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-   -   Fundraiser - PLEASE HELP - My cat needs surgery (http://www.catbanter.com/showthread.php?t=112229)

Jacqui Watz February 5th 15 10:32 AM

Fundraiser - PLEASE HELP - My cat needs surgery
 
The tips of Harley's ears are being destroyed by skin cancers, and we've been told he will need surgery to remove the affected parts.

Early last year our other cat, Kitty, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. She needed surgery but sadly, she died shortly after. The vet bill we received was just over $1000 and paying it has had a terrible effect on our finances - ever since then we have been really struggling.

Now Harley needs treatment and it's impossible for us to afford it. We've looked into all options in our area but virtually no help is available bar surrendering him to a shelter and/or possibly having him euthanized. The last thing we want is to lose a cherished family member because we can't afford the vet bills. Harley is an old cat, but he's not elderly - he has plenty of life and energy left and we can't imagine having to deal with another tragedy so soon. Especially when it can be fixed.

All we can really think to do is ask for help and hope the kindness of strangers might get us through. Any donation will help, no matter the size.

Even if you can't donate, sharing our GoFundMe Campaign would be truly appreciated! You can click on the 'Share' buttons on the campaign page and it would help immensely!

Thank you so much,
Jac

Link: http://www.gofundme.com/harleysears

Magicat February 7th 15 12:58 AM

Fundraiser - PLEASE HELP - My cat needs surgery
 
Jacqui Watz wrote: The tips of Harley's ears are being destroyed by skin
cancers, and we've been told he will need surgery to remove the affected parts.

Early last year our other cat, Kitty, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. She needed surgery but sadly, she died shortly after. The vet bill we received was just over $1000 and paying it has had a terrible effect on our finances - ever since then we have been really struggling.

Now Harley needs treatment and it's impossible for us to afford it.


I'm in a very similar situation (Casey & Houdini cost $1400 last year, Azrael's
throat tumor removal estimate is $5k and we're living on SSI) so I can't donate,
but here's the list of active veterinary financial aid funds I've found that we
can apply to:

http://sixlegsfoundation.org/
http://onyxandbreezy.org
http://paws4acure.org
http://frankiesfriends.com/programs-...happy-tails-2/
http://thepetfund.com (has a wait list)
http://uan.org/index.cfm?navid=161
http://petassistanceinc.org
http://imom.org

Lists of funds focusing on specific states & conditions:
http://www.redrover.org/node/1381
http://www.redrover.org/node/1379

I'm still looking through the charity lists from other orgs and jotting down the
ones I find, so I'll probably post another few later tonight. Hopefully both of
us can scrape together enough money to get the operations done really soon.
*crosses fingers*


--
Blog (with Azrael's pics & updates):
http://xyzzy.atwebpages.com

Christina Websell February 7th 15 08:08 PM

Fundraiser - PLEASE HELP - My cat needs surgery
 

"Jacqui Watz" wrote in message
...
The tips of Harley's ears are being destroyed by skin cancers, and we've
been told he will need surgery to remove the affected parts.

Early last year our other cat, Kitty, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. She
needed surgery but sadly, she died shortly after. The vet bill we received
was just over $1000 and paying it has had a terrible effect on our
finances - ever since then we have been really struggling.

Now Harley needs treatment and it's impossible for us to afford it. We've
looked into all options in our area but virtually no help is available bar
surrendering him to a shelter and/or possibly having him euthanized. The
last thing we want is to lose a cherished family member because we can't
afford the vet bills. Harley is an old cat, but he's not elderly - he has
plenty of life and energy left and we can't imagine having to deal with
another tragedy so soon. Especially when it can be fixed.

All we can really think to do is ask for help and hope the kindness of
strangers might get us through. Any donation will help, no matter the size.

Even if you can't donate, sharing our GoFundMe Campaign would be truly
appreciated! You can click on the 'Share' buttons on the campaign page and
it would help immensely!

Thank you so much,
Jac

Link: http://www.gofundme.com/harleysears

I fell for this once before. I sent money for a cat with bladder cancer
whose owner had only posted once about being desperate so thought about my
own cat and if I couldn't afford it (although I was a bit short of money
myself at the time)
I would not do it again.
1. they are scamming
2. If we've haven't seen you on this group before, you are are scamming.



buglady[_2_] February 7th 15 10:17 PM

Fundraiser - PLEASE HELP - My cat needs surgery
 
On 2/7/2015 2:08 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
I fell for this once before. I sent money for a cat with bladder cancer
whose owner had only posted once about being desperate so thought about my
own cat and if I couldn't afford it (although I was a bit short of money
myself at the time)
I would not do it again.
1. they are scamming
2. If we've haven't seen you on this group before, you are are scamming.


............I think the only legitimate way to do this kind of thing is
to have the money sent directly to the vet for the treatment.

