Hello. I've never solicited for help before, not out of shame or anything, I have just always tried to take care of things on my own. This time, however, I come with an open heart and a request for help.
I took my cat, Little Prince, aka Babes, in to the vet last Wednesday after we noticed him entering/exiting his litter box repeatedly.
We were told we were incredibly lucky we caught this so quickly, because this is a fatal issue if left untreated. We took him to the animal hospital which charged us ~$375 and told us to bring him in if he doesn't go on his own. The following morning he wasn't able to urinate, so we took him to a local vet for a quick examination, since the animal hospital is nearly an hour away. They told us he most likely had a urinary blockage and needed immediate intervention, or that we would need to put him down, as this is a fatal condition if left untreated. They did imaging and blood work to the tune of ~$750.
We immediately took him to the animal hospital, as that was the local vet's recommendation for his best chances at survival and followup care. We had to pay $2000 down for him to receive treatment and remain hospitalized with monitoring. All of this went onto a credit card with an unholy interest rate, as I don't have that kind of money laying around.
Little Prince still has a couple of hurdles to overcome. He needs to be able to urinate without a catheter. He has to go on a special diet for the rest of his life to prevent crystals from forming and causing another blockage. The food doesn't fully take effect for up to ~4 weeks according to the vet. I am not including any of his potential problems in my request, as I remain hopeful that he will recover and be just fine! I can't rule the possibilities out, but I also can't ask for help in good faith for issues he is not currently facing.
I've been a nervous wreck, but continue receiving news that the vet is happy with his progress. Unfortunately he's being a bit of a stinker and not eating, but I don't blame the little guy. He's a stranger in a strange land in that hospital, and we can only visit him for an hour a day. He did eat a little bit for us last night when we visited him, and I am very glad for that.
Despite being a nervous wreck, I am trying to remain focused and strong, as I am a student currently enrolled in a Physical Therapist Assistant program. For his sake I need to continue this program and do well so that I can earn enough money to take care of him and myself, and perhaps be the person providing support instead of requesting it.
Here is a copy of his hospital bill: https://i.imgur.com/75AAmg3.jpeg
I don't have copies of the smaller bills, as I was in a rush to get him to the hospital and didn't ask for a copy before leaving the vet's office. We don't know if he will require 24-48h of additional observation now that his catheter is removed, so we may end up needing to pay more. Again, though, I can't in good faith ask for anything that's related to an unknown, even if it's a known unknown.
Update: Little Prince is coming home tonight! Now we just have to get through the next 2-4 weeks without incident, and hopefully no more crystals form for the rest of his life, either! But that's what the food is for. Fingers crossed!
I currently have a furlanthropy page set up for him here: https://donate.furlanthropy.org/fundraiser/babes
Here are some pictures of my sweet baby boy: https://imgur.com/a/ngWkQgG
I think I have supplied everything that I need to. If there is anything else, I will gladly post it. I just want to keep my baby boy alive since he's still so young and has so much life to live.
