Any veterinarians here?
 

I rescued a small cat off the streets of South L.A., (rough neighborhood), where my shop space is. I have been feeding her at the shop for a few months but she disappeared for a week or so and showed up with what looked like a broken leg a couple of nights ago, so I brought her home. She needs to come indoors.

After 6 hours sitting in the waiting room of an animal hospital ER yesterday, I found out that nothing is broken but she has a dislocated joint in her RH hind leg. They told me that it would require surgery and $6-8k estimate. Of course I don't have pet insurance on her, I just scraped her off the street. :rolleyes:

Here's my question for the vets: Can't this just be carefully pulled back into correct position with the cat anesthetized? With humans, they do not usually cut you open for a dislocated joint, they just "pop" it back in. They basically refused to try this at the animal hospital even though they had her sedated already...I told them that I would do it but of course that didn't fly. It was the "boat payment" option or hit the bricks. :mad:

She is not in pain, just limping around. God only knows how she did this...must have gotten it caught in something and was hanging by her paw or something. Poor animal.

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No advice on what to do, Denis. But it does seem to me that she wormed herself into your heart. Yes, they are good at that.

I would get a second opinion at another vet. 6k to 8k for a dislocated joint???

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Look at that face Denis.

I think you know all the answers already.



Just a thought... Is there a vet school or a SPCA place to share the cost.

Looks like she has a sable brown coat. If so, she's probably a Burmese. I think they're the coolest cats.

All our vets and "connections" are long gone methinks... sadly :(.

Denis, if you spend any significant $, let us know. I will assist you.... go do it. Find someone (a local vet) if you can.... the ones I personally have known would have already helped the kitty no charge...

Bless you for caring about the cat. Does she have a name?
This is quite a conundrum.
On one hand you can put $8000 into a stray cat that might disappear the next week.
On the other hand, how can you let the cat suffer?
On your third hand - $8000 !!
This seems like a great use for crowdfunding - that's what it's for, right? A few bucks to help out a stray kitty isn't going to break anyone, but $8000 is a lot for one person to bear. If you get a Go Fund Me set up I'm in for $50.

Speeder's ******* Fund :)

Edited: LOL .... no way was that getting past ... even with "$$"es :D

I sent my vet an email asking for suggestions. I'm wondering about a vet college. And if surgery is called for. A place I went to before repaired a luxated patella on a small dog's knee for me years ago for $1,700. A couple of years ago that same place wanted $5,000 for her litter mate's same problem. I think clinics have been bought up and converted into money making machines.

Maybe there's an answer on Reddit or Facebook? I'd be surprised if we have no vets here anymore. I'd be good for a contribution to a Go Fund Me account.

Don’t know your area well but we’ve found that it’s worth driving away from the big city to see a vet that also does large animals. It’s a different culture and often you’ll get a much more reasonable assessment. Most small animal clinics are corporate owned (see Mars Corp for example) and have a strong profit mandate.

$6-$8k is insane for what is likely a simple orthopedic procedure. You may want to get her on an anti-inflammatory to ease any discomfort while you figure this out. Outdoor cats don’t typically live a full life….another consideration if you end up keeping her.

I had great results from Animal Specialty Group.
4641 Colorado Bd. L.A. 90039 Ph# 818 244-7977.
They specialize in Bones, Ligaments, etc.
Lots of Vets referrer Dogs and cats to them.
I would bring the X rays that you already have and see what they can do.
They are the 5 and 134 freeway.

Bernie

Cheers for the cat save Denis! I would see if there is a cat rescue group in your area. They may have vets they work with that will give you a break. It's tough with animals and their vet bills. My older pup Gracie has been favoring her right front lately. We thought she was better and then she woke up limping bad this morning. Off the to the vet today. Cats have a way of working their way into your heart. I've had Tilly, the long hair in this pic, for almost 15 years now :-) She was rescued by my son from a feral colony as a kitten. I became a cat guy that day. The ginger was rescued almost 9 years ago now. He had a $1,500 dental two years ago. Thankfully healthy since.

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Thanks, all. She is no longer a stray cat, she's an indoor cat from here on out. She might outlive me! We shall see.

Bernie, thanks and I'll give them a call. I've also been connected to some cat rescue people with resources. I was really hoping to get some of the usual free advice from a professional that flows here, I think there is a vet that posts(?) I also have a cousin who is an equine vet but she is in VA., reaching out today. Thanks again.

I don't post much here, I just read. And I'm retired from vet medicine, so my knowledge of current pricing is limited, but for a simple luxation, that sounds insane.

Yes, I would have tried to manually reduce while anesthetized, and then put a cast on. Cats hate casts, so bear that in mind.

As for the remarks about the high cost of vet med, usually there is no insurance so it hurts more when it comes out of your pocket. And the costs of running an animal hospital are just as high as running a human doc in a box. I couldn't even tax deduct for humane society work or pro bono work.

Thank you so much. On Weds night, they put a ridiculous cast on her without even doing anything! They just told me that the leg should have a splint and charged me a crazy fee for it. The cat was in my carrier and still sedated when they released it to me so I did not see the cast until I got home. They also put a cone on her. She started really waking up right when I got her home and began thrashing inside the carrier like a banshee. I had to immediately remove the cast, which was a lot of fun on an enraged cat.

Would a simpler, smaller aluminum splint be ok? She will not tolerate a big cast, I'd have to tranquilize her the entire time. I could easily fashion a custom aluminum splint plus ace bandage or something.

Fingers crossed that unnamed kitty gets her leg fixed up reasonably soon for a reasonable cost. I suspect it's uncomfortable even if it doesn't seem like it. Animals don't whine about discomfort most of the time. They usually just get on with whatever needs to be done.

My vet says from looking at the one x-ray, it looks like there's broken bones in there, and probably all the ligaments are torn up. He thought it looked like the cat got hit by a car. He said you'll need a surgeon with skills, spend the $6-8k, and it likely won't take and it'll need to be amputated, anyway. You might want to consider going directly to amputation. He said young cats can adapt remarkably well to having three legs.

Dr Pol uses slats from old farm baskets sometimes to set a leg . Have seen him do it on TV many times . Not sure what the criteria is that makes the decision splint vs cast .

Serious question , how far from Tijuana are you ? A vet there would be much cheaper I would think . Not sure what the rules are for crossing the border twice with an animal . I hope you have a successful outcome .

Screw the go fund me fees...just tell me where to send the check & who to make it out to. Bank might be leery of one made to simply "Denis".