"cshenk" wrote in message
...
"MaryL" wrote

I read your message carefully, and you made it very clear that you love
this cat and also that you do not have the money for a vet.
Nevertheless, I beg you -- *please* get this cat to a vet. He is in
desperate need of veterinary care, and people on a newsgroup cannot
possibly diagnose something like this. You have the best intentions.
Please follow through and find some way to get him to a vet -- use a
credit card or call around to find a vet who will let you pay in monthly
installments. Years ago (when I was in graduate school and had *no*
money), my cat was sick. I made arrangements to pay over time. It took
a *long* time for payments, but it

I agree MaryL and I'll add a story of real life that will get me flamed as
a fake, but it's true. Every bit of it.

I once adopted a cat by accident. I was out jogging (getting ready for a
Navy PRT) and found this poor little ball of fluff along the roadside.
This was in Universal City TX, an outskirt of San Antonio.

I was an E3 barely making ends meet but I wrapped up this little hurt-unit
in my jacket then froze my way home (couldnt run, it would have hurt him
to be jostled). Ok, so I get home with him and he's hurt *bad*. I didnt
know much about animals, but I knew ribs were supposed to poke outwards,
not inwards and legs were not supposed to bend where they were bending.

I grabbed my handy dandy phone book and started making phone calls. It
took something like 18 calls to get anyone who was willing to do more than
show this little fellow a shiny silver needle. Years later I was to learn
that the vets started calling one another to warn of the young E3 (no
money) kid with an expensive need who'd probably default on payments.
Little did they know *me* but one call reached a gold mine. See, I'd
somehow touched the heart of a totally premier vet. I remember looking at
this whole page add for this last guy and how he was a specialist with
fancy pedigree folks and in a very upscale address area. He's the one who
told me years later, everyone else was calling about and it ****ed him
off.

So finally, after so many calls, got a vet who said 'I can't promise
anything but to try'. I was in my car like a flash. Many hours later, I
came home with a cat in a full body cast (I mean, even 3 of his legs!) and
a bunch of cat milk and a dropper to feed him with. They asked me for a
name, and i said 'Bobby'. The vet just smiled.

I was firmly explained he had to eat once an hour for the first several
days then every other hour if he survived. I called my boss in panic,
told him what I had done and gave him the vets number. I asked if i could
take leave (vacation). Boss called back about 45 mins later and said he'd
be at my place to drop off my leave papers. Later, they let me bring
Bobby to work in a box so we could all take turns feeding and loving him.

There are many tales on how Bobby lived, loved, and was well appreciated
but pertinant to this is his vet bill was severely reduced to just cost
and not sure if I even paid that. I paid all I could scrounge up and
still have a bit left for petfood for him, and ate alot of beans and rice
for me.

It was in the end, an excellent deal ;-)



What a fantastic, heartwarming story. Thanks for sharing.

MaryL