I'm Going Broke!!! Thoughts for Brodie please???

**christa** · 07-25-2006, 03:58 PM

I just made a trip to the vet's office to pick up Brodie's food for the MONTH!!! He eats a can of wet D/D every day... (and got Josie a bag of I/D while I was there)

My bill for everything - remember this stuff will last a month . . .

And remember that this is for 2 cats . . .

$73.80

That just seems like a lot to me.

Anyway, I think that I finally convinced my vet that Brodie *may* have something blocking something since he can't keep anything solid down - including HAIR. I made him another appt. for Monday. She's going to review his x-rays again and we're going to talk surgery. Until then, I'm going to load him up on cat-lax and see if that helps - never did before so I'm not holding my breath.

Poor guy . . . I just feel so bad & hate to put him through this, especially if she doesn't find anything - but we're to a point that we just HAVE to find out what's wrong with him.

Anyway, fingers crossed that things go well . . . and a few prayers won't hurt either.

**catlover4ever** · 07-25-2006, 04:05 PM

Poor Brodie...fingers and paws crossed that you will find out what is going on with Brodie....prayers coming your way as well.

I know what you mean about going broke, right now I can not afford to take Tigger and Smokey in for the booster distemper shots right now...they are just going to have to wait until I have a few dollars in my pocket.

**catnapper** · 07-25-2006, 04:14 PM

Poor Brodie and meowmie!

I think you need to trust your instincts on this one and I'm glad you convinced your vet of that! Good luck!

**jazzcat** · 07-25-2006, 05:24 PM

Good grief! That is expensive!!

Poor Brodie, I'm sorry that he is still having problems. I hope the vet will be able to find something (and it not have to end with surgery).

Did the vet ever have you try Pepcid? Just curious since I know T&P's Mom used to give that to Tubby and I've read where other people here have used it. If it's not a blockage and it's an upset stomach maybe it would help. Don't know if it would do any good if it's really food allergies. Worth asking your vet though.

**Chilli** · 07-25-2006, 05:28 PM

Poor Brodie, he'll certainly be in my thoughts that you all can get to the bottom of this!

I do agree, trust your insticts, they always seem to end up being right in the end.

**Craftlady** · 07-25-2006, 05:33 PM

Will keep good thoughts for the next vet visit.

**QueenScoopalot** · 07-26-2006, 10:29 AM

Christa, Has the vet examined the possibility of Brodie having "intussusception"?

This is a condition where the intestine telescopes inside itself often leading to portions of the intestine dying off. It may be hard to detect if it's happening once in a while, and then fixing itself. I would certainly bring it up to your vet & see if he thinks this could be why Brodie is vomiting etc. Surgery is the only option for correcting this condition if so. Many links on the internet to check out by typing "feline intussusception". Hope your little guy starts feeling better...and boy can I relate to the $$$$Ka-ching$$$$

**christa** · 07-26-2006, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by QueenScoopalot

Christa, Has the vet examined the possibility of Brodie having "intussusception"?

Thanks for that suggestion! I am going to do some homework on that one - I had never heard of that condition . . . and definitely bring it up.

I have ALWAYS wondered if anything could be wrong with his insides . . . the base of his tail has been damaged since he was a kitten. It DOES hurt him for us to touch it. It makes me wonder what else is hurting him inside. His tail was stunted - it's obivously short & crooked. I've asked her about it, but I just wonder now . . . what if he was run over or something as a kitten?

Nothing really traumatic really showed up on his x-rays - but would they if it was damage to his organs?

**emily_the_spoiled** · 07-26-2006, 03:35 PM

I just went through something very similar with one of my guys (Tanner). I ended up having him scoped . They took some biopsies of his stomach tissue and it turns out that he has irritable bowel syndrome and that has been causing all of the problems. Fortunately it can be controlled with diet (I just have to find the right combination of food!) This is not something that would have shown up on an x-ray and the only way to make a positive diagnosis is to put him under and have him scoped (but it is NOT cheap).

I am still trying to find a combination of food that he will eat and of course he doesn't like the prescription food

Good luck with Brodie!

**Donnaj4962** · 07-26-2006, 04:44 PM

Lots of prayers coming your way from Indiana for you and Brodie! Hope the vet can find the problem... and FIX it! I bet Brodie is thinking the same thing!

**krazyaboutkatz** · 07-26-2006, 10:47 PM

Christa, I'm so sorry to hear that Brodie is still having problems.

Hopefully the test will show something and I hope it can be easily fixed. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent his way.

I sure can relate to the expense of cats. I also need to buy more presciption food for all 5 of my cats very soon too.