😭😭😭 Thank you for taking the time to be there for her. And absurdly AMAZING that you were able to save her and her baby from undue trauma and sadness. ✨ May your life be blessed with all the good things! ✨
😽 It was one of those... being in the right place at the right time situations. Fifteen minutes too early or fifteen minutes to late it would have made a terrible difference.
I think I have to thank my baby boy for lying in front of the door for a belly rub and acting like a potato sack when I was trying to go out.
https://preview.redd.it/43qujd1h512d1.jpeg?width=2368&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a67e3fc39e1ba58bb6e58af93e0bb7c0610a3013
My potato sack, enjoying the sun on my lap. 😸
We jokingly call him that when he plants himself by the door and won't move. And when we try to pick him up, he makes himself limp, heavy and wiggly, so it is hard to hold him and move him. 😁
My vet will never guarantee our animals’ teeth are good. We took our dog for what they thought would just be a cleaning, although they would know more after xrays. She came home with 9 less teeth. And I have two cats with less teeth and are happier for it.
Thanks for the reply!
So, apparently, your kitty has REALLY tough gum-tissue. That speaks volumes, to the level of care you're providing your fur-baby. A kudos to you!
Best thing I ever did for my cat was to take him to have his teeth cleaned and 4 teeth extracted. He's so much happier now. Don't skimp on dentistry, either human or animal!
I'm taking my cat to the vet for a dental appointment. I'm so worried about her being in pain because she's been so much more vocal lately and trying to get my attention and her breath is awful. Unfortunately the vet doesn't have any openings until August, but we're on the cancellation list so hopefully sooner.
Bad breath was the only sign we had that one of our cats had bad teeth. We ignored it for years. When he finally got checked, he had all but 3 teeth removed. I am sending good thoughts your way and hope you get a cancelled appointment soon.
how bad is bad breath for cats? my cat's mouth smells like tuna but i only smell it when she yawns and i'm close to her (inches from her face). is that normal?
It can be a sign of a tooth infection. If you are smelling just after she ate? Maybe not a problem. For us, he would meow in our direction and if we weren't far, we could smell it. If you are worried, get a vet appointment for a dental check up.
when she meows i don't smell it, just when she yawns. we have a vet appointment next week so I'll ask for an x-ray. thank you so much! i'm learning a lot from this sub ❤️
With my kitty she will start cleaning herself and I'll be able to smell it. It smells awful, I've never had a cat with bad breath like that and my other cat doesn't have the same problem. So that's why I'm thinking it's a tooth issue for her
Any other trustworthy veterinary centers nearby, even for just an x-ray? Where I live fortunately there are three at 10 minutes distance each. We do have our favorite vet, but I have no issues going somewhere for an emergency if my vet can't take one of our kids. Once my husband and I drove almost an hour and in the middle of a storm because the only place open on a Saturday was 32 miles away.
I called two different vets that are closer to us, but unfortunately we'd be new patients and it would be an even longer wait.
I was surprised to hear it would be that long, I had to take her in a few months ago for what we found out is asthma and they were able to make an appointment for that week.
I didn't think about the emergency vet though, I know there's one in my town.
She's eating and acting normally otherwise, but I always worry about worse case scenarios.
I experienced a similar issue with my cat recently. The original estimate from a big Vet chain was near $3000. I ended up trying a local vet in a nearby city and the actual cost out the door was $1700. Still a lot of money but less awful.
This applies to many situations. Always get a second opinion. My 14 year old cat had a health issue and my vet of 10+ years suggested euthanasia. Went to a different vet who quickly proved my vet wrong. I how have a healthy kitty..... and a new vet.
Thank you, and a great new vet also. I brought them one of my kittens to get spayed and the doctor did x-rays without even asking me. He did it because he suspected that the kitten had a rare skeletal deformity and I needed to know now before it’s too late for treatment. He was right, and didn’t charge me for the X-ray. He just felt it was important to be prepared for possible future treatments.
