Sunday, April 11, 2010

Radiocat - Changed Mind

After my Radiocat post,  someone posted about a natural remedy that worked for her.  Since I hadn't explored the natural remedy solution, I looked at the medicine and it was still something that needed to be given twice a day.  Cats aren't like dogs where you can hide something in a piece of cheese and giving a liquid dropper of yummy goodness to a cat isn't met with a smile.  It did get me doing a web search and I found a holistic vet in Phoenix and called the number.  Lucky for me, it was her cell phone and not the vets office.  We chatted for a bit and I called the office to schedule an appointment on Sunday.

After our call I looked at her profile for the vets office and found out that she's a runner.   This was going to be perfect...a person who loves cats, doesn't jump to radical treatment AND is a runner.  Another great thing about her is she works at a vet where they are open 7 days a week, including Sunday's.

While waiting for my appointment a man brought in his chihuahua.  Both were very rough on the edges and I wouldn't be surprised based on the milk crate the dog was carried in, if they were near homelessness.  I chatted with the man about why him and "Peanut" were there and he explained the dog hurt his foot because his nails were too long, was limping and had a sore on its front leg. He made $40 a day and had to save a week to bring the dog in and just wanted the nails trimmed.  When I saw the condition of the man and dog, I already knew I wanted to help him and this now solidified the idea.   Whether he spent his money on beer, drugs or whatever, if someone with no money brings their pet to the vet, they are really worried about their pet.   Handing my credit card to the receptionist I told them I wanted to pay for an exam.   This act of kindness turned into a free vet visit, another client paying for his antibiotics and nail clipping, the receptionist paying for the parvo shot, someone buying a bag of dog food and the vet writing off the remainder of any charges.

That was really the highlight of the visit.  The rest of the visit was good and I learned that there may be underlying kidney disease that doing the radioactive treatment will bring that full on.  His thyroid numbers aren't too high yet and the vet feels we can control it with food.  I'm comfortable canceling the Radiocat appointment and trying the nutrition aspect first.  Armed with a new bag of food and supplements, Nugget and I headed home where he promptly ate some of his new food.   Hurray!  Fingers crossed he is still eager to eat when the supplements are added.

8 comments:

LookingUpAgain said...

What an amazing story! How kind of you. I hope Nugget gets better with this new treatment :)

ajh said...

This is a great story and good news about your cat too!

Running Through Life said...

Great story. You are a classy person!!!!!

Carrie said...

This made my eyes tear up! Wow. You are a really great person.

Nugget has still been in my thoughts and prayers. I hope these treatments work for him!

Jamie said...

You rock! What a great story. Also glad you found an alternative for your kitty.

Sarah Heinle said...

Christina you are awesome and I love what you did for that man and "Peanut". Keep us updated on Nugget.

Unknown said...

Any updates on the cat? Our cat has just been diagnosed, and we are weighing options...

Christina said...

Dave-I'm doing the pill treatment and Nugget is now fat. He is doing well and is healthy. I'm glad I took the pill route instead of the Radio cat because I could have had full kidney disease by removing the thyroid problem. Feel free to email directly with questions/bounce ideas cheinle at cox dot net