Since people were asking...

[bzarcher]

Alex and I actually did just talk about Onyx today.


(12:13:52 PM) bzarcher: Which of us was getting the Revolution for Onyx and patches? I know we found it online but I forget who was going to get it.
(12:15:25 PM) felislachesis: gah, I don't remember
(12:15:41 PM) bzarcher: OK. Let's talk about it tonight the.
(12:15:51 PM) felislachesis: ok
(12:16:22 PM) bzarcher: Because I am increasingly thinking that if we finish giving Onyx meds, keep him on the revolution, and he seems to be acting about the same as he has for the past 6 months? We're pretty much where we'd be regardless of spending another $900 on the vet.
(12:16:37 PM) bzarcher: (And, yes, we have at this point spent $900 on the vet. Slightly more than that, in fact.)
(12:16:57 PM) felislachesis: OUCH :(
(12:17:11 PM) bzarcher: *nod*
(12:17:31 PM) bzarcher: (My bonus basically went to paying off the credit card I've been putting the vet on.)
(12:17:38 PM) felislachesis: *nods* I can understand
(12:17:40 PM) felislachesis: man I'm sorry
(12:17:54 PM) bzarcher: It's OK. I'd far rather have to use my bonus on paying the card down than have a dead cat.
(12:18:02 PM) felislachesis: *nods*
(12:18:04 PM) bzarcher: But at this point, he's not really changing, y'know?
(12:18:12 PM) bzarcher: He isn't getting better, he isn't getting worse. He just is.
(12:18:18 PM) felislachesis: yeah
(12:18:23 PM) felislachesis: he is getting heavier
(12:18:42 PM) bzarcher: *nods* So I think we just do what we've been doing, and only go back to the vet if his condition goes down again.
(12:18:56 PM) felislachesis: sounds like a plan


tl, dr;

After another course of antibiotics, trying different food, and switching to Revolution now instead of Frontline, Onyx really hasn't changed. He's gotten a little heavier, his activity level is staying the same, and he's generally just being a cat around the house when he isn't staring murder at me for jacking him with antibiotics.

So, we're going to finish this course of meds, keep them on the Revolution, keep them on the current food, and go from there. Pouring more money down the vet for no apparent changes in his health or wellbeing just doesn't make sense.

If he starts sliding again, we go back, and depending, we have a conversation about his long term health.

Comments

[las.livejournal.com]

Poor Onyx :( Sympathies on the vet bills; one of our cats has asthma, and so we have to take her in for cortisone shots every so often. Getting the initial diagnosis was a couple hundred though :-\

(And also Gary's new meds made us both go "Holy sh*t that's the price AFTER insurance?")

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Actually, the good news is he really isn't a poor Onyx. The past few weeks he's been going around the house pretty much like normal, demanding attention, and maybe giving himself a mild concussion butting his head against the bathroom sink until I turned it on so he could have a drink.

(Got him all new water and food bowls, but nooooo....)

I looked to see if State Farm offered any kind of pet insurance, but they'll only insure a pet if you have breeder's proof of pedigree and a value over $500 for the animal. Not gonna work with "Well, we got him for free from a lady who had too many cats."

[las.livejournal.com]

Oh, okay, then that's a lot better :)

We have a cat that also insists on drinking from spigots instead of bowls. She lies in wait when I'm taking a shower so she can hop in after I get out and lick the faucet.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's not that he's bad or anything - it's just that he's about back to where he was before he got sick and hasn't changed.

Any time I go into the bathroom, without fail, Onyx will come in. And he'll butt me on the leg a few times, and then he'll make a leisurely path from the bathtub, to the toilet tank, to the sink, and start hitting the faucet until he gets a drink (or look at it scornfully and go sit on the edge of the counter until he decides to TAKE a drink, thank you.)

He's also learned that if Alex or I are standing around in the kitchen, it means he should try to beg for food. :D Alex giving him a bit of beef shoulder has convinced him that we can produce raw meat on command.

[flaggerx.livejournal.com]

Sounds like Zathras in many ways.

Sorry he isn't responding. I just hope he stabilizes at a dull roar.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

I think he will. Long as he seems to be happy, I'm OK with that.

[sehkmet.livejournal.com]

You could try pet insurance.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/06/12/earlyshow/living/petplanet/main512005.shtml

Here's some info - it's a bit old, but it's a decent synopsis. Failing that, Google is your friend!

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

All of them seem to focus on breed, or catastrophic insurance, though. 10 percent off regular vet bills would save a little, but I think most of what I'd save is going right back to the pet insurance... :/

[sehkmet.livejournal.com]

http://www.vetinsurance.com/AboutVetInsurance.aspx

Check out this one, maybe? It seemed pretty decent.

Anyway, I hope Onyx stays on the steady up and up! Go team kitty!

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :D I think he will - if nothing else, he's nuts, and a fighter. :D