Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: Rosella moggy on May 18, 2007, 17:02:47 PM
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As there are a lot of you with elderly puddies, I wonder what is considered best practice about having regular blood tests for oldies without real clinical signs of there being a problem.
Due to suspected thyroid prob with near neighbour's elderly cat, I am a wee bit paranoid about our Tom (17 1/2). He is thinner than he was a couple of years ago but still weighs 5kg. He occasionally chucks up but tbh less frequently than he used to. His blood results last year were "remarkable" for a cat his age. His coat is in good condition. He eats little and often. To all intents and purposes pretty good I'd say except for his arthritis for which he's on 1 metacam drop every 3 days which seems to help. I had the bloods done last summer after a throwing up session that lasted days and then just stopped. Didn't get to the bottom of it.
On the one hand I'm tempted to ask vet to do bloods just to get in early with any probs but don't want to distress our boy just to put my mind at rest. Tom doesn't like going to vet but doesn't make a scene over it if you know what I mean! The vet might of course just tell me to take a hike if he's showing no symptoms!
I think we've prob discussed this before but would welcome views on annual blood tests for older felines not showing signs of illness.
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I personally have mine tested yearly, does throw the new receptionists, as there isnt a 'true' reason for doing it, but it is peace of mind for me, and bearing in mind that htey can lose up to 75% of kidney and liver function before you would notice, I like to know what their results are, they can then be compared each year. If you know the results while they are healthy, it does help, as sometimes cats can be in teh normal range but still need meds, as the normal range might be different for them. Good luck!!
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At his grand age, then yes i would do regular checks!
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I would definitely do annual blood tests at that age, or even every 6 months or so (depending on test results and how the cat is at the vets - need to balance the stress of going to the vets with the benefit of finding out about potential problems early on). Jaffa is only 10 (in a couple of weeks) and he had a full senior blood panel done last autumn. The vet recommended testing for kidney function following a dental when pre-op bloods showed highish values so I asked for a full geriatric panel including thyroid and consider it money well spent. His levels are ok but they are towards the top end of what is considered normal so I'm going to get him tested again soon and will get him tested once a year minimum but maybe more often than that. Jaffa doesn't particularly like going to the vets but he copes and is fine once home again so I think it's worth it to be able to compare results over time. If his urea and creatinine go up I want to know before he shows any outward symptoms.
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In an ideal world perhaps it would be a good idea to blood test and not just necessarily the oldies, we are hearing about more a more young cats with kidney probs nowadays. However, if we can't get people to flea and worm on a regular basis we would be struggling to get folks to take the little ones to the vets to blood test.
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I personally think blood testing every 12 months is fine for oldies, although I do like mine to have six monthly checkups - I scheduled Pebbles and Gingers vacc's and blood tests to be 6 months apart, but messed up with Tiger and Molly and did everything in one go.
Ela - you might want to read Rosella's original post, you seem to have slightly missed the point with your answer!!
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Since "geriatric" is classed after 7 years old within practice (whether we agree or not thats the normal age) i think it would be perfectly acceptable and desirable to have yearly bloods done on a 17.5 year old feline.
My fraser isnt particularily showing clinical signs of anything but at 14 i am going to be taking him for general routine bloods just to see how things are ticking along .
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I agree totally with desleys original post entierly. My cat is at that stage now and I wish someone suggested that to me earlier on......
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Ela - you might want to read Rosella's original post, you seem to have slightly missed the point with your answer!!
I don't think I did, I answered and said in an ideal world etc. I then embellished as indeed happens on almost all topics.
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Yeah, but Rosella was asking if it was a good idea for her, so talking about an ideal world isn't really an answer.
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Yeah, but Rosella was asking if it was a good idea for her, so talking about an ideal world isn't really an answer.
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I give up, I am going to watch TV.
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Rosella I would have a yearly test if I were in your shoes, Tom may not thank me for it though :evillaugh:
Also I think we have to remember that not just the original poster reads each thread so giving a more generalised opinion is just as valuable for others who may be reading as it is for the original poster.
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Thank you so much for all your responses.
I will book our Thomas in for a geriatric blood test and thyroid in next week or so and do annually thereafter unless an earlier check seems appropriate.
Can't say that this would have been on the cards if I had not found you lot last year and truly believe that our Thomas (I keep typing MY Tom, whoops!), is going to have a longer, more comfortable life now I've found you all so :thanks: :thanks: :thanks: all of you
Anything good on TV Ela? ;)
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I hope he has a longer life too Rosella .
