Before the Diagnosis or Vet Annoyance #1
The weird thing is, for the 2 annual exams leading up to his official kidney disease diagnosis, Arthur's numbers were already trending in that direction. I know this because the vet told me. So, naturally, I asked what I could do about it.
Nothing.
The first time, 2 years out, I just accepted this. The second time I heard it, hearing that it had advanced, I asked more aggressively. Seriously, since we see this is going to happen, isn't there something we can do?
No. Nothing.
Really? Well, we don't start them on the medicine until they're actually sick. Ok, but isn't there something preventative we could do? No. Nothing.
Which, in my opinion, was bullshit.
I mean, yes, it's an inevitable disease, blah blah blah, so in that sense, no, nothing to be done.
However, there are diet and nutritional things that one can give the cat that make them healthier and slow the progression of the disease. So, I could've started doing those with no harm to him, and it probably would've staved off the onset a bit longer. Like, at the very very least, I could've switched him over to canned food, as he was eating mostly dry at the time.
I'll take my responsibility for not getting on the internet and researching this more aggressively. But a bigger thumbs down is due to my vet for not mentioning any of these things to me. Even if they are only Western Veterinary Medicine based, the wet food suggestion is well known.
The weird thing is, for the 2 annual exams leading up to his official kidney disease diagnosis, Arthur's numbers were already trending in that direction. I know this because the vet told me. So, naturally, I asked what I could do about it.
Nothing.
The first time, 2 years out, I just accepted this. The second time I heard it, hearing that it had advanced, I asked more aggressively. Seriously, since we see this is going to happen, isn't there something we can do?
No. Nothing.
Really? Well, we don't start them on the medicine until they're actually sick. Ok, but isn't there something preventative we could do? No. Nothing.
Which, in my opinion, was bullshit.
I mean, yes, it's an inevitable disease, blah blah blah, so in that sense, no, nothing to be done.
However, there are diet and nutritional things that one can give the cat that make them healthier and slow the progression of the disease. So, I could've started doing those with no harm to him, and it probably would've staved off the onset a bit longer. Like, at the very very least, I could've switched him over to canned food, as he was eating mostly dry at the time.
I'll take my responsibility for not getting on the internet and researching this more aggressively. But a bigger thumbs down is due to my vet for not mentioning any of these things to me. Even if they are only Western Veterinary Medicine based, the wet food suggestion is well known.