.......Looks like the cat also has some spots on the nose. If those
aren't taken care of the nose will get eaten up. I would imagine that
laser surgery would be the best for the nose, would lose less of it. My
neighbor had an white cat with sarcoma like this and while she had the
ear tips removed she did nothing with the nose and when she had him PTS
about 8 months later 3/4 of his nose was gone. This cat needs to stay
out of the sun, period, shouldn't even lay in a sunny window w/o a UV
barrier between.

buglady
take out the dog before replying


Christina Websell February 7th 15 11:12 PM

Fundraiser - PLEASE HELP - My cat needs surgery
 

"buglady" wrote in message
...
On 2/7/2015 2:08 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
I fell for this once before. I sent money for a cat with bladder cancer
whose owner had only posted once about being desperate so thought about
my
own cat and if I couldn't afford it (although I was a bit short of money
myself at the time)
I would not do it again.
1. they are scamming
2. If we've haven't seen you on this group before, you are are scamming.


...........I think the only legitimate way to do this kind of thing is to
have the money sent directly to the vet for the treatment.

......Looks like the cat also has some spots on the nose. If those aren't
taken care of the nose will get eaten up. I would imagine that laser
surgery would be the best for the nose, would lose less of it. My
neighbor had an white cat with sarcoma like this and while she had the ear
tips removed she did nothing with the nose and when she had him PTS about
8 months later 3/4 of his nose was gone. This cat needs to stay out of
the sun, period, shouldn't even lay in a sunny window w/o a UV barrier
between.

Well I might suggest that anyone who has a cat needs to take notice of what
happened to Boyfriend last year. His intestines were out when he came in
from outside and I shot to the vets at midnight. The vet said Can you
afford this? I said yes. I lied a bit about that. But rpca helped with his
bill, 300 towards his 800. Bless you all who did this.






MaryL[_2_] February 8th 15 12:46 AM

Fundraiser - PLEASE HELP - My cat needs surgery
 


"buglady" wrote in message
...