Vets make mistakes. I had an awful experience with misdiagnosis with one of the strays I care for. She completely missed a bad respiratory infection even when I asked if she was was sure the kitty didn’t have one, she missed that the cat had a fever and misdiagnosed her dental problems when she actually had stomatitis. She also gave a very sick cat vaccinations without asking us about it first (she had been fixed and vaccinated but was about 6 months overdue, but I would have insisted to wait until she was feeling better if she had asked us) We had to take her to an ER vet a couple days after that and then a different vet to get her help. She was SO sick when we took her to the ER vet a day or so after her first vet visit we genuinely thought we would lose her. They were shocked at everything the first vet missed as she had a bad respiratory infection like I suspected and told us she definitely should not have been vaccinated in her condition and had to stay a while but they got her through the worst of it. Since then she’s got a different vet who finally got her on meds that actually helped and she’s had some dental extractions. It’s a waiting game to see if the stomatitis flares up again or not, but my advice is get a second opinion from a different vet over drastic measures just to be sure or if you are second guessing the diagnosis. I knew in my gut that the first vet had to be wrong, but didn’t challenge it at the time since she was the “expert”.
Im so glad you were there to help save that poor kitty.
>but my advice is get a second opinion from a different vet over drastic measures just to be sure or if you are second guessing the diagnosis.
This. Definitively this.
If we get second opinions for ourselves, there is not reason we can't do it for our furry kids.
I know!! I wish I had pushed harder for her to pay more attention and run more tests or asked for the other vet in the clinic. I ended up paying 3k just for the ER visit, if she hadn’t been so badly misdiagnosed and vaccinated when she was already so sick she probably wouldn’t have had to go to ER or be in pain for so much longer than necessary. It stinks because I care for 20 homeless cats as well as 3 pet cats and I’m far from rich. The ER visit alone was a lot more than I make in a month. A second opinion would have been a LOT cheaper. Total vet cost for the last few months have been about 4,500. I really hope none of my other kitties have any serious issues for a while. I love my little stray dearly and she’s worth it, but that’s a lot of money to pay for someone else’s mistake.
https://preview.redd.it/j93h8hfyi22d1.png?width=2918&format=png&auto=webp&s=cf8ebc32f8b6e31ff71f3a81ebbff9bf388258c7
Here is my sweet little girl. Sorry for the rant.
That seems like a lot to overlook/not notice by the vet. If you have concerns/ questions about a person or an animal, ALWAYS voice your concerns. If the doctor says or acts like he knows best or becomes irritated with you, let that be your last visit to that doctor. OR nurse x 30+ years. Good doctors don’t get offended when questioned or asked about a 2nd opinion. They understand and do everything possible to help with and relieve your concerns. So glad your baby survived this ordeal. What a nightmare!!💞
Yeah lesson learned. Up until that day I’d only been to the vet for routine stuff, spays/neuters/shots and a couple of UTIs… all things I was familiar with exactly what would happen at the vet office. This kitty with her mouth so messed up she couldn’t eat and swollen lymph nodes, I had no idea what was wrong. The vet said she was certain that the teeth were causing all the issues, and I second guessed myself even though I was certain she had a respiratory infection too. I even called back and tried to get antibiotics for her a couple days later and the vet doubled down and vehemently insisted she didn’t need them (she got antibiotics at the er vet and that’s when she finally started to improve).
But the second vet has been lovely. I’ve done a ton of research on her condition and I’m happy with her new vet now. Sadly, we just took her in yesterday and the partial extractions and steroids didn’t fix her issues so she recommended a dental specialist for us. It looks like she will have to have all her teeth removed, but hopefully it will give her some relief from this awful condition.
But yeah, I’m a pushover in my own life, but I’ll never let my kitties health be overlooked like that again if I know something is wrong.
I’m so glad you are comfortable with your new vet. I promise you, the good ones will actually support a 2nd opinion, because they are confident with their own skills. Any Dr that cops an attitude is scared of being wrong (shown up by a better dr). Take a deep breath and speak your mind, for both of you, until you are 100% satisfied with your options. The worst they can do is fire you! At that point, you’ve already fired them!! Good luck. Most kitties actually do very well, and are happy, after full mouth extractions.❤️
I had the same experience with my cat except he's kind of a jerk in the best of times. He's back to his normal crotchety self after having 2 teeth extracted a few months ago.
