in an affordable way and they said it's just not possible because he would need a lot of tests.

I cannot for the life of me understand why they make it so hard. Any kind of advice or help or suggestion on what the best tests can be...please. I am desperate for some help. Thank you for listening,

 

[Megsnan]

My kitten has the same exact symptoms as yours minus the litter box issue. And they’re different ages. If it makes you feel any better, I paid for all the tests and got nowhere. I can tell he doesn’t feel good and there’s nothing more that I can do for him. I hope your kitty starts feeling better soon. Just make sure he keeps eating. That’s most important. Sorry I don’t have any advice. If anything changes with my kitten, then I’ll let ya know.

 

[remmuchan]

My kitten has the same exact symptoms as yours minus the litter box issue. And they’re different ages. If it makes you feel any better, I paid for all the tests and got nowhere. I can tell he doesn’t feel good and there’s nothing more that I can do for him. I hope your kitty starts feeling better soon. Just make sure he keeps eating. That’s most important. Sorry I don’t have any advice. If anything changes with my kitten, then I’ll let ya know.

Thank you so much for your response, Megsnan. I am really sorry to hear your kitten is having the same issues. I truly hope that he gets better asap. It truly drives me crazy how many times I have heard that tests got nowhere. Even more reason why they shouldn't be so insanely expensive & also...it shouldn't be that hard. Hugs to you and your kitty, wishing he feels better very soon. Thanks again for your response & kind words.

 

[jen]

Firstly, I would consider the tests not finding anything a GOOD thing, if my cat is acting weird and I pay for bloodwork and it is normal then thank goodness! That is a relief.

Anywhooo, to the OP, I would think a senior blood panel would be the first step. So start there. You don't have to do "all the tests" at once. That will give you a baseline of organ function. I worry with all the dry food he eats could lead to kidney disease. Add water to his gravy so he licks up even more of it. Hell even add it to his dry food if he will eat that.

Bottom line your cat needs to see a vet. Have you heard of carecredit.com? See if you qualify. It is a credit card for pet (and I think people too) healthcare.

 

[Megsnan]

How is that a relief to hit a roadblock? Still have a sick kitten on my hands with no way to treat him since nothing significant was found.

 

[jen]

Would you rather his organs be failing or he be diabetic or have cancer? This is what bloodwork might show. That means many years of expensive medication, treatment, chemo, etc depending.

You rule things out. Start out small and rule things out. Great bloodwork means nothing TOO serious is wrong. Maybe his problems are behavioral.

This all being said. With a raspy voice I would start with an X-ray of his throat and lungs. Searching for something stuck/growing in this throat or early asthma.

 

[Megsnan]

His organs are failing, his heart at least. It cost ~$6000 to eventually find out he has DCM and there’s little they can do for it. They prescribe meds but his condition will never get better. They don’t even know if the meds help any. So yes I would have preferred diabetes over cardiac cachexia which is what they diagnosed after seeing the results of his great blood work. The OP said they didn’t have the money for the senior screen test so how are they going to afford X-rays? Maybe they can take out a second mortgage but they already feel bad about not being able to take kitty in and the internet has them fearing the worst. My point was to try and ease their mind and to not be too hard on themself. After all the kitty is eating and playing normally. Those are good signs!

 

[jen]

Good points. Every clinic I have ever worked at a full senior blood panel is more expensive then 1 single xray but it is different in other places I am sure. The OP seemed overwhelmed with all these different test the vet wants to do at once and my point was to not do it all at once (I couldn't afford that either) and start with most important and do it in steps.

 

[Pook]

As I'm not a vet, I am praying.

Purrs
Pook