It's been 3 years since Bentley had his FHO's

3 Years have passed since our Bentley had his FHO surgeries! His first FHO was in March of 2012 and his second one in June of 2012. It is now April 2015 and our Bentley...who will turn 5 in November couldn't be happier or better. 

He chases Squirrels up and down trees, runs and jumps with no effort. My husband and I are both so glad that we did what we did back then...in order to help Bentley to live a normal cat life...pain free!

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns or questions! 

Best regards 

Barbara

Great information on a healthy diet to keep your feline friend healthy and happy

Great guidelines on feeding your cat a healthy diet by:

    Lisa A. Pierson, DVM

http://www.catinfo.org/

We tried a raw diet with Bentley but he just won't take to raw food :( We are feeding Bentley a high quality wet food diet only (grain free/ human grade) and his weight is perfect! 

Greetings

Bentley and Barbara 

Bentley has no problems running or jumping 2 years post op his bilateral FHO surgery's

Hello to all readers!
I just wanted to give you another quick update on Bentley and to also let you know that this Blog is still active.
Bentley has absolutely no problems with his hips or knees. He runs, climbs up trees and jumps quite high up on things with little or no effort. I hope for all of you that have decided to have this surgery done on their feline friends to have the same outcome. Bentley is leading a very normal cat life without pain.

We just took him in last week to see a Vet Cardiologist in Los Angeles. Since Bentley is a pedigree Maine Coon, he had a slight chance of developing:

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). 

Bentley's heart turned out to be normal with no sign of disease.  That was another big relieve for all of us!
Please be advised that other cat breeds can also develop this deadly disease. I provided a link above with information on HCM. By clicking on the HCM line you will be linked directly to the site.
I also attached Bentley's test results... so you can all see what these will look like just in case you will have to do the same with your furry friend.

That's it for now! I will be checking in again soon. If you have any questions....please don't hesitate to ask.

Best regards

Barbara and Bentley

For anybody experiencing financial hardship and can't afford expensive Vet bills...there is help!

I stumbled up onto this helpful post by surfing the web and decided to post it on Bentley's Blog! It's worth a try for anybody undergoing financial hardship and not being able to pay high Vet bills. Please read before you decide to euthanize your friend...there may be financial help available to you!!! Please refer to the sites provided to you below.

Good Luck.......

Barbara


Information on agencies that may help with finances. Somebody had good success with Care Credit, which is a company that helps set up payment plans and most vets work with them.

Care Credit
http://www.carecredit.com/
A credit card company for health care, including veterinary care.
"With a comprehensive range of plan options, for
treatment or procedure fees from $1 to over $25,000, we offer a plan
and a low monthly payment to fit comfortably into almost every
budget."

Angels 4 Animals
http://www.angels4animals.org/
"Our services range from financial aid to complete treatment
to those pets and pet owners in need."

Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance
 http://www.fveap.org/sys-tmpl/door/
"Seniors, People with disabilities, People who
have lost their job, Good Samaritans who rescue a cat or kitten - any of these folks may need financial assistance to save a beloved companion."

The Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program is a nonprofit 501
(c)(3) organization that provides financial assistance to cat and
kitten guardians who are unable to afford veterinary services to save
their companions when life-threatening illness or injury strikes.

God's Creatures Ministry
http://www.all-creatures.org/gcm/help-cf.html
"This fund helps pay for veterinarian bills for those who need help."

IMOM
http://www.imom.org/
"We are dedicated to insure that no
companion animal has to be euthanized simply because their caretaker
is financially challenged."

The Pet Fund
http://thepetfund.com/
"The Pet Fund is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit association that
provides financial assistance to owners of domestic animals who need
urgent veterinary care."

Christmas wishes from Bentley

Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous new Year to all!

                                    Best wishes from Barbara & Bentley


Please help.... keep this Blog going by posting your experience, so that others can read and learn. When Bentley underwent his surgery I couldn't hardly find anything online to help us cope with the experience.

Bentley is doing great, completely recovered from his ordeal. One would never know by watching him jump and run that he once underwent a double FHO. Bentley and I hope and pray that all of you will have the same wonderful outcome!


  

Bentley had his 1 Year FHO post op check up with the Vet!

Bentley had his 1 Year FHO post op check up with the Vet!

We took Bentley to the Vet for his yearly Wellness check up and to have his double FHO post op hips looked at. Bentley got a clean bill of health. Both of his hips have healed completely!  Bentley can walk, run and jump with no problems. He is one happy boy ;)

I however, have another interesting fact I like to make my Blog readers aware of....Vaccinations!!!

We decided not to give any more booster vaccines to Bentley. He had all of his kitten core vaccinations and his 1 year boosters. He should have enough immunity by now... to last him a lifetime. We live in southern California... so by law we will have to give him the Rabies Vaccine...but not every year! We opted for every 3 years on the Rabies but no further Feline Distemper or Feline Leukemia Vaccines.

Bentley is at a very low risk in contacting any of these diseases. He only is allowed outside on supervised leash walks in our yard. He does not roam freely and he does not come in contact with unknown cats. His chances of catching any of these diseases are very slim.

I provided 5 YouTube links below, where you can listen to 2 Veterinarians talking about the dangers of over vaccinating your pets.

Dr Karen Becker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3P7FnSTcC8

Dr. Karen Becker Interviews Dr. Schultz (Expert on Animal Vaccines) (Part 1 of 4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC--bGthNN8

Dr. Karen Becker Interviews Dr. Schultz (Part 2 of 4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Zvg8tIxeY

Dr. Karen Becker Interviews Dr. Schultz (Part 3 of 4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc-6exZcbJ4

Dr. Karen Becker Interviews Dr. Schultz (Part 4 of 4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdPhj8Vq9ck

We are glad to have found these Interviews!

Happy Easter to you and yours :)

Update...Bentley went up a tree today!

I took Bentley outside in our yard today to play with his little feline friend Hannah. Bentley kept watching Hannah climbing up trees. All of a sudden he started to walk around a tree whining as if he was going to tell us something and then before we knew it, he took a running start and up the tree he went with no problem! I was in disbelieve!!! He went up about 5 feet!!! I got so worried that I picked him off the tree to help him down. I thought for sure that he must had pulled something....but "No" he was fine and so proud of himself. Don't forget that Bentley is a huge cat weighing 20lbs. That is a lot of weight to pull up a tree but he did it with ease.
  
 I think that after today's event it is safe to say now, that Bentley has fully recovered from his FHO surgery's on both sides. Next month will be the year marker since he had the first FHO on the (R) side and in June it will be a year since he had the FHO on the (L) side.   

Good luck to all of you with your little patients...have faith and patience they will get better.

XXXX
Bentley's Mommy