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quote]Anything good on TV Ela?[/quote]
I watched um, um, Oh! I know the Grease auditions. I do so love educational programmes ;D
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Also I think we have to remember that not just the original poster reads each thread so giving a more generalised opinion is just as valuable for others who may be reading as it is for the original poster.
I myself have the opinion rightly or wrongly that if there is an opening to give advice that could save a life, that we should take the opportunity to grasp the moment.
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Of course we should Ela, I just thought your post was a bit negative, and rather then enforce the fact that blood tests are an excellent idea, you went on about we would struggle. We could have ignored the fact that people dont always flea and worm, and just enforced yearly blood tests for seniors.
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I'll let you have the last word on that as I can't be bothered.
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Can I just add that it's so important to get the vet to correctly identify anything abnormal and how it may affect things (like meds, diet). Sometimes in older pets they take irregularities as 'acceptable' and inevitable and generally they are. However in my experience, being told all was 'normal' when in fact Swamp's liver enzymes were in the high 80s (considerably above normal) would have meant I didn't put him through a sedation to have a heart scan for a level 2 heart murmur. Only after his liver then went to acute cholangiohep did the vets say 'something must have been brewing'. I was upset as they are called 'pre-anaesthetic' tests as well as geriatric!
Now I've been told that you should do a proper urinalysis as well to supplement the blood tests. At least that's non invasive. Poor Tom, but the blood tests are quite quick. Don't be alarmed that they take blood from the jugular; it doesn't seem to hurt them, just doesn't put them in the best possible mood. Nothing that a nice nosh afterwards can't cure. The worst bit for mine is the starving beforehand -no brekker before the test and nothing to eat for 10 hours :Crazy:
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hope everything comes back ok rosella when he gets em done.
Ela tbh i didnt read anything negative about your post, it was generalised to everyone not just rosella but i'm sure she and most others would have the sense to apply that to their own current situation.
ps...ott rosella but did ya get all your pipes n bathroom etc finished ;)
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Thanks for all your input. When Tom had his bloods done last year, vet took blood from his front leg which I was assuming would be the same again? If it is jugular, Tom loves his grub so can pretty easily distract him afterwards.
Work starts on CH and bathroom next Tuesday for 2 to 3 weeks (bathroom is going to be gutted so replastering will take a long time to dry out) and I am taking 1st week off work so will probably book Tom in that week for the bloods. Poor Billy and Freddie going into cattery for 4 nights (when noisy work and floor boards being up is carried out) altho it is Cramar Cat Rescue so 5* accommodation and care!
Not looking forward to the work on house at all. Has your bathroom turned out OK Lynn?
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yes its nice thanks. Nothing to state of the art but new, fresh and just nice. Still have the vinyl to be laid but thats being done along with new carpets in all the bedrooms and I HAVE TO paint my bedroom before that can be done :tired: Of course hubby has to move all the furniture before i can paint :evillaugh:
Good luck when yours all start, it is a momentus pain in the proverbial whilst being done but worth it afterwards.
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Rosella, vets seem to take bloods from different places, mine have always taken from the neck, but only one has ever caused a fuss, so she now has a gel to numb it first!! If they have always gone from the leg in the past, I should imagine they will continue to do that.
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Ela tbh i didnt read anything negative about your post, it was generalised to everyone not just rosella but i'm sure she and most others would have the sense to apply that to their own current situation.
Thank you, I (obviously cos I wrote it) ;D and others didn't either, but I could see no point in trying to defend myself as it would have just prolonged the issue.
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Rosella, vets seem to take bloods from different places,
Mine take 'normal' bloods from the leg, but FIV, FeLV, & Thyroid etc from the neck area.
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When Tom had bloods done last year from front leg, vet said he took a little extra to test thyroid in case other results showed nothing amiss which is what happened and, as I mentioned initially, he said results "remarkable". Don't you just love that word. Fingers crossed that's the way it'll all go this time too!
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I just rang vets to make the big guy's appointment. Vet nurse says she thinks vet would agree it is good to be vigilant at Tom's age and can see no objection to annual testing. It seems Tom's last tests were last August though so I am diarising a note for a few months time. I almost heard Tom's sigh of relief!
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can see no objection to annual testing.
I hope she meant Blood testing ;D and not the alternitive.
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She better had've meant blood testing :rofl: