Toulouse Portrait and Health Update

Today’s selfie is a fabulous portrait of Toulouse with two preset treatments and a health update after his recent annual check up at the vet.

The vet decided that Toulouse had to have an ultrasound for a suspected grade 4 heart murmur.

He was delivered to the vet on Thursday bright and early then he began to cause mischief. After a dose of Gabapentin he was still being antsy so he was given Turbugeic to calm him down.

Sedation Notes: Gabapentin worked okay, still very wriggly when trying to lay on side.

This worked, however, as you can imagine, Toulouse was on a completely different planet when he came home with eyes like saucers and very VERY HUNGRY. It took some time to calm him down but 24 hours later he seemed to be coming back to himself and our boy came for his cuddles and settled to more of his lively self.

Mum’s Note: I have not gone and looked for details of cat heart disease symptoms because I refuse to tread the ‘panic path’. I have a highly skilled cat-owning veterinarian who will tell me what treatment Toulouse needs and if he will need specialist help. That is enough for me.

This week-end is Labour week-end here in New Zealand so whatever opinion might come from the specialist who is 154 kms (approx. 99 miles) away, a two hour drive. It will not be until at least Tuesday 17th of October that we receive any news on further treatment.

Needless to say I will update everyone as soon as I can. Our boy is lively and fine and we intend to keep him that way for a long time.

Final Thought

THIS is why, if you can, I suggest cat health insurance. Toulouse’s specialist ultrasound cost almost $560US/£420 (so far). Yes, at a pinch we could gather the money BUT many cannot. Toulouse previous (unexpected) urinary operation cost $4,500 NZ/£1,868/$2,500US and many would simply have their cat euthanised due to the expense.

So, either an insurance policy or a regular small contribution to your vet (if they run such a scheme) can save a lot of worry. Someone wrote a US pet insurance post on Reddit that gives insights (you do not need to join Reddit).

• TIP: Check a bunch of different insurers – check monthly contributions – check excess before policy kicks in. (Ignore cute ads make up your own mind). Sometimes a higher excess might mean lower monthly payments. Check online comments about insurers.

Marjorie Dawson

Cat Photographer, Instructor and Writer

Marjorie is an award-winning cat photographer, tutor, and published writer based in New Zealand. A Professional Member of the Cat Writers’ Association, she helps cat lovers strengthen the bond with their pets by improving their photography and editing skills through short how-to videos and encouraging, human written and well-researched posts. Marjorie believes anyone can take amazing photos and show off their cats to purrfection!

Professional Member of the Cat Writers Association,
Winner of the Kuykendall Image Award
Published at the Guardian newspaper