I’m Spending All My Money at the Vet

Okay, I'm exaggerating. But I am spending a ton at the vet in the last few weeks! I have two cats, Porsche and Nala, or @PorscheandNala on IG. I guess I'm one of those annoying cat-moms who makes her cats their own IG page and posts in their voice.

Porsche and Nala, or 'The Girls', as I call them, turned eight in May. After several of my friends and family members visited Boise this year and commented that Nala felt extremely thin, I took her in to figure out if there was anything weird. Nala has always been hyperactive and really small, but I was shocked when she weighed in at just 5.7 lbs, down almost a full pound from her last recorded weight. For an already small cat, losing 15% of her body weight was pretty alarming. My initial thought was that she'd developed hyperthyroidism, which is common in cats her age.

After a round of blood tests, I was excited to learn that everything was normal outside of a very high white blood cell count. They thought that could be indicative of either bowel disease or infection. I had to schedule an ultrasound, which was today.

I took Nala in this morning after about 14 hours of fasting, which made me feel terrible in itself because Nala has a really high metabolism and wants to eat nonstop, and eagerly waited with my ringer on in the studio for their call with results. They called this afternoon and said everything looks great, except for some sort of blockage or build up in her stomach, which shouldn't be there after the fasting.

Part of me is so happy that she doesn't have any underlying issues! But the other part of me is scared at the thought of surgery. They referred me to a different clinic to have a scope procedure done to get a better idea of what the build up could be. Hopefully it's just hair that built up over time and is now too big to pass, but they aren't sure. If it's something more extreme than a hair ball, surgery to remove it may be necessary.

I got pet insurance recently but have not found out if my claims are being covered yet. With my three trips to the vet so far, I've spent nearly $1,500 and that's without the scoping and potential surgery! I would and have done anything for my cats, but DAMN! Pets get expensive! I know, I know, it's way cheaper than kids. Less work, too.

If you have experience with pet insurance claims and/or have input on a great clinic that does surgeries (I love the vet I'm going to, but they don't do the scope procedure she needs and the place they referred has less than great reviews), let me know!