Hi everyone,

I took my 9 year old cat to the vet the other day for her vaccinations, and he said she had different sized kidneys and suspects kidney disease. This is a massive shock as I took her to a different vet only a week before to be microchipped and after a thorough check-up was told she was in great health.

This vet wants me to get blood and urine tests costing 200 pounds, plus an ultrasound costing 425 pounds. I simply dont have that kind of money, and even if I did, these are just the tests!

I'm so worried about putting her through a blood and urine test anyway as she's been through so much stress lately. We've moved house twice in the last month and she also reacted so badly to those jabs that I nearly rushed her to the emergency vet she was so fragile and listless (she seems to be on the mend now, thank god).

Can anyone advise me on whether different sized kidneys are always a sign something's seriously wrong? Also, if she does have kidney problems, what can be done for her that wont make her miserable? I'm wondering whether it's worth asking the vet if we can try her on antibiotics before any tests, since I'm guessing that's what they'd give her anyway.

She's always been such a healthy cat, and she hasnt shown any signs of illness except from the reaction to those jabs and conjunctivitis which appeared on Sat and I put down to low immunity after a horrible journey across London and the stress of the moves.

Any advice would be very much appreciated

Thanks,
Seren

i think you need to go see another vets that's not so all about the money! blood work up to test for renal problems and a urinalysis would not be that expensive at our vets. get a second option. i can't advise you any further as i'm not a vet or a qualified nurse yet. best to get a second opinion. hope this helps also if you can get some pet insurance. give it 14 days to kick in and then make your claims explain to your vets that you have done this so they know to date the treatment accordingly. alternatively let the vets know you financial situation speak to them about the options. they maybe be able to come up with a more financially suitable option for you and your puss. good luck hun and keep us posted.

Thanks so much for your reply I was worried I was too late with the pet insurance, as I thought most of them say something like they dont pay for anything if the symptoms showed up before or within 14 days of signing up. I was about to get post office insurance as they cover pets of any age.

I think I'll sign up anyway and see how it goes. She has her follow up jabs with the vet in 3 weeks, so I'll speak to him about these tests and if there's any other options.

Thanks again

Seren

as long as you haven't had any treatment for the problem you're wanting to claim for you should be able to claim for it. speak to your vets they should be able to guild you if you let them know and be honest about your financial situation. most vets are not out to make the money but actually give the best care they can. they have to make it look like it wasn't a pre existing condition prior to your insurance. otherwise you can contact the PDSA or RSPCA and see if you might be able to get some help from them. make sure you read the fine print on the insurance and be sure to shop round. Because she's 9 you might not be able to find cover to be honest but it's worth a try. We got cover for our 7 yr old cat and she had major dental problems from her previous owners. we rescued her... we got her insured ASAP as we got her. we weren't able to get cover for the previous dental work but any dental work not to do with the previous (this is were the wording from the vet comes in handy) was covered as well as the allergies we found out she had later on. which ended up being about £1400 for all the dermatology work for her. Most vets are happy to help you milk the insurance companies as they can benefit from it as well as care for your pet.

Sadly it wont work with this vet. I phoned them and they just stated that any policy is unlikely to cover anything kidney-related after these abnormalities showed up, and they have to provide all the info the company asks for including the date this was documented.

I think I'm going to try and get the blood tests first and see what I can find out from those. If I have to get another job on top of my full-time one then so be it -eek!

Seren

I don't know of many vets who would, this would be extremely unethical!

Seren, the bloods and urinalysis would be a good starting point. At least this way there is some indication as to what is happening, and then (if necessary) ultrasound etc but bloods/urine are most important. Depending on the results there is medication available, but would also be worth changing the diet onto a lower protein/phosphorous as this will help the kidneys too.

go to another vets and speak to them about it. get a second opinion.

you'd be surprised some of them do it so they can make more money from the insurance cause they're horrible and some do it because the feel its unfair for the pet and want the best care so they re-word things for cover.

Its one thing to reword, but another to blatently lie on a claim form though. It'd then be the animal and owner who suffered when the insurance voided their policy.

I agree with you, insurance at this stage is a bit risky.

Personally if I didn't have the money to pay for the test I know our vets will accept installments.

I haven't clue whether the vets fees are high but if that is the case then I would choose an alternative vets that will also accept installments.

Sue