As many of you know, we recently adopted and then soon lost our two boys pictured above. They were genetic brothers (litter mates) and were exposed to coranavirus at the shelter which transformed into FIP, which is almost universally, and cruelly, fatal.
We tried to sanitize our house as best as possible — based on recommendations from websites dedicated to sharing information of FIP: we bought new litter boxes, new litter; washed all toys and blankets; lysoled the furniture, cat furniture, mattresses, scratchy pads, carpeting; chloroxed the wood floors and other solid surfaces that we thought exposed; and finally waited 3 months to let time, sun and air to (hopefully) kill any virus left in places we missed (from what I understand the virus is either resistant or vulnerable to environment, depending on the sources cited). Which sounds comprehensive but with one qualifier: we have our older, FIV+ but relatively healthy kitty that survived this tragedy. He recently had his annual exam and shows no sign of FIP infection. However, because of his FIV status he could be a carrier of the coronavirus which could transform into FIP+. Because of this, our vet recommends that we adopt cats 3 years and older (hopefully, their immune system will be robust enough to withstand the possible cornavirus infection if indeed, our older kitty is a carrier). My understanding is that the coronavirus in the non-lethal form can be passed to other cats but once transformed into FIP it is not likely to infect them — that they need to have special genetic traits and / or immune deficiencies to allow the coronavirus to transform into the lethal form. So the odds of our possible carrier kitty “giving” FIP to other healthy kitties are small (?) and adding the fact that the other kitties are over three years old could lessen the small odds even more(?).
So, I have two trains of thought that I am struggling with. The first revolves around the idea that I am not a good kitty parent. This is due to the fact that I feel pressured by our vet to spend alot of money on our older kitty to get dental cleaning done on his teeth. He has a heart murmur and increased lab values that suggest that he has an enlarged heart. In order to do the cleaning / exam he is suppose to have an echocardiogram done and then special anesthesia at an advanced specialty clinic — which I am assuming the total cost will be near, if not over, $1,000 (on top of the $350 annual exam / labs). My quick look at his teeth / gums shows no yellowing of his teeth, no obvious swelling of the gums (redness is hard to tell because his gums are dark gray like his skin), he has no pain symptoms, etc) but some minor plague maybe. While I understand the necessity of dental care, I can’t help but think this is “elite” (?) care and the risks outweigh the benefits in his case (he is 11y/o). He did have a cleaning done about 5 years ago, before the heart murmur appeared. Basically I am reluctant to go this route with him now though. And I appreciate that dental problems could affect his overall health in the years to come and a worsening heart could make future dental procedures even more risky.
So my questions relating to the above info are:
1. Is it wrong for me to think of adopting a pair of kitties rather than putting our money towards the existing kitty? I am wondering if it is a better use of finite funds to rescue two more kitties from shelter life and put the money aside for their future care (shots, labs as needed, etc) rather than put my current kitty through this dental procedure which may or may not extend his quantity and quality of life.
2. Do you perceive that the trend of vet care is becoming a little too “over-the-top” and that you feel pressured or guilted into spending money on care that may have limited benefit to the animal? How do you reconcile the idea of being a good pet parent with pragmatic issues such as money / expense and the “he-is-just-a-cat” after-all? (not to sound cold, but to try to access my inner objectivity to facts of life)
And my second train of thought is that we found a pair of kitties that meet our adoption criteria in every way except their age: they are only a little over a year old.
3. Are we being irresponsible and reckless by considering adopting them? The advice from our vet, which we understand is offered to lessen the chance of our reliving the tragedy is also pretty much guess work, like much of life: you can never eliminate risk and predicting future health issues is futile. She could be offering this advice as a way to confront and comfort our physic pain — as a way to offer us some sort of control over a situation that in reality has no way to be controlled.
And of course there is:
4. The risk that we will have another pair of brothers that will bring FIP into the house again. Is there any way we can decrease the risk by asking the right questions from the adoption shelter?
I have lived with cats almost all my life, but this latest experience with Bunson and Beaker have torpedoed my confidence in taking care of kitties. And, more importantly, my emotional fragility of exposing myself to another heartbreak stops me from taking the plunge without this mental anquish. But then my scientific, objective side of me says that nothing is guaranteed and that you just take the risks and deal with them as they hit and that the good of the many outweighs the good of the one……
Interestingly, I never have confidence problems when it concerns human health care: I can somewhat easily distinguish between needed care and “over the top care” when it comes to personal health decisions.
I am really struggling with the above four questions and really appreciate any thoughts that you may wish to share in helping me make good decisions.