One day soon, this blog will start to be about more than my pet’s health issues. Not starting today.
A few weeks ago, I got some quotes on pet health insurance. Based on what I had read in my research, I felt that a company called Pet Plan was the best way to go. I was quoted about $12.50 a month for a Bronze plan with a $200 deductible and 80% reimbursement (their cheapest plan). But, my Ragdoll kitten was healthy, eating top quality food, and was spunky and mischievous. I talked myself out of getting her health insurance. I remembered how I got my other two cats when they were about 1, and how they never had any health problems for years. Bad idea.
Last Sunday afternoon, I noticed that 12 week old Aura hadn’t eaten her breakfast. I showed it to her, and she gagged. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I threw it out and made her a fresh bowl. She gagged again. I let her be to sleep, and got her a different flavor of food. She slept in the sun for a few hours, then got up and vomited clear liquid. I knew that was due to having an empty stomach, so I wasn’t too concerned. I figured she was just having a low appetite day, just like she has high appetite days, playful days, and sleepy days. She’s a kitten.
But by Tuesday, she was still hardly eating, and diarrhea had set in. I was offering her many different options and nothing was tickling her fancy. I called the vet and was able to get her in that very day. I asked the vet to do a full blood test, which showed a slightly elevated liver enzyme among other things that he felt were normal for a kitten feeling under the weather. I didn’t have a stool sample, but took some in the next day. The sample tested negative. Her temperature was on the high end of normal. I was given an antibiotic for her stool, which I wasn’t happy with since her sample tested negative. I asked him to give her fluids and B12, hopefully to stimulate her appetite. It didn’t work.
By Thursday, Aura had less energy and was still not eating. I had to syringe feed her baby food, adding in probiotics for the diarrhea and Pedialyte to try to keep her hydrated. I dropped her back off at the vet Thursday for a few hours to get more tests done. When I went back to get her, I was unable to take her home. An x-ray found pneumonia. I was worried that I had caused this while syringe feeding her, but the vet assured me the infection was in her lung tissue. He said this was very serious, and he couldn’t promise she would pull through.
He also mentioned that it could have been caused by FIP or the corona virus, in which case I would really need to worry about the health of my other cat as well.
Friday morning, I called the vet for an update and was told that Aura had responded well to the new antibiotic and I could pick her up. She tested negative for corona virus, feline leukemia, and FIV. I was skeptical, but when I got her home, she was playful again and ate a ton. I know there is a chance the antibiotic will stop working, but so far so good. She is now on Albon for the diarrhea, and CEFA for the pneumonia. No idea what caused the pneumonia, but my other cat did go to the vet last week, so I wonder if he brought something home. Or, perhaps this was developing for a while in Aura because she was taken away from her mother too early (little did I know).
This whole encounter cost me $700. Had I purchased the health insurance, subtracting the deductible and figuring in the 80% reimbursement, I would have paid $340 instead, plus $12 for the month of insurance. That would have been much less painful, especially one month before Christmas.
I think I’ll go retrieve that saved quote.