I spent about $6k on my cat who had hepatic lipodosis (liver failure). He was on a feeding tube. We did a lot of tests to explore the cause, but declined the $2k bowel biopsy, since the course of treatment with or without the results would have been similar. We never found out what caused him to stop eating and go into liver failure, but after the feeding tube we got him on a steroid and he did well. *shrug*
I'd spend the money again, although I'm not sure i'd do the feeding tube again. I have a cat now who needs a few hundred in blood tests every 4 months or so to monitor her kidneys.
I stopped counting at $7k with my cat. We were able to afford it without going into debt, though. It just wiped out our savings. Honestly though, I probably would take on debt if it meant good quality of life, but that's us. Since we have no children, our cats are our babies.
Okay, I'm going to go boil some chicken and make some rice for his meals tomorrow. I have a ton of ground beef, but it's probably not very lean because it came from my in-laws' farm. Do you think it matters if it's lean or not as long as I rinse it after I cook it?
Do you mean drain? Yes, drain off the fat. Don't rinse meat! Ever.
Hmm... The vet said to rinse it thoroughly to make sure all the fat is off. I shouldn't?
I wouldn't spend another dime before trying straight chicken and rice. Prescription food is (usually) crap.
I looked at the ingredients in that. Its full of crap, most notably has corn in the first ingredient. its not at ALL the same thing as chicken and rice.
ABSOLUTELY this. Our dogs get hit with mystery vomiting/pain from time to time. We have spent thousands looking for diagnoses at e-vets and several regular vets in the past with no answers. Chicken and rice resets their system every time. The latest was suspected pancreatitis, and while the vet did give anti-nausea meds and eventually anti-diarrheal meds, chicken and rice seemed to clear it up even without figuring out the cause.
We did have one instance with the mystery vomiting that only cleared up after 2 weeks of antibiotics when they couldn't figure out what was wrong. We tried 10-day courses a couple of times, but it came back after each course. Eventually 14 days kicked it, but still no answers. (ETA: THere was definitely a fever and high something bloodwork with that one that indicated infection.)
@juno how long did you feed the chicken and rice to your dog before you noticed a difference?
Post by expatpumpkin on Mar 1, 2015 23:04:46 GMT -5
I'd put my money on the chicken and rice curing him. After that, switch to a super premium food such as Orijen. Most vets know shockingly and disappointingly little about proper nutrition.
We spent $9000 on our dog three years ago in the span of about 5 days and I don't regret it at all. He was 3 at the time & will be 7 this summer.
Almost all of our spending was for diagnostic procedures done by a canine neurologist (MRI, ultrasound, spinal tap, bloodwork) and three days stay at the hospital. I recommend seeing a specialist if possible.
I'd put my money on the chicken and rice curing him. After that, switch to a super premium food such as Orijen. Most vets know shockingly and disappointingly little about proper nutrition.
This. The little they do know is taught to them by a dog food rep (purina). I don't trust that company at all due to previous issues, though I am aware that in doing so I am being over cautious and mostly basing the choice on principle.
Post by purpleminion on Mar 1, 2015 23:42:45 GMT -5
I made enough chicken and rice to last a few days. Thank you all so much for your suggestions and support! This has just been wearing on me so much and I feel so stressed, so it feels good to talk about it and know that there is more I can be doing to help him. I will let you all know how it goes!
Oh, and chloesilverado , yes I did hear about that. I've had about 6,429 people ask me if we feed him Beneful. LOL. We don't, although I'm starting to realize that any kind of Purina probably isn't the greatest, and I will be researching new options for food.
I replied to your PM last week but if your Vet suspects IBD, they should start treating for IBD which included antibiotics and/or prednisone. My dog has suspected IBD and was first given flagyl. I would ask for flagyl before doing surgery. Hope your pup is better soon.
My dog had a bad case of pancreatitis and couldn't keep any food down for well over a week. He actually spent 3 nights in the hospital with fluids and pain meds. Finally he could eat chicken and rice. His pancreas was also fine on the ultrasound. they did a special blood test that they had to send to U of texas to confirm pancreatitis. It took a long time to recover fully and had to eat low fat the rest of his life. He was 14 at the time and lived until 17. All in all we spent about 2k on that incident.