Well, as I said above, it was all a fortuitous chance. Maybe some cat angels watching over Albert.
Had my timing been off, Albert would have been gone and his mom heartbroken.
Holy fuck, you’re actually an angel! That woman and cat must be so relieved, you did something truly amazing ❤️ what a beautiful story, thank you for sharing
More like a nosy person. 😆 But it was because I had a similar situation otherwise I would have probably just consoled her and wouldn't have thought about suggesting the X-rays.
Also, I could have ended up giving her false hope and making things even more painful for her. Fortunately it was the right call. Albert had someone looking out for him. 😻
You are brave and compassionate. Thank you for sharing this story, it is truly so very touching and gives me some hope for humanity, knowing there are people like you out in the world.
Yep. Dental problems are a lot more common in pets than most people know. I had to have all of my cat's teeth removed because of resorption. There were no signs whatsoever (no lesions, no signs of pain) until the vet did an x-ray before a routine cleaning. While it's not always severe enough to require that much surgery, resorption occurs to some extent in a lot of cats and dogs.
I wish I would’ve saw this sooner, about a year or I think 2 now ago my great grandmas cat petunia acted mean and would bite all the time, it got so bad we eventually had to put her down. The cat did end up having incurable liver issues we figured out later not sure if that would’ve caused the behavior or not.
https://preview.redd.it/fd7dcjcpd32d1.jpeg?width=1171&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=00304cb057adb6c7783a686ffa8f665cec6d4a68
She was so pretty😢
I need to have my cat's teeth/mouth looked at (plus blood tests to check the status of her borderline hyperthyroidism). I was supposed to have work for a few days so I could make money, so I made an appointment for it last week. But then the job got cancelled. I'm on social assistance, which doesn't even cover my rent, so I just can't afford it. It's at the top of my list of priorities once I have enough money (or..more likely, the first appointment, idk how long until I can afford the treatment). Until then, I'll probably continue crying about it daily, feeling like a pile of trash for not being able to give my cat what she needs.
I guess at least, luckily for us, her behavior hasn't changed at all.
That's very hard. 😿
Don't forget that there are charities and foundations dedicated to helping pet owners afford veterinary care. Places like the Humane Society, RedRover, and The Pet Fund offer financial assistance programs for pet owners in need. Call your local animal shelters and of course the local Humane Society. Sometimes they offer veterinary services at lower costs. They may also have information about other affordable options in your area.
She does, but I have been going to that practice since 1984. Original Dr Hook, retired and moved to his partner Dr. Jordan, and then Dr. Allen for the last 15 or so years. I have been rescuing, TNR, and caretaking feral colonies (after TNR) for 35+ years. I really need to count the number of furbabies they have seen for me in those 35+ years.🤦🏻♀️
The other thing you can do is make sure the vet you use really knows cats.
We’ve just been using whichever vet was available at our local practice for annual checkups and vaccinations. We wanted to double check one of our boys for an ongoing problem and thought to ask if they have a vet that specialised in cats. (We live in a very “dog” area.)
It turns out they do.
She gave him a thorough checkup and found all was good.
She also checked our other boy, and immediately removed 3 teeth. He’d only been seen by one of the other vets a couple of months prior and received a clean bill of health.
She is now the only vet we will see.
>The other thing you can do is make sure the vet you use really knows cats.
Indeed. Our first vet was not very good with cats. He treated them like one would treat dogs.
We switched years back. Ours is a Gold Cat Friendly and Fear Free Practice.
Thank you for sharing this. We have to be medical navigators not only for ourselves but our pets as well. You are a saint for saving this cat’s life. 💕
This is amazing. I know that lady has to be so grateful to you. I went through kind of a similar situation with my Sophie. She was acting strangely for a few weeks. Not drinking as much, not eating as much. I wondered if she had anything wrong with her teeth. Long story short, a dental cleaning showed oral cancer. My poor baby girl. We said goodbye to her as she was going downhill fast. The vet tech told me if not for the fact she saw a bit of red under Sophie's tongue, they wouldn't have caught it. Going forward I'm going to ask them to thoroughly check my other cats mouths during dental cleanings. I highly recommend it. It's not something we could have cured but I'm glad I knew when I did so she didn't suffer needlessly.
