Please help our listless and vomiting cat.

Oh come on. How many days does a cat have to throw up 'brown liquid' before
someone can use their own common sense and get the cat seen by a
professional. When a cat is in that shape I wouldn't want someone trying
home remedies. It's way too late for that after farting around for a week.

a simple Google for 'financial assistance veterinary bills' came up with the
following and a number of other web sites that could be helpful.
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/wh...nary_care.html



W

"Willie" wrote in message
ups.com...
Holy Christ, you people are not doing animals any favours by being
abusive and spewing
vitriol at this poster. Some of you at least offered possible causes
for this cat's sickness, and other just launched personal attacks and
insults without knowing the whole story.
It's understandable you want to encourage the person to take the cat to
the vet. You can say so firmly and with conviction WITHOUT resorting
to ugly name calling. Save that for someone who can't even be arsed to
ASK FOR HELP ON A CAT FORUM, instead just kicking the poor thing til it
dies. You people are so judgemental of people and their problems, you
think that it's okay to be cruel (and you are being excessively cruel)
to someone who (within a quick period of time) has sought advice in the
right place. Perhaps after any home remedies failed, she or he would
have taken the cat to the emergency clinic, or given him away. What do
you people do when your vet is away or sick, or you live very far from
one? Just sit there and not seek any alternative help?

Come on, don't make yourselves ugly and make animal rights activists
look like some foul-mouthed *******s.



wrote:
"Helen" wrote:

Hello,

Our cat Luxor is two and a half years old, and is normally a very
healthy and
active (indoor) cat. (He's a Norweigan Forest mix, if that helps at
all.) Seven days ago, he had a bout of of very foul-smelling diarrhea,
and then for the past week, he has been throwing up a brown liquid.
Most troubling, he is not eating at all. He is rapidly becoming bony,
and is very depressed and listless - just curling up in a corner, not
moving when food is put out, or when my daughter moves toward him
(normally he would leap out of the way!). He is drinking a little,
though, thankfully. And I'm not sure if this is significant, but he
has stopped hard-pooping.

What we are suspecting is that he ate some styrofoam padding we had in
the basement
recently...we see big chunks of it missing; however, it's not turning
up in
the vomit or his discharge. (?) Perhaps Luxor is not the brightest
kitty, but we really love him, and wonder what we can do to get him to
eat again, and to feel happy again.

Thank you for any feedback. We'd like to hear if there's anything we
can do at home, because we can't afford vet bills right now. Please
respond A.S.A.P.!

Helen

Reply »

Sell your computer instead of asking stupid questions on it, and then
use the money to pay the vet.

-mhd

"Wendy" writes:

a simple Google for 'financial assistance veterinary bills' came up with the
following and a number of other web sites that could be helpful.
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/wh...nary_care.html

I also think it's very bad that someone would neglect to get
veterinary care for a cat who is obviously very sick. But rather than
spewing a bunch of profanity at the OP -- which is unlikely to do anything
for the poor cat! -- wouldn't it be better to point out sites like this
that contain practical advice? It seems like issues involving sick cats
and people who don't have a lot of money to pay for veterinary care come
up quite often on this newsgroup.

Telling the poster that they should have thought about this before they
got a pet doesn't help the suffering cat.

Calling the poster names, accusing them of being an animal abuser, or
resorting to profanity doesn't help the suffering cat.

Instead, can't we make more of an effort to respond to questions like
this more like: "Your cat is obviously very sick and urgently needs
professional medical care. Random people on the net *cannot* help
him/her get better, and if you do nothing, your cat will suffer
needlessly and possibly die. Please call your vet or local animal
shelter ASAP and explain that your cat is very sick but that you don't
have much money. Most vets are very sensitive to these issues and
will try to work with you to do what's best for the cat within your
budget constraints."

In other words, try working from the assumption that people who post
such questions are simply clueless, rather than evil. I think the
fact that they are asking for help in the first place does show that
they really *are* concerned for their cat's welfare and are not abusing
animals for the fun of it. And, as I said, responding as if such
questions are asked in good faith might produce some results, while
merely flaming at the poster accomplishes nothing.

-Sandra the cynic

Sandra Loosemore wrote:

Telling the poster that they should have thought about this before they
got a pet doesn't help the suffering cat.

Calling the poster names, accusing them of being an animal abuser, or
resorting to profanity doesn't help the suffering cat.

