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[Caz]

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[Reelya]

Online free medical advice, but the pet version:

Example site

[Caz]

Online free medical advice, but the pet version:

Example site

The site you linked costs £15, but thanks.

[Reelya]

Online free medical advice, but the pet version:

Example site

The site you linked costs £15, but thanks.

Oh sorry that was the first link I found. Looks like the ones I used to know about now all redirect to other unrelated stuff, sorry. examples were:

www.talktothevet.com
www.televets.com

but they're dead links or link to unrelated stuff now :/

Maybe throw up a yahoo answers question in the cats/pets section. Yahoo isn't too bad if you stay out of the trollish categories (e.g. politics, gender)

https://au.answers.yahoo.com/dir/index?sid=396546020

[Moogie]

Online free medical advice, but the pet version:

Example site

The site you linked costs £15, but thanks.

If even £15 is too much to pay for the health of your cat, maybe you shouldn't own a cat? Just saying. Responsible pet ownership begins with responsible budgeting.

[Cheeetar]

That's a bit needly, Moogie. There's no reason to believe that behind the suspicious paywall lies the information needed, especially given how shady the site looks.

[pisskop]

Or that there's reason to spend money for information on a free internet.

[Caz]

Cool advice guys.

[Akura]

My first thought was "Cat has bulge? Cat is pregnant."

[Caz]

My first thought was "Cat has bulge? Cat is pregnant."

Nah. She got pregnant around 14 years ago when she was still pretty much a kitten herself and laid about 10 tiny stillborn kittens about the place. After that, we got her spayed.

[Telgin]

Definitely sounds like a hernia.  We had a cat that had one after he was attacked by dogs, but I don't think the vet did anything about it, strangely.  It mostly disappeared on its own over time for some reason... maybe I'm misremembering what the vet said.

Anyway, if it is a hernia, the only solution is going to be surgery, the price of which is going to vary but is very probably going to be in the hundreds of dollars.  An untreated hernia could be completely harmless, but at any point it can progress to constriction of organs, like the bowel, which can rapidly be fatal.

The only way to diagnose it for sure is to take her to a vet, but at the very least the checkup shouldn't be so expensive.  Depending on where you go it's probably going to be in the $20-$40 range for an examination like that.

[Caz]

Anyway, if it is a hernia, the only solution is going to be surgery, the price of which is going to vary but is very probably going to be in the hundreds of dollars.  An untreated hernia could be completely harmless, but at any point it can progress to constriction of organs, like the bowel, which can rapidly be fatal.

The only way to diagnose it for sure is to take her to a vet, but at the very least the checkup shouldn't be so expensive.  Depending on where you go it's probably going to be in the $20-$40 range for an examination like that.

Yea, even apart from the cost I'd be worried at the risks of general anaesthesia on a geriatric cat. My dog had to go under for an abscess recently and almost stopped breathing due to her age.

Apparently a hernia isn't dangerous unless the contents of the abdomen start poking through and get trapped there. I'll keep a careful eye on her and re-assess if she seems to be in pain.

Thanks for the post.

[smeeprocket]

even if it's a hernia, those can be fixed with surgery.

[SanDiego]

I'm a student of human medicine but this isn't all that different across the species. What you are describing is, indeed, most likely a hernia. If it can be freely reposited or 'pushed back in', it's fine. Also, you should take into account how large it is (in relation to the cat's abdomen). I can't tell you more without seeing it myself, but the cat should be fine for now. Should the hernia get incarcerated (i.e. the contents of the hernia get twisted/otherwise strangulated within), it's a life-threatening event needing immediate care.
Hope I helped.

[ShadowHammer]

It definitely sounds like a hernia, and I can confirm that those are not necessarily serious. One of my dogs has had one of those since before we adopted him and it doesn't hurt him in the least, so assuming that your cat's is similar, it should be fine without surgery.

Please note, however, that I am not a medical expert and that my evidence here is purely anecdotal, so don't take my word for it.