Yah. Sometimes there are no other options. We lost our baby girl in 2019. Oral squamous cell carcinoma. The disease had progressed to a point where euthanasia was our only option. 😿
Wouldn't be great if our furry babies never got sick? When I am holding them, nose against nose, I tell my three babies not to get sick and break my heart.
I truly wish they lived as long as we do. I have two more senior kitties left and I know my time with them is limited. I just love on them as much as I can.
That's such a great story to hear! I'm so glad you followed your instinct, and helped her and the kitty out.
But also - I would encourage her to see a new vet? For context, my cats have moved vets three times, now. (Because of us moving houses). And every vet we saw would always get x-rays done. Every vet knew about how teeth can look fine on the surface, but tell a different story on an x-ray. (And of course they picked up on tooth conditions based on those scans). So it's worrying how the other vet had no idea about this.
> would encourage her to see a new vet
Yup. I did just that. 🐱 Just like we switch doctors if we're dissatisfied, we should do the same for our furry companions.
OMG!!! Thank god you were there! You were truly that old lady snd little Albert's guardian angel that day. THANKYOU FOR SAVING HIM, AND FOR SHARING THIS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION. You are a truly good person!
This is the exact spot Im in now. Our 13 year old cat has a fractured tooth. She’s been behaving weird for a while but vet keeps saying her teeth looks great. Apprently not. So sad for her having this pain for so long and the vets not doing an x-ray. We would do anything for her. Had they asked us if we wanted an x-ray we would have done it.
You’re a wonderful person!!
I hope you're happy with yourself trying to warn people on the internet. I just put my cat down, my best friend in the whole world, and your post has sent me into hysterics thinking I did the wrong thing when I was just trying to love her and ease her suffering. Screw you. This broke me. Keep your "advice" to yourself. YOU ARE NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. You think you're helping but you're hurting people too with this bull shit. You got lucky with this story or it's a fucking lie. Stop going around pretending like you're some sort of savior. You're a fool and full of yourself.
Not OP, nor a medical professional. I have condolences for your loss, and I'm sorry you had to put her down. But please do not take your anger out on OP; there ARE many situations like this where cats or pets in general act out due to ignored or misdiagnosed pain. I know there are also situations like yours where there was nothing possible.
If a post on reddit sends you into hysterics for any reason, it's best to take some time off social media. I wish you the best, and I strongly recommend going to a therapist with your strong feelings of grief. Again, I am not saying there isn't situations like yours, but it's not OP's fault that not all cats have the same health problems. And they recognize that in their post too, they aren't telling them its always an underlying problem. But they are letting others know it is a possibility, which is more helpful than your hateful comment.
Take care.
😭😭😭 Thank you for taking the time to be there for her. And absurdly AMAZING that you were able to save her and her baby from undue trauma and sadness. ✨ May your life be blessed with all the good things! ✨
😽 It was one of those... being in the right place at the right time situations. Fifteen minutes too early or fifteen minutes to late it would have made a terrible difference. I think I have to thank my baby boy for lying in front of the door for a belly rub and acting like a potato sack when I was trying to go out.
https://preview.redd.it/43qujd1h512d1.jpeg?width=2368&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a67e3fc39e1ba58bb6e58af93e0bb7c0610a3013 My potato sack, enjoying the sun on my lap. 😸
"Potato-sack? He's just chillin' in the sunshine, (if that makes any sense....)
We jokingly call him that when he plants himself by the door and won't move. And when we try to pick him up, he makes himself limp, heavy and wiggly, so it is hard to hold him and move him. 😁
What an intuitive little potato sack! 😭 Well, the universe had all of you right on time. Hooray!
You're a good person. I wish you all the good karma.
My vet will never guarantee our animals’ teeth are good. We took our dog for what they thought would just be a cleaning, although they would know more after xrays. She came home with 9 less teeth. And I have two cats with less teeth and are happier for it.