............I think the only legitimate way to do this kind of thing is
to have the money sent directly to the vet for the treatment.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

~~~~~~~~
That is a good point. I have donated to several people who were on rpca,
but they are people that I grew to know over a period of years because they
were rpca "regulars." In each case, I sent the donations directly to their
veterinarians. Unfortunately, there are a great many scammers who know
exactly how to prey on our emotions.

MaryL


Jacqui Watz February 8th 15 09:42 AM

Fundraiser - PLEASE HELP - My cat needs surgery
 
On Saturday, February 7, 2015 at 10:58:25 AM UTC+11, Magicat wrote:
Jacqui Watz wrote: The tips of Harley's ears are being destroyed by skin
cancers, and we've been told he will need surgery to remove the affected parts.

Early last year our other cat, Kitty, was diagnosed with stomach cancer.. She needed surgery but sadly, she died shortly after. The vet bill we received was just over $1000 and paying it has had a terrible effect on our finances - ever since then we have been really struggling.

Now Harley needs treatment and it's impossible for us to afford it.


I'm in a very similar situation (Casey & Houdini cost $1400 last year, Azrael's
throat tumor removal estimate is $5k and we're living on SSI) so I can't donate,
but here's the list of active veterinary financial aid funds I've found that we
can apply to:

http://sixlegsfoundation.org/
http://onyxandbreezy.org
http://paws4acure.org
http://frankiesfriends.com/programs-...happy-tails-2/
http://thepetfund.com (has a wait list)
http://uan.org/index.cfm?navid=161
http://petassistanceinc.org
http://imom.org

Lists of funds focusing on specific states & conditions:
http://www.redrover.org/node/1381
http://www.redrover.org/node/1379

I'm still looking through the charity lists from other orgs and jotting down the
ones I find, so I'll probably post another few later tonight. Hopefully both of
us can scrape together enough money to get the operations done really soon.
*crosses fingers*


--
Blog (with Azrael's pics & updates):
http://xyzzy.atwebpages.com


Hi Magicat,
Thanks so much for the links, I checked them all, but none of them help
internationally. I'm in Australia and we don't really have much like that
here. (Free healthcare for people but pets are on their own.)
I emailed around 30 different places asking for help or at least to
point me in the right direction but no one had any answers. Some vets have
payment plans, but it has to be paid off within 12 months, and even that is
impossible, especially if it turns into thousands of dollars.
I looked at your page, Azrael is beautiful and I feel for you. It's
a terrible situation, especially with an older cat - I've had a few people
say 'he's old just put him down if you can't afford it', but I'm sure you
understand how horrible a suggestion like that is - and how insensitive. I
got so angry.
The med school thing sounds promising though, I will keep my fingers
crossed for you.
Thanks again for your caring and the links, I appreciate it. I hope
everything goes alright with Azrael, I'll be thinking of you!
Jac 3

Jacqui Watz February 8th 15 10:00 AM

Fundraiser - PLEASE HELP - My cat needs surgery
 
On Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 6:08:57 AM UTC+11, Christina Websell wrote:
"Jacqui Watz" wrote in message
...
The tips of Harley's ears are being destroyed by skin cancers, and we've
been told he will need surgery to remove the affected parts.

Early last year our other cat, Kitty, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. She
needed surgery but sadly, she died shortly after. The vet bill we received
was just over $1000 and paying it has had a terrible effect on our
finances - ever since then we have been really struggling.

Now Harley needs treatment and it's impossible for us to afford it. We've
looked into all options in our area but virtually no help is available bar
surrendering him to a shelter and/or possibly having him euthanized. The
last thing we want is to lose a cherished family member because we can't
afford the vet bills. Harley is an old cat, but he's not elderly - he has
plenty of life and energy left and we can't imagine having to deal with
another tragedy so soon. Especially when it can be fixed.

All we can really think to do is ask for help and hope the kindness of
strangers might get us through. Any donation will help, no matter the size.

Even if you can't donate, sharing our GoFundMe Campaign would be truly
appreciated! You can click on the 'Share' buttons on the campaign page and
it would help immensely!

Thank you so much,
Jac

Link: http://www.gofundme.com/harleysears

I fell for this once before. I sent money for a cat with bladder cancer
whose owner had only posted once about being desperate so thought about my
own cat and if I couldn't afford it (although I was a bit short of money
myself at the time)
I would not do it again.
1. they are scamming
2. If we've haven't seen you on this group before, you are are scamming.


Hi, I understand your skepticism, that's the nature of the internet, unfortunately. I do feel the need to reply though.
I haven't been in this group before. I have joined a few recently and honestly, until you mentioned it, I didn't realise how bad that would appear, I should have thought that through a lot better and I'm kind of kicking myself now.
I'm just desperate, and trying to get as much exposure as I can. I'm also posting regular updates on the campaign page and social media. I know that doesn't mean I'm not a scammer, of course.
I've noticed the spots on Harley's nose and I'm aware of a small one on his temple too. I'll be making sure the vet looks at them, not just his ears. The vet clinic I've decided to go to has a chemotherapy clinic and 2 oncology specialists, which was definitely a factor in choosing them.
I know there's nothing I can really say or do, because it's true, there are scammers everywhere that know exactly what buttons to push. I just wanted to reply so you know I didn't just 'post and run'.
Thanks for listening,
Jac

buglady[_2_] February 8th 15 11:49 AM

Fundraiser - PLEASE HELP - My cat needs surgery
 
On 2/8/2015 4:00 AM, Jacqui Watz wrote:

I've noticed the spots on Harley's nose and I'm aware of a small one on his temple too. I'll be making sure the vet looks at them, not just his ears. The vet clinic I've decided to go to has a chemotherapy clinic and 2 oncology specialists, which was definitely a factor in choosing them.


...........Whether melanoma or sarcoma, treatment of choice is surgery,
not chemo.
http://www.merckmanuals.com/pethealt...n_in_cats.html

..........You need a definitive diagnosis and then you need to research.

...........When I had a cat with nasal lymphoma the specialty vet told me
that chemo could make it disappear.....3-5 thousand dollars. I thought,
gosh, how could I NOT do that? Then another vet explained, yes, it
kills it off, but only if you keep giving chemo, because it keeps coming
back.

.......So, do your homework.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

Jacqui Watz February 8th 15 12:08 PM

Fundraiser - PLEASE HELP - My cat needs surgery
 
On Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 9:50:04 PM UTC+11, buglady wrote:
On 2/8/2015 4:00 AM, Jacqui Watz wrote:

I've noticed the spots on Harley's nose and I'm aware of a small one on his temple too. I'll be making sure the vet looks at them, not just his ears. The vet clinic I've decided to go to has a chemotherapy clinic and 2 oncology specialists, which was definitely a factor in choosing them.


..........Whether melanoma or sarcoma, treatment of choice is surgery,
not chemo.
http://www.merckmanuals.com/pethealt...n_in_cats.html

.........You need a definitive diagnosis and then you need to research.

..........When I had a cat with nasal lymphoma the specialty vet told me
that chemo could make it disappear.....3-5 thousand dollars. I thought,
gosh, how could I NOT do that? Then another vet explained, yes, it
kills it off, but only if you keep giving chemo, because it keeps coming
back.

......So, do your homework.

buglady
take out the dog before replying


I didn't mention the chemo because I thought Harley would need it, I'm aware from my own research that the best course of action is usually surgery. I mentioned the fact that the clinic did chemo as part of the reason I was impressed with them as it's not something the majority of vets do. The fact that they have cancer specialists on hand is just something I found reassuring.
I'm sorry I wasn't clearer.
I have done some research. The operations to remove the affected ear tissue seems to be quite straightforward, but the question is will surgery be enough or has it spread other places. I'm expecting the vet to do a fair amount of pathology, a biopsy as well as the visual exam when we see him wednesday morning. I'll have more details on the extent of it then hopefully, along with his recommendations. I just don't know specifics until then, unfortunately.
When I have that news I'll be posting another update for those who are following along.
Jac


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