now have two pets with serious health problems

Well, one seems stable for now. That would be my dog, whose main condition is a stage 4 heart murmur/enlarged heart, and a persistent cough that may be associated with it. He's on two medications now.

The other, my cat, isn't showing symptoms yet, but was diagnosed with the early stages of kidney failure just last week. He's on a prescription diet now.
I'm going to get a second opinion on it, I love my vet, but I'm not really satisfied with the way they handled it and they didn't do all the tests that are normally supposed to be done. Though, I think this was because I only had a very limited amount of money with me, but still. I think they're a good vet and all, but I imagine a general practitioner can't be expert in all areas.

This brings up some serious financial concerns though, I must say. The cat will get expensive to take care of when he gets to later stages....
Cats can live for years after diagnosis of this disease and the diet he's eating is proven to lengthen the lifespan of CRF cats, so there is that. (The diet is low in sodium and phosphorus so as to put as little strain on the kidneys as possible.)

 

Taking my cat to the vet soonish, probably this week. Waiting to hear back from the vet on prices after they get his medical history and stuff.