Good thoughts and prayers for Lily needed

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
I posted in October about our Kitty passing away and now I'm afraid we may lose our two and half year old cat Lily. We adopted a new kitten named Charlie last month from a homeless shelter and he became sick with an upper respiratory infection a couple of days after we brought him home. I took him to the vet and they prescribed some antibiotics. He was up and running around and feeling better in a matter of only a couple of days. Unfortunately even though they were kept in separate rooms our cat Lily caught the infection.

I brought Lily in to the vet about ten days ago and they prescribed the same antibiotics as Charlie. Unfortunately she didn't respond as well as he did. After seven days of antibiotic therapy she continued to sneeze uncontrollably and also developed a yucky sounding hacking cough. I took her back to the vet last Wednesday and she was promptly diagnosed with pneumonia after the vet listened to her lungs. She was prescribed the name brand version of the same antibiotic plus given an antibiotic booster shot. Lily has now been on the medications for 5 days and is not showing any signs of improving. She will be done with her antibiotics by Thursday morning.

At the last visit the vet told me that if Lily doesn't improve then the only treatment would be to hospitalize her. I was given an estimate and it will cost me a minimum of $700! I don't even come close to having that kind of money and there's isn't a person on this planet that I could borrow that amount from. I have no idea what to do. Those antibiotics should have kicked in by now. Charlie was well in only a couple of days but Lily is getting worse by the day. I can't handle losing another cat after our dear sweet Kitty passed away six weeks ago. Lily is so young and I would hate to lose her. I need good thoughts and prayers sent our way.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I am so sorry, CG. Maybe you could ask the vet to have her come in for treatment and let you bring her home under your watchfulness. It would probably not cost as much. Can you pay it out? Our vet takes payments...if you lived here, girl, I'd make you use my vet...I feel so badly. Please update this pet lover. Can't they try different medication?
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
None of the vets here take payments, darn it. The vet we have now, which is supposed to be low cost, used to take payments but stopped several years ago after so many people flaked out on them. I thought for sure the last time I took Lily in that he would give her a different type of antibiotic. He prescribed the same one only this time name brand instead of generic. To my understanding the name brand and the generic both have the same active ingredients so what's the difference? My vet insisted the name brand works better but it doesn't appear that way. I'm not sure if there's anything stronger he can give her since he insisted at the last appointment that if she didn't get better hospitalization was the only alternative. I really hope he's wrong.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Ask your vet about getting you a nebulizer to take home to use on Lily. In the meantime, Run the shower until the bathroom is full of steam and then take little Lily in there to breathe the steam(leave the shower running) that will help break up the crud in her lungs so she can cough it up.

Sounds like the kitten wasn't vaccinated at the shelter, or was exposed before immunity from the vaccine developed. Is Lily current on her vaccines?'

Also ask your vet if he accepts CareCredit. It is a credit card accepted at vet's and dentists of all things. You apply like any other credit card and get a credit limit. I have it and it's been a life-saver for me.

Hospitalization will likely mean sub-cutaneous fluids and nebulizer treatments. If your vet will cooperate and supply with the necessaries, you can do this at home.

Best of luck. You and Lily are in my thoughts.
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
I just now got to read everybody's responses here at work today. (No computer at home.) I will try the shower steam tonight. Lily is still eating and drinking well and last night she didn't keep me awake hacking so that gives me some hope.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
CB, thanks for responding. The fact that she is eating and drinking is a VERY good sign! I am very happy to hear that. With pneumonia, the cough may take a while to go away.

Also, both the kitten and Lily may be left with a chronic upper respiratory "thing" where they periodically may have bouts of sneezing and snotting that last a few days. It's a "thing" that happens with these infections quite frequently.

EVERY shelter cat and stray I've ever rescued has had it, in fact.

Thomas is currently flaring from the stress of having his dental recently and kept me up last night sneezing his brains out on and off.

A little Benadryl will help with the sneezing fits, but DO NOT give it to a cat that is coughing because it makes it harder to get rid of the mucus.

Ask your vet for the correct dosage.

Keep us posted about dear Lily.

toK
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Absolutely. The cough from pneumonia can hang in there for a while. You should notice it decreasing in frequency and becoming "drier" as time goes on. You should also notice her breathing slowing and taking less effort.

She has to clear the mucus from her lungs, and the inflammation has to heal up. That will take time. If you've ever had bronchitis or pneumonia, or even the flu, you know that the cough often takes a while to go away.

It's the same in animals. Steaming her will help soothe the membranes and make it easier for her to get rid of the mucus by thinning it so she can cough it up.

If she'll drink it, some salt-free or low-sodium chicken broth will help as well. You can give some to the kitten if he likes it as well.

Best,
toK
 

GuideMe

Active Member
CB, I don't know if this has been mentioned or not yet, but did you try CARE CREDIT? I use CARE CREDIT. You go to carecredit.com. It's a medical credit card.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
There are a couple of issues with CareCredit.One is that you have to qualify and the vet has the accept it. Another is that it is only interest free for a short period of time. After that, the interest rate is exhorbitant.

I am currently paying sky-high interest after using CareCredit for some dental work that I couldn't afford out of pocket. Plus, not all providers accept it.

CB should ask her vet if s/he accepts it first of all and then it doesn't hurt to apply so long as she knows what she is getting into.
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
As a matter of fact my vet does accept Care Credit. I was going to apply when Kitty was super sick but she ended up passing away before I could even fill out the paperwork. It was a desperate measure. I am almost certain I won't qualify because my credit is lousy. As a matter of fact I am now being hounded by Kolh's because I am three months late on my payment. The reason why I couldn't make my credit card payment is because I had sky high vet bills in the last several months for Kitty, Charlie, And Lily. Anyway, if Lily doesn't get better I am going to apply for the Care Credit as a last resort. Hopefully it won't come to that. Good thing is Lily is still eating and last night she was even playing with Charlie a little bit (very unlike her. She's not a very playful cat.) That does give me some hope. She finishes her antibiotic tomorrow and I will see how she does.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
CB, call your vet and talk to him about continuing the antibiotics. It really does sound like Lily is getting better. She may just need the antibiotics for longer than usual.

I'm sorry to hear that you were turned down for Care Credit. I don't know how strict they are or what their approval requirements are.

I'd recommend, in your case, not using your credit cards until you can get caught up, if at all possible. I have a Kohl's card, in fact, it was the very first card I got after a secured card, when I was rebuilding my credit, but I always pay it off monthly and don't use it very often, because the interest is so darned high.

I'd also recommend, hard though it might be, not getting any more pets until your financial situation is more settled. I've limited myself to two cats because I can't afford vet care for more than that.

I carry vet insurance on mine, but I still have to pay up front, not everything is covered, and there's a cap on what they will cover.

hth
ToK
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
My next alternative was to look into pet insurance although I'm not even sure if they cover hospitalization. I suppose it can't hurt to do some research.
 
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