 |
My cat is almost 4 years old we recently brought a dog home , right now money is itght and can not afford a vet bill but hehas been throwing up white foam like stuff and not eating or drinking anything what can I do to help him fel better and get some fluids in him!
This is the terrible fact of things but if you cannot afford all of the costs of having a pet - food, Vet bills - you have no business owning a pet. That dog (or cat, it's difficult to know which pet you are addressing) should not suffer or be in pain or even die because you have no funds to provide Vet care.
The cost of a pet is most definitely not the purchase price. It's everything that goes along with owning the pet.
He needs Vet care and if you can't afford it, then you need to surrender him. Animals dehydrate to a critical stage very, very quickly and he very well may need IVs.
Don't make him suffer any longer. Surrender him.
I don't know why this is posted under Family and People and not pets.
You got a new dog knowing full well you can't afford the vet? Why did you get the dog?
Your cat needs a vet. You OWE it to your pet to help save it's life. If you are a good client with your vet (ie come in yearly for shots, etc) they should work out a payment plan.
You NEED to take your cat in. If you are not able to, then surrender the cat to someone who will.
Please at least bring the cat to the vet! They can work out the bills with you. But money is material, although you need it, your cats life matters so much more, someone who can support his/her needs for vet bills should take care of your cat! Please just make sure your cat gets there!! In some cases, vets HAVE done procedures for no cost, so go there and explain your situation you owe it to your cat's life to try! And if you get there and can't afford it still DO NOT give up. Heck I would help pay if I could. But find someone who can. Good luck for him/her!
As everyone has said, your cat NEEDS to go to a vet. It could be something as simple as a hairball he can't pass, or something as serious as ingested toxins.
On the off chance it is a hairball, you can try giving him hairball medicine or a spoonful of butter. Both will help pass a hairball.
Even if it IS just a hairball, you still need to get him to a vet. Hairballs can build up to the point where they cause intestinal blockages and can even kill the animal.
Call area vets and see if any of them are willing to set up a payment plan with you, or know of any services that help with vet care.
I'm having an issue with the cat not eating and drinking. Cats can get very ill rather quickly when they aren't eating, so even if it's minor now, you don't get some food in him, you could end up with a worse problem.
Try different foods, try zapping some canned food in the microwave for just a few seconds to make it more smelly, put a little tuna juice on it... you can also try meat baby food with no onion - sometimes cats will eat that when they won't eat anything else. If it becomes necessary, you can get a big syringe, some pate style canned food, water it down enough to go through the syringe and carefully, slowly syringe some into the side of the mouth. (Don't squirt it into the back of the throat.) It's easier if you put vaseline of the rubber plunger thingy so it doesn't get stuck and then go in jerks.
A toxin is a possibility, which would need flushed out with IV. (Getting some water in him won't do the trick there.)
The white foam can be a sign of stomach acid.
Might be minor, might be an emergency. We can't fix emergencies over the internet.
Here's one thread I found elsewhere that I thought had a pretty good answer that I concur with, although that cat appears to be eating.
http://www.justanswer.com/questions/...-up-white-foam
Okay i ask for advice for one i am very good to my animals and right now with me losing my job it is tuff to payy 300 for a vet bill for them to tell me something i am trying to find out now further more if u don't have an answer to how i can get my cat help other then the vet do not reply!Quote:
Originally Posted by JudyKayTee
Haks I am working out the billing now times are so tuff right now and I have had siebs since he was a baby and I don't want him to get sick due to stress but they told me to let it work it self out he is still throing up and I owe a bill for them to tell me let it work through his system it so hard watching him suffer!Quote:
Originally Posted by lj.
Thaks you for your advice everyone acts as if I am a horribl;e person I just want to help my cat he is finally drinking but I am going to try feeding him the food how you said! The vet says it is stressQuote:
Originally Posted by morgaine300
Quote:
Originally Posted by kimmie87
Oh, I disagree - first, don't type in caps. It's the same as shouting and can get you warned.
Secondly, don't even attempt to dictate who will answer you and in what manner. This is an open forum and you should expect to get a wide variety of opinions.
