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Old April 23rd 08, 11:12 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cshenk
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Posts: 2,427
Default Need opinions - Scared for Sneezy

"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 ;-)