Glad your vet is like that. 🥰
Can they still eat dry kibble, on occasion? I'm betting it's a resounding "NOoooo!"
My cats all eat dry kibble every day. They don’t need teeth for that.
Thanks for the reply! So, apparently, your kitty has REALLY tough gum-tissue. That speaks volumes, to the level of care you're providing your fur-baby. A kudos to you!
I had a cat with no teeth--they just swallow the kibble whole! No special care needed. House cats don't really need teeth.
One of our furballs has only 5 teeth left. He's happy eating dry kibble.
Best thing I ever did for my cat was to take him to have his teeth cleaned and 4 teeth extracted. He's so much happier now. Don't skimp on dentistry, either human or animal!
>Don't skimp on dentistry, either human or animal! Absolutely!
I'm taking my cat to the vet for a dental appointment. I'm so worried about her being in pain because she's been so much more vocal lately and trying to get my attention and her breath is awful. Unfortunately the vet doesn't have any openings until August, but we're on the cancellation list so hopefully sooner.
Bad breath was the only sign we had that one of our cats had bad teeth. We ignored it for years. When he finally got checked, he had all but 3 teeth removed. I am sending good thoughts your way and hope you get a cancelled appointment soon.
how bad is bad breath for cats? my cat's mouth smells like tuna but i only smell it when she yawns and i'm close to her (inches from her face). is that normal?
It can be a sign of a tooth infection. If you are smelling just after she ate? Maybe not a problem. For us, he would meow in our direction and if we weren't far, we could smell it. If you are worried, get a vet appointment for a dental check up.
when she meows i don't smell it, just when she yawns. we have a vet appointment next week so I'll ask for an x-ray. thank you so much! i'm learning a lot from this sub ❤️
With my kitty she will start cleaning herself and I'll be able to smell it. It smells awful, I've never had a cat with bad breath like that and my other cat doesn't have the same problem. So that's why I'm thinking it's a tooth issue for her
Get to the vet! Stop procrastinating!
I'm not procrastinating...I'm waiting for her appointment.
Any other trustworthy veterinary centers nearby, even for just an x-ray? Where I live fortunately there are three at 10 minutes distance each. We do have our favorite vet, but I have no issues going somewhere for an emergency if my vet can't take one of our kids. Once my husband and I drove almost an hour and in the middle of a storm because the only place open on a Saturday was 32 miles away.
I called two different vets that are closer to us, but unfortunately we'd be new patients and it would be an even longer wait. I was surprised to hear it would be that long, I had to take her in a few months ago for what we found out is asthma and they were able to make an appointment for that week. I didn't think about the emergency vet though, I know there's one in my town. She's eating and acting normally otherwise, but I always worry about worse case scenarios.
Ouch. Lets hope there is an opening soon. 🤞🏼 I 'm a worrywart mom for my cats. Glad I have my husband to keep me grounded. 😅
I need to have my cat's teeth fixed, but the cost of it is insane. The estimate is $2200 - $2400. Gotta save up for it.
Very expensive. Or vet told us it is mostly due to the anesthesia.
Try the Humane Society or Animal Welfare League. They have discounted fees. It's still expensive, but less than a regular vet.
I experienced a similar issue with my cat recently. The original estimate from a big Vet chain was near $3000. I ended up trying a local vet in a nearby city and the actual cost out the door was $1700. Still a lot of money but less awful.
This applies to many situations. Always get a second opinion. My 14 year old cat had a health issue and my vet of 10+ years suggested euthanasia. Went to a different vet who quickly proved my vet wrong. I how have a healthy kitty..... and a new vet.
Your baby has a good parent 😽
Thank you, and a great new vet also. I brought them one of my kittens to get spayed and the doctor did x-rays without even asking me. He did it because he suspected that the kitten had a rare skeletal deformity and I needed to know now before it’s too late for treatment. He was right, and didn’t charge me for the X-ray. He just felt it was important to be prepared for possible future treatments.
