Urgent help please, Cat referral.

Nearlyuseless

Hi Everyone,

I hope someone can help me please, I took my cat to a vets surgery which has opened just over the road from me, just because it was nearer and so I thought more convenient.

The vet there wants to refer our cat to a specialist as they x rayed him and they found that he has an enlarged heart and they don't have the right equipment to go further, if we had used our usual vet that would not have happened, my question is can I take our cat to our usual vet instead of being refered by the new one, or would our usual vet be mad with us anyway.

If it is possible to do that what would be best to say to the new vet?

We have been given a weeks medication and the vet is ringing us today to see about a referral, it's a place in Oxfordshire or perhaps even London.

I have been putting the vet off and worrying about this since saturday, also I think they thought that he had problems breathing (wich he didn't have,he was just breathing quickly)so they think he is worse off than he may be.

I hope all of this makes sense as I am trying to rush, thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Chris

tankgirl1

Hi Chris
Sorry to hear about your cat.
You can take him to whatever vets you like, but you must make sure to let both parties know that you have been / are going elsewhere so that they can keep his medical history complete. It happens fairly regularly, and I don't think your new vet would mind if you said you wanted to go back to your old vets, and you old vets would no doubt be glad to have you back
Kinder to let them know asap though if they are trying to arrange a referral so that they aren't wasting their time iykwim
Hope that helps

spike7451

Tankgirls right,when Orbit was referred to the PDSA when I was out of work,the PDSA required Orbits records from my usual vet so they knew his medical history.
I'm so sorry for your news,when I found out about Orbits condition,I was devastated.

Nearlyuseless

Thanks very much tankgirl1 and spike7451, we couldn't believe it as our cat is a very big strong looking cat.

He just started breathing very fast and I read on the net that, that usually means heart problems.

I have said to the new vet that we are not sure about the referral so she is just ringing today to see if we want to go ahead after all as she thinks we should.

I will give our usual vet a ring now before the new one rings, to see what they say and then I will let the new vet know.

Thanks once again for your very quick replies, I hope your Orbit is ok now spike7451.

Nearlyuseless

Hi again, I have just rang our usual vets and now they are saying that they do do referrals, so they may have to refer him too.

Should I have asked to speak to the vet about it as we know it is a heart problem now, wouldn't they know from that whether they can do more or not?

Back to square one now.:(

Chris

spike7451

Nearlyuseless wrote: »

Thanks very much tankgirl1 and spike7451, we couldn't believe it as our cat is a very big strong looking cat.

He just started breathing very fast and I read on the net that, that usually means heart problems.

I have said to the new vet that we are not sure about the referral so she is just ringing today to see if we want to go ahead after all as she thinks we should.

I will give our usual vet a ring now before the new one rings, to see what they say and then I will let the new vet know.

Thanks once again for your very quick replies, I hope your Orbit is ok now spike7451.

Thanks,
Sadly he passed away just over 2 years ago. I thought he was just putting on weight but then one day (when I was in bed with the flu) he came onto the bed & was also breathing very fast,almost gasping for breath.Turned out the weight was excess fluid going onto his lungs & his body,so he was put onto Fortekor,which can be expensive from the vets,cost me £25 a time for the meds from my vet.
He passed away at home about 18 months after being diagnosed with heart & renal failure,aged 14,ironically on the morning I had made the painful decision to pts,as he was going downhill fast.
This is him;


And a few days before he went;


In the end the Fortekor wasn't enough so he was put on another tablet & he went from pic 1 to pic 2 in the space of 2 weeks..(I was away with the TA at the time,so I was shocked when I got back)

Nearlyuseless

I'm so sorry to hear that spike, he looks a lot like our cat who is ill, it is heartbreaking to see them when they do start to go down hill isn't it? It was nice that he passed away at home, in the peace and quite.

Our cat is about 9 so I hope he has more of a chance, you've made up my mind about haveing him referred, I think I will let the vet do it now.

Chris

spike7451

Nearlyuseless wrote: »

I'm so sorry to hear that spike, he looks a lot like our cat who is ill, it is heartbreaking to see them when they do start to go down hill isn't it? It was nice that he passed away at home, in the peace and quite.

Our cat is about 9 so I hope he has more of a chance, you've made up my mind about haveing him referred, I think I will let the vet do it now.

Chris

You're welcome & I really hope kitty gets sorted out,one of the reasons I posted the two photo's of Orbit was to show you how aggressive the meds can be at times.
The PDSA suggested I had him PTS as the trip to their surgery really stressed him out,I stopped on the way home & let him out of the carrier in the car,he crawled onto my lap & weed all over me,even tho I had his litter tray in the car,so then I decided not to use the PDSA again & took him back to the vets where I ran up a bill of £280 odd.When he died,I went for a drive as I couldn't stay in the house & I wound up at the ASSISI Animal Sancturary & adopted Daisy,a 2 year resident of the cattery.

Nearlyuseless

Thanks very much Spike, she'll have more of a chance now I hope.

Daisys really lovely , thanks very much for the pics of Orbit, I'd forgotten just what can happen and I didn't realise that the medication was like that, we have been given Fortekor palatable and Furosemide, just a weeks supply for now.

I still haven't got a call from the vet yet, she must be busy.

I expect the trouble with the PDSA is that they don't have much money perhaps.

Thanks again.:)

Chris

spike7451

Nearlyuseless wrote: »

Thanks very much Spike, she'll have more of a chance now I hope.

Daisys really lovely , thanks very much for the pics of Orbit, I'd forgotten just what can happen and I didn't realise that the medication was like that, we have been given Fortekor palatable and Furosemide, just a weeks supply for now.

I still haven't got a call from the vet yet, she must be busy.

I expect the trouble with the PDSA is that they don't have much money perhaps.

Thanks again.:)

Chris

The problem with the PDSA was it's quite a trek in the car (20miles) to get there from where I live,Orbit was quite stressed out & for some reason,did'nt like women (I think it may have been because my ex almost killed him as a kitten,I threw her out that night it happened) & took a swipe at the vet,so she suggested it with out examining him.
He was on the Fortekor & the extreme weight loss came when he was put on the Furosemide,same as your puss.
Orbit also started to drink from the bath tap that I left dripping for him,and licked the condensation from the windows which was quite funny...I also ended up having two litter trays as he was peeing that much cuz of the meds,might be an idea for you to think about.
Fingers crossed for your purrbabe.
Merv

Nearlyuseless

Thanks Merv, I don't blame Orbit not likeing women after that experience.

We got Junior a tray but he prefers going out and as he isn't too bad just yet we let him out, they do get up to some tricks even when they are ill don't they.

Thanks very much for the chat it has helped me out a lot, I just rang the vets and I will be talking to them later about referral.

Take care,

Chris