Ongoing cat issues and paying

Jmoo

We inherited a stray cat in the summer who was heavily pregnant and poorly fed.

She suffered some mastitis when she gave birth which involved an emergency vet, and then she had a urine infection which was treated with antibiotics, which we still felt wasn't resolved. In the end we moved vets and decided to take out pet insurance after lots of backwards and forwards. 

She has continued to seem lethargic and weeing outside her litter tray so the new vets took a urine sample and concluded she had cystitis. They prescribed her expensive urinary food due to the crystals they detected. She also had antibiotics and pain relief. The insurer wouldn't pay for the treatment as they felt that it wasn't possible to rule out it being the same thing as before. 

Two months down the line we don't feel the cat has improved. We have paid £100 for a lab test, and now the vet is claiming that it might not be a UTI after all and could be a form of strep. They said depending on how the cat is acting she will need more tests before we decide whether to give her antibiotics. Asked if she could stay on her urinary diet, they said yes because they couldn't rule it out. They said she might just be off because she had been recently spayed - but we had already told them prior to this she was off and unwell - so I don't agree with that. 

Now I'm a little frustrated as it still feels like they're second guessing despite more expensive tests, and it feels like the insurer will not cover anything because the vet is being vague and not ruling out it's not been the same thing even though it's moved from a UTI to a respiratory illness. We are spending a lot on special urinary food, and she's had a lot of antibiotics, and keeps going backward and forwards. And now we may have to cancel the cattery she was going to for Christmas. 

Do we need to be firmer with the vets? Can we push the insurer to reassess this case given things keep changing? Or are we forever paying the vet to keep trying to nail down what's wrong. 

superstylin

Which prescription food is your cat eating? Mine was on Royal Canin Urinary Plus for years and regularly experienced cystitis despite it. As the RC was dry, and a lot of what I read pointed to cats with cystitis needing plenty of moisture in their diet to dilute their urine, I took a punt on feeding my boy wet food only (generic brand). This was 2 years ago and he's only had one bout since which cleared up in a day with rheumocam (painkiller/anti inflammatory).

Because it's been 2 years since he's been to the vets with it (I had rheumocam at home) my insurers now cover what is no longer considered by them to be a pre-existing condition. 

There's certainly no harm in recontacting your insurers and explaining why you think your cat should continue to be covered.

Did your original vet conduct any test to determine UTI or did they just work from the symptoms and assume? If they did urinalysis them the results should show whether bacteria or crystals were present back then? If crystals weren't then surely that would be evidence that the more recent issues are separate, as now there are confirmed crystals and cystitis would then be the obvious diagnosis. 

I have to say I'm a little lost as to why they think Strep would cause a cat to urinate outside the tray? 

sheramber

you could ask to be referred to a specialist if you think your vet doesn't know what is wrong. 

The insurance company will not pay out for anything that could be  linked to a pre existing condition so unless your vet can state the current condition is not related it is unlikely the insurance will cover it.

Jmoo

Further frustration with the vets. They had prescribed Royal Canin Urinary food and wrote it on a sticky note for us to order. Now three months later they say that would be ineffective and we should have had the s/o variety. So we've spent three months expecting cat food to work they admit wasn't going to do anything.

superstylin

Jmoo said:

Further frustration with the vets. They had prescribed Royal Canin Urinary food and wrote it on a sticky note for us to order. Now three months later they say that would be ineffective and we should have had the s/o variety. So we've spent three months expecting cat food to work they admit wasn't going to do anything.

I wasn't actually aware there was another RC urinary that wasn't the S/O (this was what mine was on). Now I see there's a general urinary care product. Goodness me, more expense for you! 

TBagpuss

You can make a complaint to the vets, about the misleading advice, and if you have the option, consider taking the cat to a different practice . 
I agree that it is worth trying out different foods - she may do better on wet food or with a bigger proportion of wet food in her diet,.

Jmoo

superstylin said:

Jmoo said:

Further frustration with the vets. They had prescribed Royal Canin Urinary food and wrote it on a sticky note for us to order. Now three months later they say that would be ineffective and we should have had the s/o variety. So we've spent three months expecting cat food to work they admit wasn't going to do anything.

I wasn't actually aware there was another RC urinary that wasn't the S/O (this was what mine was on). Now I see there's a general urinary care product. Goodness me, more expense for you! 

Indeed they said the vet probably wrote it down expecting we'd take the note to a pharmacy who would know this, but she did say at the time she was writing it down for us to search out online!

Undervalued

Jmoo said:

Further frustration with the vets. They had prescribed Royal Canin Urinary food and wrote it on a sticky note for us to order. Now three months later they say that would be ineffective and we should have had the s/o variety. So we've spent three months expecting cat food to work they admit wasn't going to do anything.

Medicine is not an exact science!

Obviously some practitioners are better than others, as happens in all walks of life, but ultimately you either have to trust them or take your pet elsewhere.

Just before I was old enough to get free prescriptions, my GP had to prescribe me four or five different medicines before he found one that was both effective and relatively free from side effects. I did joke with him that maybe he should refund me several NHS prescription charges! Overall I have found him to be a "good" doctor (however you define that) so have stuck with him. He was the first to admit that somebody else may have hit on the right drug for me first time. It happens sometimes.

Presumably more difficult for a vet who can't gets the patient's feedback first hand!