Post by patches31709 on Mar 2, 2015 8:36:15 GMT -5
I probably would stick to plain chicken, no rice. If he has a grain allergy/sensitivity, the rice isn't helping. And dogs don't need grain. Stick with chicken only and see how he does.
MY dog is 6 and a half. He got sick last month. We spent 4500 on his vet bill then. Plus we spend an additional 300 or so a month for monthly vets visits and medicines. I don't regret a single penny. We like you didnt really have that to spend on him. But we put it on the credit card. We can afford his monthly stuff (by moving a couple things around) and his initial bill is being paid off partly by our tax refund. then just monthly payments on teh card. My dog has ITP. auto immune disease. We were prepared to spend more. Once we got through the initial sickness and the meds started kicking in (after almost a week and a blood transfusion) He is perfectly himself again. This is a very personal question and one only you can answer. Oh he also saw a a specialist and I loved her.
We recently spent $2500 on our cats... and the conversation didn't come up around "how much is too much" at that point, so I guess a lot more than that. We also used care credit, no interest for 6 months, might be worth looking into if you end up having additional expenses.
Good luck with the special diet! I hope that solves your problem.
I probably would stick to plain chicken, no rice. If he has a grain allergy/sensitivity, the rice isn't helping. And dogs don't need grain. Stick with chicken only and see how he does.
$1000, since I have pet insurance and that's my deductible. I highly recommend it for the future.
Beyond that - IDK. I think for a 7 year old dog I'd spend whatever it took, honestly. Especially for a small breed. How much is exploratory surgery? It might not be more than a few hundred dollars. I'd probably spent that at a minimum and then make a decision if there is further treatment. Like if you do the surgery and find out there is cancer and it will cost thousands to fix that, I might not.
My mom's cat had mystery health issues that ended up in exploratory surgery years ago. They were able to remove a blockage from something weird he ate, and he lived for like 8 years happily after that. She was hesitant to spend the money, but SO glad she did.
I replied to your PM last week but if your Vet suspects IBD, they should start treating for IBD which included antibiotics and/or prednisone. My dog has suspected IBD and was first given flagyl. I would ask for flagyl before doing surgery. Hope your pup is better soon.
Yes! I got your PM and it was very helpful. Thank you! I will ask the vet about flagyl. I've been seeing a lot of that in my research. She mentioned possibly trying prednisone, too.
I gave him the rice/chicken mixture this morning and he really loved it. I am going to give it a few days until I call the vet back, and then I can let her know how that's going.
Also, to all the people who suggested a specialist: we have no specialists in our entire state. The nearest one is 5 hours away. I sort of live in bumfuck nowhere.
I probably would stick to plain chicken, no rice. If he has a grain allergy/sensitivity, the rice isn't helping. And dogs don't need grain. Stick with chicken only and see how he does.
Many dogs are allergic to chicken, too.
If it's a food intolerance we're dealing with, it could be anything (chicken, grain, ANYTHING). We have to start somewhere. If the chicken and rice doesn't help, I'll try something else, but that's what I'm going to start with.
Post by dr.girlfriend on Mar 2, 2015 11:32:40 GMT -5
Sorry, not that this will help you now, but honestly, this is why I have health insurance for the new pup. I don't want to have to choose. I would spend at least $5k, if I had it, but I don't know where my top limit would lie.
If it's a food intolerance we're dealing with, it could be anything (chicken, grain, ANYTHING). We have to start somewhere. If the chicken and rice doesn't help, I'll try something else, but that's what I'm going to start with.
Yeah I would start with chicken and rice and just try that. Good luck. I hope your pup gets better soon.
He gets Royal Canin prescription- Gastro Intestinal Low Fat. It's not my number one choice but he has done really well on it. He also gets mashed potatoes, florta flora, and is fed three times a day.
I probably would stick to plain chicken, no rice. If he has a grain allergy/sensitivity, the rice isn't helping. And dogs don't need grain. Stick with chicken only and see how he does.
Many dogs are allergic to chicken, too.
Oh definitely. I just think you have to start somewhere, and if you feed a single protein source, and only that protein source without other grains or anything mixed in, it may help to narrow things down.