You already know the Vet bill will be $300?
I don't think you are "very good" to your pet. Please define what "very good" entails.
A responsible animal owner can afford to feed, house, provide medical care for a pet. If you can't do that, surrender the cat so it doesn't continue to suffer. You are having difficulty watching the suffering. I would "guess" that the cat is suffering, too.
You can do something about it. The cat can't.
EDIT: When you asked the question you didn't appear to have a clue what was causing the problem. Now it's stress.
Which one is it - you don't know or it's stress.
If it's stress, stress from what?
Quote:
Originally Posted by morgaine300
Always agree with you, respect your opinions but want to add that this part of your post can be dangerous if the person doesn't know what he/she is doing. When I worked in rescue I heard of animals aspirating when people tried to force this issue.
You explained it very well but I am always afraid that people aren't listening so I'm just repeating - slowly, into the side of the mouth, not down the throad.
Hope this is okay with you -
Ouch, that hurts. BAD. Times have gotten tough for some people. Including me.Quote:
Originally Posted by JudyKayTee
I'm a very responsible pet owner of 4 dogs. My husband recently lost his job and vet bills can be very hard to afford without taking food from my children's mouths. But I am NOT going to surrender my 4 dogs for a, hopefully, temporary setback. They are part of my family, they are like my children.
This may also be the situation with the OP. Let's remember to take the declining economy and loss of employment into account when we are trying to help people with pets. Pets don't have affordable health insurance or medicaid.
Quote:
Originally Posted by J_9
I agree with you and we've all been there at one time or another.
BUT if one of your dogs was suffering - and OP makes a comment about it being difficult to watch the cat suffering - what would you do?
I certainly have had to make arrangements to make payments with Vets who ordinarily don't want to hear about payments - but I was in a bad financial spot, my dog was sick, I (literally) begged. The fact that the Vet had treated my dogs for years didn't hurt, either.
I disagree respectfully (I hope).
My issue with this is not that she can't afford vet care. Yes, times are tough, and sometimes we cannot afford to spend hundreds of dollars on a vet. I understand that, and cannot condemn the OP for that. After all, she has had the cat for 4 years, and did say she recently lost her job. It happens.
My issue with this post is that she can't afford a vet, but she still ended up getting another pet, her dog.
If you knew times were tough, vet care was not a possibility, why would you get another pet?Quote:
My cat is almost 4 years old we recently brought a dog home
There actually is the equivalent of medicaid for pets. Just ask your vet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sariss
Do you have info on this? When my GSD (now dead) was sick and needed expensive tests and medicine I took a part-time job typing legal transcripts to pay his bills.
I never heard word one about any such program!
This would help so many people - do you have anywhere I could find the info?
(Thank goodness I no longer need the help but I could have used it then.)
In Canada there is Petcard ( Petcard - Canada's Veterinary Financing Company ) Not sure if there is one in the states, I would assume so.
I would like info on that as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sariss
The interest on Petcard is pretty nuts- like 30% I think? My brother used it to pay for a $6000 surgery on his dog.
I absolutely do agree that adding the dog when times are rough was a not-fabulous idea. So now money is going towards a dog that could be helping this cat.
But I do also think there was some unnecessary roughness about the cat. I had plenty of money to take care of my one cat when I got him -- later when times were tough and I was barely feeding him is when he ended up with diabetes. And yes, I avoided going to the vet due to lack of money. (Not realizing what this was doing to my cat.) And no way in hell was I going to just give up a cat I'd had for 10 years and had a very strong bond with - be like giving up my kid. Especially, as J said, for a temporary set-back. In the long run, we did get him treatment, I learned a lot out of it, he lived 5 more years, and died of cancer. (And had enough problems that fortunately I was able to later afford it all.)
I also feel pretty strongly that if all someone can do is provide the basics, that with all the millions of animals we have killed every year, that one is better being in a loving home than just being euthanized with no chance at life. (Although the key word there is "loving" home and there is a line to be crossed where I think they're better off being euthanized.)