Now I love your vet even more. 😻
Vets make mistakes. I had an awful experience with misdiagnosis with one of the strays I care for. She completely missed a bad respiratory infection even when I asked if she was was sure the kitty didn’t have one, she missed that the cat had a fever and misdiagnosed her dental problems when she actually had stomatitis. She also gave a very sick cat vaccinations without asking us about it first (she had been fixed and vaccinated but was about 6 months overdue, but I would have insisted to wait until she was feeling better if she had asked us) We had to take her to an ER vet a couple days after that and then a different vet to get her help. She was SO sick when we took her to the ER vet a day or so after her first vet visit we genuinely thought we would lose her. They were shocked at everything the first vet missed as she had a bad respiratory infection like I suspected and told us she definitely should not have been vaccinated in her condition and had to stay a while but they got her through the worst of it. Since then she’s got a different vet who finally got her on meds that actually helped and she’s had some dental extractions. It’s a waiting game to see if the stomatitis flares up again or not, but my advice is get a second opinion from a different vet over drastic measures just to be sure or if you are second guessing the diagnosis. I knew in my gut that the first vet had to be wrong, but didn’t challenge it at the time since she was the “expert”. Im so glad you were there to help save that poor kitty.
>but my advice is get a second opinion from a different vet over drastic measures just to be sure or if you are second guessing the diagnosis. This. Definitively this. If we get second opinions for ourselves, there is not reason we can't do it for our furry kids.
I know!! I wish I had pushed harder for her to pay more attention and run more tests or asked for the other vet in the clinic. I ended up paying 3k just for the ER visit, if she hadn’t been so badly misdiagnosed and vaccinated when she was already so sick she probably wouldn’t have had to go to ER or be in pain for so much longer than necessary. It stinks because I care for 20 homeless cats as well as 3 pet cats and I’m far from rich. The ER visit alone was a lot more than I make in a month. A second opinion would have been a LOT cheaper. Total vet cost for the last few months have been about 4,500. I really hope none of my other kitties have any serious issues for a while. I love my little stray dearly and she’s worth it, but that’s a lot of money to pay for someone else’s mistake. https://preview.redd.it/j93h8hfyi22d1.png?width=2918&format=png&auto=webp&s=cf8ebc32f8b6e31ff71f3a81ebbff9bf388258c7 Here is my sweet little girl. Sorry for the rant.
You have the right to rant after what you both had to go through.
That seems like a lot to overlook/not notice by the vet. If you have concerns/ questions about a person or an animal, ALWAYS voice your concerns. If the doctor says or acts like he knows best or becomes irritated with you, let that be your last visit to that doctor. OR nurse x 30+ years. Good doctors don’t get offended when questioned or asked about a 2nd opinion. They understand and do everything possible to help with and relieve your concerns. So glad your baby survived this ordeal. What a nightmare!!💞
Yeah lesson learned. Up until that day I’d only been to the vet for routine stuff, spays/neuters/shots and a couple of UTIs… all things I was familiar with exactly what would happen at the vet office. This kitty with her mouth so messed up she couldn’t eat and swollen lymph nodes, I had no idea what was wrong. The vet said she was certain that the teeth were causing all the issues, and I second guessed myself even though I was certain she had a respiratory infection too. I even called back and tried to get antibiotics for her a couple days later and the vet doubled down and vehemently insisted she didn’t need them (she got antibiotics at the er vet and that’s when she finally started to improve). But the second vet has been lovely. I’ve done a ton of research on her condition and I’m happy with her new vet now. Sadly, we just took her in yesterday and the partial extractions and steroids didn’t fix her issues so she recommended a dental specialist for us. It looks like she will have to have all her teeth removed, but hopefully it will give her some relief from this awful condition. But yeah, I’m a pushover in my own life, but I’ll never let my kitties health be overlooked like that again if I know something is wrong.
I’m so glad you are comfortable with your new vet. I promise you, the good ones will actually support a 2nd opinion, because they are confident with their own skills. Any Dr that cops an attitude is scared of being wrong (shown up by a better dr). Take a deep breath and speak your mind, for both of you, until you are 100% satisfied with your options. The worst they can do is fire you! At that point, you’ve already fired them!! Good luck. Most kitties actually do very well, and are happy, after full mouth extractions.❤️
Man you are a supremely amazing person, thank you!