In other words, try working from the assumption that people who post
such questions are simply clueless, rather than evil. I think the
fact that they are asking for help in the first place does show that
they really *are* concerned for their cat's welfare and are not abusing
animals for the fun of it. And, as I said, responding as if such
questions are asked in good faith might produce some results, while
merely flaming at the poster accomplishes nothing.

-Sandra the cynic

Hmmm, I dunno. This poster seemd excessively stupid or, hopefully, a
troll (although I doubt it). But where are her original posts? She
must be removing them for whatever reason. Maybe she was bombarded
with emails (I don't personally email people I don't know so it wasn't
by me). Maybe she realized how stupid she sounded. Maybe the cat
died. I don't think either vitriolic or "constructive" posts will
help, at this point.

I can see doing what you said in some circumstances but, sheesh,
*anyone* in their right mind knows that a cat barfing up brown liquid
and laying in a corner for a week listless is not going to be helped by
some home remedy. If she needs a newsgroup to tell her the cat needs a
vet, she's pretty far gone.

Really, I hope she saw your post and looked at the website and found
some help but I'm not too hopeful. Me cussing her out is not going to
stop her from taking the cat to a vet; I don't think she will
regardless.

Candace

Helen wrote:
Hello,

Our cat Luxor is two and a half years old, and is normally a very
healthy and
active (indoor) cat. (He's a Norweigan Forest mix, if that helps at
all.) Seven days ago, he had a bout of of very foul-smelling diarrhea,
and then for the past week, he has been throwing up a brown liquid.
Most troubling, he is not eating at all. He is rapidly becoming bony,
and is very depressed and listless - just curling up in a corner, not
moving when food is put out, or when my daughter moves toward him
(normally he would leap out of the way!). He is drinking a little,
though, thankfully. And I'm not sure if this is significant, but he
has stopped hard-pooping.

What we are suspecting is that he ate some styrofoam padding we had in
the basement
recently...we see big chunks of it missing; however, it's not turning
up in
the vomit or his discharge. (?) Perhaps Luxor is not the brightest
kitty, but we really love him, and wonder what we can do to get him to
eat again, and to feel happy again.

Thank you for any feedback. We'd like to hear if there's anything we
can do at home, because we can't afford vet bills right now. Please
respond A.S.A.P.!

Helen

Reply »

You are probably not reading this, and with good reason.

RPCH is a good place to ask questions and find information on cat health
and behavior, if you are selective. It is very, very easy to figure out
who's likely to provide useful information and who's not. Just ignore
the "not" category. Most news readers provide filtering tools, but I
personally get more pleaseure from knowing who I am ignoring, and using
the "plonk" feature.

Another good place to post your question would be alt.med.veterinary, as
there are some real vets who occasionally respond. Alt.med.veterinary
has only one kook to filter out, but even he has usable advice on animal
behavior.

You can do a google search for "free veterinary advice". I found one
site that charges a very low fee based on how useful you feel their
answer is. I haven't tried it.

Without veterinary care, your cat is going to die. From your
description, he probably has a blocked bowel and saving him will require
about $1000+ worth of surgery.

I paid $1000 at an emergency clinic to try and save my cat. They made
me pay in advance. He died. I feel bad. I feel bad that I couldn't
spend $30,000 to try and save him, I feel bad that I didn't get my
money's worth out of the $1000 I did spend, but mainly I feel bad
because I miss my cat. If I hadn't spent the $1000, I probably wouldn't
feel any worse.

The only desperate measure that I would try if I were in your situation
(which may help and probably won't hurt) would be to massage or
palpate his abdomen, try and feel for the blockage and help it along.

While my cat was dying, I was able to calm him and ease his pain just by
holding him in my lap and stroking him.

Be with your cat, hold him, tell him you love him.

Hope this helps.

--
John Kimmel

remove x

Laughter. Tears. Curtain.

Hello John,

I appreciate the time you took to steer me in the
right direction. I was quite upset when I read the
reactions of the Google group members toward me - as
if I intended to let Luxor suffer and was evil for
admitting we couldn't afford a veterinarian.

Fortunately, Luxor is much better today - he is eating
now, and is lessed stressed out. His tail was up for
the first time this week! The worst of his
indigestion problems seems to be over.

I'm sorry to hear about your cat. I'm sure he knew
how much you cared for him.

The advice to comfort Luxor was very good...his
spirits were higher after we showered him with plenty
of affection and quiet reassurance.

All the best to you. You're a wonderful human being!


