Hi Emt,
How is your senior gal doing? Have you checked her out at the vets?? Hope you have found what the problem is.
lease let us know How she is doing.
CML
Hi EMT ,
Your cat is now considered a Senior!. When cats get to this age a number of age related diseases can occur. The one condition that is the most common in senior cats is Hyperthyroidism. This is caused by the "increased metabolic rate produced by circulating thyroxin".
It will cause a number of issues, such as weight lose, restlessness, excessive urinating and a number of other signs. The most harmful thing about this disease is the effect of the excess thyroxin on the heart. It causes the heart to work harder when , as a senior , it is less strong. This can lead to cardiomyopathy that can lead to congestive heart failure.
As an EMT I am sure you are familiar with this in humans.
So there are many kinds of Vets. Some will not budge an inch on the cost of treatment, others will work with you on payment plans (such as CareCredit) . There are Veterinary Teaching Schools that will sometimes treat your cat for free or minimal charges because it will help them in furthering their education. Also Emergency clinics will sometimes work with you.
My suggestion to you is to find another medical practice (or one of the places I have suggested) that will work with you on helping your cat deal with this issue. They do need meds to regulate the thyroxin. The Blood work can be talked about with your new vet.
Unfortunately medical treatment from Vets are getting to be more than for humans, If you want to do right by your buddy, you are going to need to find a way of working out a treatment plan. Just know this.......you cat is not doing this as a behavior problem...old age is a B...H!...and for our Pets it is even worse, because they can not help some of the things they do, and need US to realize they need Help.
So Please try and find a way to Help your pal and above all , please be patient. You will hope someone treats you with compassion when You get OLD! This is all your cat asks from someone he loves.
Please let us know what you come up with in helping you cat. We are always learning from others experience.
Sincerely,
CML