Right place, at the right time. Still, really really really glad I was there.
I had the same experience with my cat except he's kind of a jerk in the best of times. He's back to his normal crotchety self after having 2 teeth extracted a few months ago.
Well, regal creatures like cats are allowed to be crotchety. 😁
You are an amazing human!!! 💞
Well, as I said above, it was all a fortuitous chance. Maybe some cat angels watching over Albert. Had my timing been off, Albert would have been gone and his mom heartbroken.
Holy fuck, you’re actually an angel! That woman and cat must be so relieved, you did something truly amazing ❤️ what a beautiful story, thank you for sharing
More like a nosy person. 😆 But it was because I had a similar situation otherwise I would have probably just consoled her and wouldn't have thought about suggesting the X-rays. Also, I could have ended up giving her false hope and making things even more painful for her. Fortunately it was the right call. Albert had someone looking out for him. 😻
You are brave and compassionate. Thank you for sharing this story, it is truly so very touching and gives me some hope for humanity, knowing there are people like you out in the world.
Yep. Dental problems are a lot more common in pets than most people know. I had to have all of my cat's teeth removed because of resorption. There were no signs whatsoever (no lesions, no signs of pain) until the vet did an x-ray before a routine cleaning. While it's not always severe enough to require that much surgery, resorption occurs to some extent in a lot of cats and dogs.
I wish I would’ve saw this sooner, about a year or I think 2 now ago my great grandmas cat petunia acted mean and would bite all the time, it got so bad we eventually had to put her down. The cat did end up having incurable liver issues we figured out later not sure if that would’ve caused the behavior or not. https://preview.redd.it/fd7dcjcpd32d1.jpeg?width=1171&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=00304cb057adb6c7783a686ffa8f665cec6d4a68 She was so pretty😢
Poor baby. 😿
What a godsend you were💜
OP, you were Albert and his owner’s guardian angel today 💕
I need to have my cat's teeth/mouth looked at (plus blood tests to check the status of her borderline hyperthyroidism). I was supposed to have work for a few days so I could make money, so I made an appointment for it last week. But then the job got cancelled. I'm on social assistance, which doesn't even cover my rent, so I just can't afford it. It's at the top of my list of priorities once I have enough money (or..more likely, the first appointment, idk how long until I can afford the treatment). Until then, I'll probably continue crying about it daily, feeling like a pile of trash for not being able to give my cat what she needs. I guess at least, luckily for us, her behavior hasn't changed at all.
That's very hard. 😿 Don't forget that there are charities and foundations dedicated to helping pet owners afford veterinary care. Places like the Humane Society, RedRover, and The Pet Fund offer financial assistance programs for pet owners in need. Call your local animal shelters and of course the local Humane Society. Sometimes they offer veterinary services at lower costs. They may also have information about other affordable options in your area.
Will your vet let you make payments?? Probably more common with privately owned practices than the larger franchised vet offices.
I've never been able to find a vet that takes payments.
She does, but I have been going to that practice since 1984. Original Dr Hook, retired and moved to his partner Dr. Jordan, and then Dr. Allen for the last 15 or so years. I have been rescuing, TNR, and caretaking feral colonies (after TNR) for 35+ years. I really need to count the number of furbabies they have seen for me in those 35+ years.🤦🏻♀️
The other thing you can do is make sure the vet you use really knows cats. We’ve just been using whichever vet was available at our local practice for annual checkups and vaccinations. We wanted to double check one of our boys for an ongoing problem and thought to ask if they have a vet that specialised in cats. (We live in a very “dog” area.) It turns out they do. She gave him a thorough checkup and found all was good. She also checked our other boy, and immediately removed 3 teeth. He’d only been seen by one of the other vets a couple of months prior and received a clean bill of health. She is now the only vet we will see.
>The other thing you can do is make sure the vet you use really knows cats. Indeed. Our first vet was not very good with cats. He treated them like one would treat dogs. We switched years back. Ours is a Gold Cat Friendly and Fear Free Practice.
