Any vets here?

Associate
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I feel like my vet is taking the mickey out of me. My cat is around 15 years old Domestic Short Hair and a couple of months ago I had to take her because she was straining to pee. They diagnosed an infection and gave me medication.

She completed the course and seemed normal but she started eating less than she normally does. I took her back to the vet and they said her temperature was 1c higher than last time but she had actually gained weight, she couldn't say why my cat was eating less maybe it was the hot weather. They gave her antibiotics and anti inflammatory and told me to come today.

I went today and her weight is the same, her temperature is still 1c higher so they gave her a different course of antibiotics. They want me to go again on Weds for another checkup.

Every time I go its costing me £40-50 in consultation fees and medication. I am a full time carer for a disabled person. I only get £60 a week and they said if the temperature doesn't come down by weds then they will need blood tests and xrays which is gonna cost £300+.

Is 1c temperature out of the ordinary in a heatwave with a thick fur coat on?
 
Soldato
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Depends on what the temp is, cats normal range is 37.7 to 39.1 according to various web sites. So 1 deg is not a concern unless the actual temp is too high.
In this weather our cats eat much less, are much more inactive and drink regularly.
Andi.
 
Soldato
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Not that this should be anything to go on but my two cats are eating a lot less in this heat. So is my dog, food is always available and fresh water but they just don't seem that interested. They do choose to eat in the evening when it is cooler so I just make sure they have plenty fluids available to them and feed them mostly in the late evening.
 
Associate
OP
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I don't live in a PDSA catchment area. Neither RSPCA or Cats Protection League can help me either.

She eats some food in a morning and picks at it all day, sometimes there is some left at lunchtime then i change it because its getting stale and she picks at it all night. When I wake up in a morning the bowl is usually licked clean. I leave dry biscuits out for her as well as a dog bowl full of water.
 
Soldato
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I am not a vet: just been a cat slave for 30 years and seen three to the end of long lives.

At 15 your cat is at the stage of life where all sorts of things go wrong and unless you have insurance or can get some form of assistance, it is going to be expensive. I can't imagine a vet doing anything other than charging per visit staying in business for long.

There is only so much a physical examination can find. Blood tests and X-rays are the next step. I suspect the X-ray is the more expensive part of this as the cat has to be sedated to take the photos. They'll want to check for growths, blocked bowels and so on.

For what its worth our cat has been eating a lot less in this hot weather spell and spending time sleeping in the shade as much as she can. We're also noticing far fewer incursions from neighbours' cats trying to take her territory, so I think the weather is a very strong factor in this.
 
Associate
OP
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Nope, its a pre-existing condition so I cant get any anyway and the excess was £500 the last time I looked so was pointless.

I only took her to vet to see why she was eating less, she has gained weight since last time I took her and the medication the vets gave her made her worse.
 
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Soldato
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As above, our outdoorsy cat is eating far less than usual so we leave a bowl of dry food and and a bowl of water outside for him should he ever venture back. Our other cat, who is more of an indoors cat, is a greedy git anyways so her pattern hasn't changed much other than she's sleeping more
 
Caporegime
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(im not vet)

Same reason I assume my GP sent me for some recently because of my fatigue. "We dunno lol but we do these just to check if it's anything related to x or y".

My mate went to the GP for something similar and then had to sustain weeks of mocking from the rest of us when the results came back and the GP told him he wasn't anaemic and was probably just lazy/should get a proper night's sleep etc.. ! :D
 
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