And no I don't mind the repetition of slowly and carefully in the side of the mouth. I tried to to italicize that point - maybe I should've bolded and underlined it, cause I do know where you're coming from.
Now, kimmie, I don't know about this stress concept. With a new dog in the house, I can full well believe there's stress. But you certainly can't leave the cat not eating - and the vet should know this. That's not a symptom you just let go, or you'll end up with even worse problems (and bigger vet bill).
$300 for what? I would suspect an exam and basic lab tests. That runs $300? You might check around with other vets as well and see if you can get that price down. Sheesh, I pay like $50 for a set of basic blood work. I know my vet is a bit on the cheap side, but that's a pretty huge difference. Other tests could be necessary in the end, but are they just assuming this up front?
If there is a stress problem, get the cat some place cozy and shut a door and let him chill out. Or lock the dog up, or whatever. Spend some extra time with the cat to make sure he knows he's still loved.
Maybe you could look at other vets, but try to keep doing whatever you can for him! Has he eaten or drank recently? Did the vet share any more information?
Too expensive for me, and most vets around here don't take it. Not to mention that you have to QUALIFY for the "credit"Quote:
Originally Posted by Sariss
That sucks. Around here almost all vets accept those things because they are usually approved (or denied) quickly, and then the vet is paid in full pretty much immediately (just not by the client).
That company may be different, I know the Canadian one is easy to qualify for. Like, stupid easy.
I agree. If it covered the cost of shots, neutering, and other normal costs, than it may be worth it, but it doesn't, at least not the one we have in my area.Quote:
Originally Posted by J_9
My neighbor bought pet care insurance and still ended up paying over $7,000 for surgery on her cat. The cat made it, even though the vet only gave it a 10% chance.
If you put the premium for pet care in the bank every month, you should be able to afford any emergency that comes up. ;)
That's what I advise people to do. Pet Insurance is tricky.Quote:
Originally Posted by Altenweg
Either that, or get a credit card to use ONLY for pets. That's what I have. I never use it unless something comes up that I don't have the funds for with my pets.
I have both - I have pet health insurance on both dogs AND a credit card only for "them." I did just get the renewal on the policy for my GSD and I will NOT be renewing this year - after paying for 6 years - because the premium is out of sight and the coverage keeps shrinking.
My experience - she has bad skin allergies. Her medication is expensive. Every time I take her to the Vet it's a separate claim AND the company needs all the paperwork that has gone on before, documentation of every visit EVER for the same problem. They can't just sort of tack this visit onto the old history.
And I'm very close to the policy's ceiling for that ailment.
What started as a very good idea has turned into a very expensive policy.
Judykaytee your retarded she said in her fourm that she wanted advice who are you to judge. And yes a vet bill of 300 dollars is expensive (and she is probably estimating since that's usually the cost of most checkups like stool samples, little touchy feel of the stomach and blood tests) and your wrong sometimes when a pet owner gets tight with money doesn't mean you surrender your animal if everyone in the world did that then the animal shelters would be over populated and they would kill the animals later on. So lets see keep your animal and try and save it from a home basis or surrender it (lol love the choice of words you used idiot) and have it die later on in the animal shelter because the shelter would rather have a open spot for a healthy animal to have a chance for adoption than a sick one. Also my cat I have had since it was little now its one year and eight months old he has his own cat condo (yes a condo and he loves to relax and play in it), treats, and his toys he is just recently having the same issue as kimmie's cat. Tonight I come home and he starts vomiting he never has done this so now I'm looking at vets but still your statement is redicilous and you need not judge others. She is taking good care of her kitten and its not suffering by all means. Tell me judy if you by some chance became bankerupt, no money at all not to your name , but you had just enough to get by and one of your aniamsl got sick would you surrender (lol) it?
I'm closing this thread. The OP hasn't been back since September and now newbies are coming on just to bad mouth people.
SassyUnicorn, read the rules, calling people names is not allowed here.
Thread closed. If the OP comes back and wants it re-opened she can PM me.
| All times are GMT -7. The time now is 02:13 AM. |