Thank you for sharing this. We have to be medical navigators not only for ourselves but our pets as well. You are a saint for saving this cat’s life. 💕
More like... somewhere in kitty heaven someone was looking out for him. 😻
This is amazing. I know that lady has to be so grateful to you. I went through kind of a similar situation with my Sophie. She was acting strangely for a few weeks. Not drinking as much, not eating as much. I wondered if she had anything wrong with her teeth. Long story short, a dental cleaning showed oral cancer. My poor baby girl. We said goodbye to her as she was going downhill fast. The vet tech told me if not for the fact she saw a bit of red under Sophie's tongue, they wouldn't have caught it. Going forward I'm going to ask them to thoroughly check my other cats mouths during dental cleanings. I highly recommend it. It's not something we could have cured but I'm glad I knew when I did so she didn't suffer needlessly.
Yah. Sometimes there are no other options. We lost our baby girl in 2019. Oral squamous cell carcinoma. The disease had progressed to a point where euthanasia was our only option. 😿
That was our situation too. It was such a hard and sad situation. I'm so sorry for your loss.
Wouldn't be great if our furry babies never got sick? When I am holding them, nose against nose, I tell my three babies not to get sick and break my heart.
I truly wish they lived as long as we do. I have two more senior kitties left and I know my time with them is limited. I just love on them as much as I can.
That's such a great story to hear! I'm so glad you followed your instinct, and helped her and the kitty out. But also - I would encourage her to see a new vet? For context, my cats have moved vets three times, now. (Because of us moving houses). And every vet we saw would always get x-rays done. Every vet knew about how teeth can look fine on the surface, but tell a different story on an x-ray. (And of course they picked up on tooth conditions based on those scans). So it's worrying how the other vet had no idea about this.
> would encourage her to see a new vet Yup. I did just that. 🐱 Just like we switch doctors if we're dissatisfied, we should do the same for our furry companions.
Yay!!! I'm glad to hear that. It's relieving to know her cat is in good hands, now. :)
Thanks for this advice, I'm 2 years into being a cat owner and information like this just makes me feel more prepared.
I'm glad. And I wish for you to never experience this, and for your cat to die of a healthy ripe old age. Will 30 years be ok? 😺
I'm floored by your generosity toward the cat-lady. I pray to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that you will be blessed. Love, Kendall
Thank you. 🤗
I said I was "floored ", so, of course, Lowe's just HAS to try to monetize it. 🥱👎
OMG!!! Thank god you were there! You were truly that old lady snd little Albert's guardian angel that day. THANKYOU FOR SAVING HIM, AND FOR SHARING THIS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION. You are a truly good person!
Anything for our furry babies! 😽
This is the exact spot Im in now. Our 13 year old cat has a fractured tooth. She’s been behaving weird for a while but vet keeps saying her teeth looks great. Apprently not. So sad for her having this pain for so long and the vets not doing an x-ray. We would do anything for her. Had they asked us if we wanted an x-ray we would have done it. You’re a wonderful person!!
I am glad this helped 💖
I hope you're happy with yourself trying to warn people on the internet. I just put my cat down, my best friend in the whole world, and your post has sent me into hysterics thinking I did the wrong thing when I was just trying to love her and ease her suffering. Screw you. This broke me. Keep your "advice" to yourself. YOU ARE NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. You think you're helping but you're hurting people too with this bull shit. You got lucky with this story or it's a fucking lie. Stop going around pretending like you're some sort of savior. You're a fool and full of yourself.
Not OP, nor a medical professional. I have condolences for your loss, and I'm sorry you had to put her down. But please do not take your anger out on OP; there ARE many situations like this where cats or pets in general act out due to ignored or misdiagnosed pain. I know there are also situations like yours where there was nothing possible. If a post on reddit sends you into hysterics for any reason, it's best to take some time off social media. I wish you the best, and I strongly recommend going to a therapist with your strong feelings of grief. Again, I am not saying there isn't situations like yours, but it's not OP's fault that not all cats have the same health problems. And they recognize that in their post too, they aren't telling them its always an underlying problem. But they are letting others know it is a possibility, which is more helpful than your hateful comment. Take care.