My cat's been sick enough for me to take him to the vet, and some x-rays showed he has something stuck in his stomach. He needs emergency surgery to remove it, or it'll move into his intestines and kill him. He hasn't been eating, and it's looking increasingly desperate. I don't have the money for the surgery, and I'm desperately trying to pull it together by essentially begging on the internet with fundraising sites. Everything just feels so hopeless. It's been such a bad week, and now... My cat is literally the only thing in my life right now that helps me keep it together most days. I don't know what I'll do without him. I can't lose him. Not now, not while I'm in such a bad place... :tears:
I am so sorry to hear this news.. I think if you are in a position to perhaps ask for some help, it might be a good idea for you. Like Ouzo mentioned, do you have any family or friends who would be willing to help you out and be there for you during this time?
Like Ouzo said, can family, friends, roommates etc help you out? *Some* vets do a scheme where they will pay for or do the surgery/treatment for free until the owners can get the money together- like a loan, but no where near as bad or scary as most of them. They also do a charity thing where they will often pay for the full vets bills for senior citizens, students or disabled peoples pets- generally people who need a bit of a hand financially. I doubt it is just a UK thing, it might be worth looking into. *big hugs to you and your cat* I really hope he/she gets the treatment they need - best wishes to both of you!
My family doesn't know if it's worth it. They think he'll just swallow something else in the future anyway and this will happen all over again. They refuse to take any responsibility for leaving shit lying around. I'm not close with any extended relatives. All my friends have done all they can.
Credit card? Like black cat said... There may be schemes around to help people in your situation. Go and talk to a pet charity to see if they have any advice Or wake your family up to how it's important to you .. And the family .. And the cat I hope you find something I know cats are the coolest thing to have in your life Good luck
Can you call an animal shelter and ask if they've got any ideas? I'm sure they've dealt with vets who give "special" rates in "special" situations. You might offer to volunteer there if they could help you figure something out. I know our emergency clinic does some sort of deals for people who can't really pay because their normal fees are astronomical and they take your credit card before you even see a vet. But this is so they can help those who can't pay.
I am not sure where exactly you are but I know that here there is a place that helps people like you and well me that don't have much money they look at your income and can get funding to help the bill . Also I know sometimes you sometimes get a vet in a small town or community to take payments . I wish you all the best of luck I only wish I could help but I am in no position to right now
I tried applying for Care Credit, but they denied my request. I'm going to try aplying again for a smaller amount, and see if they'll approve it. Having some of this covered is better than having none of it covered. I also tried redrover, but they were impossible to navigate. I was told that the clinic doesn't do payment plans, but they do have some sort of fund for desperate situations. I'm looking into that also. I'm continuing to try to boost my fundraiser, but it's going slowly, and things are starting to look more urgent. I'll be making some more phone calls in the morning, I'm sure. If worse comes to worse, I'm thinking about trying to take out a small loan.
Update: Care Credit is out as an option. I did manage to apply at redrover, just waiting to hear back now. The fundraiser is going pretty well I think. I'm a little over $600. If I get the redrover funds, I can drop my fundraiser goal down... This is so stressful.
Good news: RedRover is going to give me a grant! It won't be much, but it will help. My anxiety's still running high, but things are looking a bit better.
Hi! I just saw your post, so sorry this is a bit late. I'll be keeping healing thoughts for your cat! I hope you can get him taken care of soon. (*hug*)
Good news finally!! We found a clinic with more affordable estimates, and they're giving me the opportunity to pay for my cat's surgery in multiple payments instead of all at once! On top of that, RedRover gave us a $200 grant! I'm finally starting to feel less stressed about this whole situation. He'll be going in for surgery in the morning.
Not so good news... What looked like a mass inside his stomach, like he swallowed something, is actually a mass around the outside of his stomach. They sent some samples out for testing, but we don't know yet if it's serious inflammation of something that's supposed to be there or a growth... There's a possibility it's cancer...but again, nothing's certain yet...we don't know if it's benign or malignant, or what we should do to go about treatment... Seriously upset now...