John Kimmel wrote:
Helen wrote:
Hello,

Our cat Luxor is two and a half years old, and is normally a very
healthy and
active (indoor) cat. (He's a Norweigan Forest mix, if that helps at
all.) Seven days ago, he had a bout of of very foul-smelling diarrhea,
and then for the past week, he has been throwing up a brown liquid.
Most troubling, he is not eating at all. He is rapidly becoming bony,
and is very depressed and listless - just curling up in a corner, not
moving when food is put out, or when my daughter moves toward him
(normally he would leap out of the way!). He is drinking a little,
though, thankfully. And I'm not sure if this is significant, but he
has stopped hard-pooping.

What we are suspecting is that he ate some styrofoam padding we had in
the basement
recently...we see big chunks of it missing; however, it's not turning
up in
the vomit or his discharge. (?) Perhaps Luxor is not the brightest
kitty, but we really love him, and wonder what we can do to get him to
eat again, and to feel happy again.

Thank you for any feedback. We'd like to hear if there's anything we
can do at home, because we can't afford vet bills right now. Please
respond A.S.A.P.!

Helen

Reply »

You are probably not reading this, and with good reason.

RPCH is a good place to ask questions and find information on cat health
and behavior, if you are selective. It is very, very easy to figure out
who's likely to provide useful information and who's not. Just ignore
the "not" category. Most news readers provide filtering tools, but I
personally get more pleaseure from knowing who I am ignoring, and using
the "plonk" feature.

Another good place to post your question would be alt.med.veterinary, as
there are some real vets who occasionally respond. Alt.med.veterinary
has only one kook to filter out, but even he has usable advice on animal
behavior.

You can do a google search for "free veterinary advice". I found one
site that charges a very low fee based on how useful you feel their
answer is. I haven't tried it.

Without veterinary care, your cat is going to die. From your
description, he probably has a blocked bowel and saving him will require
about $1000+ worth of surgery.

I paid $1000 at an emergency clinic to try and save my cat. They made
me pay in advance. He died. I feel bad. I feel bad that I couldn't
spend $30,000 to try and save him, I feel bad that I didn't get my
money's worth out of the $1000 I did spend, but mainly I feel bad
because I miss my cat. If I hadn't spent the $1000, I probably wouldn't
feel any worse.

The only desperate measure that I would try if I were in your situation
(which may help and probably won't hurt) would be to massage or
palpate his abdomen, try and feel for the blockage and help it along.

While my cat was dying, I was able to calm him and ease his pain just by
holding him in my lap and stroking him.

Be with your cat, hold him, tell him you love him.

Hope this helps.

--
John Kimmel

remove x

Laughter. Tears. Curtain.

Helen wrote:
Hello John,

I appreciate the time you took to steer me in the
right direction. I was quite upset when I read the
reactions of the Google group members toward me - as
if I intended to let Luxor suffer

You *were* letting him suffer - your post proved so. Letting an animal
suffer is neglect, and is actionable by law.

and was evil for
admitting we couldn't afford a veterinarian.

You're just ignorant, apparently. If you can't afford vet care for
your cat you really shouldn't have one.


Fortunately, Luxor is much better today - he is eating
now, and is lessed stressed out. His tail was up for
the first time this week! The worst of his
indigestion problems seems to be over.

I'm sorry to hear about your cat. I'm sure he knew
how much you cared for him.

The advice to comfort Luxor was very good...his
spirits were higher after we showered him with plenty
of affection and quiet reassurance.

Next time you may not be so lucky.

-L.

"Helen" wrote in message

I smell a troll

Come again, Matthew? Come again?


Matthew wrote:
"Helen" wrote in message

I smell a troll

"Sandra Loosemore"

No offense since you just started posting here Do a Google of how
many of these people come here every day post most are trolls, some are
truly naive some do it to get a rise but none have common sense.
Any person that has an IQ of young child knows being sick is being sick
This OP would be in jail if it was child and OP would have called 911 never
worrying about the cost till after. A person that actually cared about
there animal would called vets to find out what is wrong and if cost was a
factor would have asked there are very little vets that won't work out
something with people

The first responders told her take the vet What a minute why am I
explaining myself Google and see the problems the group faces almost
everyday look below a post "my cat suddenly paralyzed"

Did you take your cat to a vet yet till then don't even bother responding


"Helen" wrote in message
ups.com...
Come again, Matthew? Come again?


Matthew wrote:
"Helen" wrote in message

I smell a troll