Back & Tail Spasms

[jason]

I know this board is meant to be helpful. But I can't help feeling that my post with a real concern was not taken seriously. The next time someone posts about muscle spasms in their cat, please take a minute and think about the advice that you are giving out.

the very first reply (30 minutes after you posted) indicated a visit to an ER vet, that sounded like taking it serious to me. within a 24 hour period, three replies were made to this thread.

something else to think about when dolling out advice.

thought you didnt want to sound ungrateful? you could made mention of this without the tone (as in simply giving us an fyi, not telling the board what to do when dolling out advice).

[Tina B and crew]

Kellee...I think your post was taken seriously...Traci never takes things lightly. One of her suggestions on her first reply to you was to get the cat seen sooner than the appointment you had. You have to remember that one can only speculate about what is wrong with a cat by someones description of symptoms. Traci does her best with what she is given and she always advises seeing ones vet and insists on not diagnosing on this board. I'm not sure what else you expected from the board.

Hopefully nothing serious. If possilbe, try to up that appointment to tomorrow. If she exhibits any other signs of distress or illness, don't even wait, get her seen immediately or get to an ER clinic. One can never assume what she might have been in contact with outdoors.

[jason]

I knew, I just knew that that you would take that personally.

your given care and compassion (for your kitty) and you respond with instructions on how it should of been given.

First off let me just say that I was not using this forum as a substitute for veterinary care.

good point, thanks for mentioning that.

After doing research on possible causes I came to the board, not to get free veterinary advice, but to see if any other cat owners had experienced the same types of thing with their cats.

well, the board is not always what everyone is expecting...doesnt mean we are wrong, you basically got free vet advice becuase it was thought to be the most important for your kitty.

You see, I am a single mother who does not have the luxury of just taking off from my job at any time so I had to set the appointment at a time when I was not working. Please spare me the “well if it was your child would you have waited to take her to the doctor” types of things because if it was my child I still wouldn’t be able to take off of work, their grandmother would have to take them. Also I cannot afford to pay $150 for a visit to the emergency vet clinic after hours. That’s just for the office visit, that’s not including the vet actually looking at the cat.

those are semi-reasonable gripes (from my pov) i do admit. basically you are doing your best with what you have. some may think you could do more, but that is speculation at best....we all have circumstances that can get in the way at times. i wont agree with the problems you face if the kitty is terminal however...not the yours was, just making a statement before someone searches it up later for purposes of misquoting.

3) I advised you to get your kitty seen earlier..
See the paragraph at the beginning of this post.

uh, are you talking about not getting some sort of vet advice? well, you needed it. especially since you were unable to see a vet (in person) till sometime later given your reasons above. you did need it.

and without some real tests, you cant possibly be conclusive as to what was really wrong. its somewhat of a guessing game when trying to help from such a distance.

He seems to know what he is doing.

didnt ask for vet advice, you got it....and being that it was advice given from a far that also highly recommened a real vet visit, you insist on comparing the advice here to what you got from a real visit...now that is really unneccessary KelleeAZ. we are fully aware that this board (or any like it) will never be anything near a replacement for a real vet visit. sometimes we hit the diagnosis on the head, and other times its just too difficult to perfectly figure out.

He said that the activity was consistent to the beginnings of seizures which are not common, but not unheard of in cats. I would imagine that since he is a vet, he does know a little bit about animals. By the way, my friend has a dog who has epileptic seizures, her vet never did any blood tests on him either but yet they still were able to diagnose it.

do you want him to have an award for this? being able to diagnose a kitty better in person than someone sitting at a computer. yes, you have turned quite ungrateful for what this board is able to do.

Btw, fleas can live in nearly any environment, moist or dry. By the way, in July the average temperature here was 115 degrees. My vet assured me that the fleas could not survive because they would not have enough moisture. If you know more than my vet, then why is he a vet and you are a technician?

perhaps you need a drink right about now. is the entire world supposed to do climate checkups before talking with you about possible causes to your kitties problems? why do you feel the need to insult Traci with this "he is a vet and you are a vet tech" bull crap?

Now, if you can honestly tell me you gave your vet the exact same account you gave in this forum and he magically came to a conclusion of vitamin deficiency and possible seizures, then I've been in the wrong business. Otherwise, if he performed no specific diagnostics, and merely sent you home with a dietary supplement, then it's time you seek another opinion and immediately I might add. If he DID perform diagnostics, I'd be interested in hearing about what those were, and would like an account of bloodwork and lab results that indicated vitamin deficiency. I can honestly say I gave him the same account, and answered about a million questions. By the way, my doctor doesn’t always need to take blood when I visit him yet he “Magically” is able to diagnose many health problems anyway. Hmmm maybe I should start seeking other advice there too? I certainly would much rather pay someone else 50 times more to do needless bloodtest and xrays whenever possible!

pay attention to the tone here KelleeAZ, Traci is trying to learn from what this vet picked up on (or just speculated)...no one is with full knoweldge of everything, even your heavenly vet may make mistakes sometimes...although im sure its not vet related.

However, a bit of advice…Maybe you should extend some of that compassion towards the humans that post here.

given your ungratefullness, i hardly think your the one to make that comment. anyhow, this board has always been about the animals first and people last (if they are lucky). the orgins and reasons this board exist are found in nearly every post. there are simply very few (or nil) boards/communities that contain as much heart and love towards the animals first as this one does. it does tend to set some people off at times, but we refuse to alter the initiative or agenda we proclaim.

The next time you feel the need to question someone who is giving you advice (and freely I might add), instead of getting on the net, I suggest you call your vet instead.
Actually I got some great advice for free through this forum, a pet owner who e-mailed me privately. She was not a VET TECHNICIAN, just another pet owner. She was kind and gave me some insight about what she experience with her cat. It wasn’t clinical, there were not blood tests involved, yet she still managed to give me a really good idea about what’s going on. And the best part was that she didn’t treat me like I was less educated about my pet than she was.

would of been most helpful if this pet owner posted in the thread.

your snide comments to Traci are noted, nothing to really say about it since it will only prove a moot arguement. feel free to calm down and apologize for getting as personal as you have, otherwise your tone will no longer be permitted here.

no one here has gotten personal than you. everything was always about the kitty and how to get this kitty back to good health and happiness, being off the mark in diagnosis (not really known quite yet actually) is no reason for your tone and distain.

the discussion as this thread currently is must end now (for everone...the issues have been well addressed now), do not continue with anymore "my vet vs board tech" or "your wrong he is right". no one is asking for groveling or even a thank you, just tone it down now...thanks.

feel free to offer helpful updates on your cats health as to help our users and us with future issues of this kind.

[Spez]

Just a quick note to say "Thank You" to Traci and Jason. Personally, I feel this is the most PROFESSIONAL board that I have ever used. This is such a wonderful place. I have appreciated all of your advice and support and I greatly appreciate how well you keep it monitored.

Have a great weekend!

[jason]

Topic locked, no more replies.

the new direction is simply too far off topic.