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Old August 31st, 2010, 11:48 AM
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rjesak rjesak is offline
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I think Oscar's ok now so I'm not sure if I should go ahead with expensive diagnostic

In July, I took Oscar to the vet because he was throwing up nothing and his weight had dropped. By "throwing up nothing", I mean he would hack and heave like he had a hairball but then he would puke up a bit of foam (a very little bit of foam). The vet put him on Cisapride to coat his stomach so that whatever might be blocking him would move through.

Well, it sort of helped. As long as I used the medication every six or seven hours, he was ok. If I missed a dose, he threw up more nothing.

I was still concerned because this had gone on for a couple of weeks, so I took him back. The vet agreed that we needed to do a more thorough check so she ran some blood tests and found that his liver values were high (his eosiniphils were too but they always are) so she thought he might have a liver infections. She added an antibiotic and a milk thistle based liver supplement. He seemed to be doing much, much better for quite a while.

Then last week, he didn't eat for a day and a half and he threw up twice (mucous this time and a good bit of it). I took him back into the vet.

His blood values were normal this time although he had a bit of a fever (his weight was stable). She recommended I keep him on the Cisapride and get an ultrasound of his abdomen and belly which I agreed to. The ultrasound is scheduled for Tuesday (a week from today).

Now, of course, he seems perfectly fine. The only time he's thrown up recently was about ten minutes after I caught him eating some roses that had been delivered and what he threw up was distinctly plant-like.

I spend whatever I need to spend on my cats but I don't really have $600 off-hand right now. Do I go forward now that he seems fine? I think I'll feel more comfortable about Oscar and less comfortable financially which is probably a fair trade...

Any thoughts or suggestions?
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Old September 2nd, 2010, 04:30 AM
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growler~GateKeeper growler~GateKeeper is offline
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Personally I'd go ahead with the ultrasound

An abdominal ultrasound will not only check the liver but all other organs in the abdomen, so you can have a clear picture if the liver has problems or if there is another issue. See if you can get them to take a quick peek at his heart at the same time, some will do it automatically with an abdominal check, this will give you another normal reference point & rule out anything there too.

I know they are expensive but well worth it for the diagnostic value, pretty cool to see if you are allowed to sit in on the procedure too. Ability to ask questions & get instant feedback while they are checking is great for peace of mind.

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Old September 2nd, 2010, 06:05 AM
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quincymycat quincymycat is offline
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I've never heard of cissipride being used to coat the stomach...it is a motility drug used to assist the bowel to move along its contents, but if it was working, it wouldn't be the first drug to be used in an alternative manner.
I agree I would get the ultrasound. The peace of mind you will have after having a thorough check is priceless IMO.
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Old September 2nd, 2010, 09:49 AM
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Can you work out some sort of payment plan with your vet? That way you can go on with the Ultrasound (which is a good idea, since you'd know for sure everything is okay) and you aren't totally hurting for cash.
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Old September 2nd, 2010, 02:03 PM
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quincymycat quincymycat is offline
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rjesak....I think asking for a payment plan with your vet is a great idea. Having 5 kitties myself, I have a pretty reasonable and understanding vet who is always willing to make consessions to the total invoice because she understands that when you care for that many "kids" to provide all the care that sometimes becomes necessary can be expensive when a big procedure is necessary or more than one becomes ill at the same time.
I hope you have a vet that also feels that good care over rides the total profit. If she has the equipment to do the ultasound herself at her clinic, this should easier for her to accomodate, however, if she has to send you somewhere else for the procedure, there could be a conflict.
Good luck....let us know how Oscar is doing.
I also know that cisspride is pretty costly as well....one of my guys takes 10mg twice a day and I really feel the cost outlay!
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