I don't have the money to take my cat to a vet but she has gotten really sick and I need help. My cat likes to chew plastic bags, and no matter how hard I try to keep them away from her, she finds them and chews on them. Occasionally she will swallow and regurgitate the pieces of plastic she's swallowed. However, I noticed that for the past 2 weeks she has not had a bowel movement. I thought maybe she had hairballs, so I got her a hairball rememdy. That seemed to perk her up a little bit because she tried to eat soon thereafter. Her appetite is off, she won't eat anything or she takes little bits and calls it quits. I give her the juice from canned food and tuna and that helps. My concern is that she has swallowed a piece of plastic and can't get it out. She has lost a lot of weight. She doesn't have a fever and is becoming more and more lethargic by the day. As I said in the beginning, I can't afford a vet bill, I really wish I could. Is there some way of helping her regurgitate or move her bowels or doing anything to help her. It's gotten cold here and I was going to take her to the park and let her eat grass, but I think instead I am going to bring the grass to her. She is a house cat and only goes outside if I am there with her. She hasn't had fleas since I brought her home and she is 7 years old. What do I do?

quote:

Originally posted by TyggersMom:
I don't have the money to take my cat to a vet but she has gotten really sick and I need help. My cat likes to chew plastic bags, and no matter how hard I try to keep them away from her, she finds them and chews on them. Occasionally she will swallow and regurgitate the pieces of plastic she's swallowed. However, I noticed that for the past 2 weeks she has not had a bowel movement. I thought maybe she had hairballs, so I got her a hairball rememdy. That seemed to perk her up a little bit because she tried to eat soon thereafter. Her appetite is off, she won't eat anything or she takes little bits and calls it quits. I give her the juice from canned food and tuna and that helps. My concern is that she has swallowed a piece of plastic and can't get it out. She has lost a lot of weight. She doesn't have a fever and is becoming more and more lethargic by the day. As I said in the beginning, I can't afford a vet bill, I really wish I could. Is there some way of helping her regurgitate or move her bowels or doing anything to help her. It's gotten cold here and I was going to take her to the park and let her eat grass, but I think instead I am going to bring the grass to her. She is a house cat and only goes outside if I am there with her. She hasn't had fleas since I brought her home and she is 7 years old. What do I do?

There is no way around this. You have got to take this poor kitty to a vet now!

Hey TyggersMom
That doesn't sound good at all! I understand the vet bill thing - just went through it myself! But eating plastic and no bowel movement for 2 weeks is bad. My dog ate a cassette tape once and the vet said that the plastic could have actually 'wrapped' a knot around her intestines. Don't want to sound too scary but it's a possibility that she's completely obstructed. I'd try the kitty version of castor oil/laxative and to work out anything you can with your vet ASAP! Good luck!

Vet, now.

Definately call around to see if you can make some kind of payment plan. This kitty should definately go to the vet. I wouldn't recommend doing anything to move stuff along, as it may actually cause a bigger problem. She could have an inaceception (can't spell it, it's a handful) or even a tear in her intestines now. Either way, please keep us updated!

For many years I did not use a vet and tryed to find ways to help my animals when needed. But even I cannot fix somethings. Like when my dogs fought and one got a 6 inch slash down his arm. I tryed to hold the skin together with bandages, (worked in the past) this time there wass no choice. We traded our weekly grocery shopping and brought him to the vet.

There is nothing you can do. The plastic has probley gotten your kittys intestines twisted up. TAKE HER TO THE VET or give her to the pound in your area. IF you love her you will find a way. She is dying as you waste time trying to find away around the vet.

Not trying to be mean just making sure I get it across to you. GO TO THE VET NOW

IS there an Emergency Vet Clinic within a drivable radius from you? Most of these clinics offer "Care Credit", financing for the costs...yeah it sucks because this type of care is not cheap, but one of the pains of animal ownership. It really sounds like this kitty needs to be seen by someone very soon.

Losing weight and becmoing lethargic sounds like a sign of something serious. I would not fool around with self treatments.

If you cannot afford to take care of a pet, why do you have one? It is utterly irresponsible and cruel to allow this animal to go untreated. Sorry, but this is a particular gripe of mine. People have pets, have a catastrophe, and all of a sudden the vets are all a bunch of bas*ards because they won't take a post dated check or send a bill. I am certainly not a millionaire, but every week I put money into an account just for emergencies. I'll get off my soapbox now.

TYG,

Try these...

Whenever you think your pet needs to see the vet but you think you can't afford to go, please take note of two things.

1. Part of the deal with pet ownership is providing medical care. Failing to provide it may actually constitute animal cruelty.
2. Instead of asking for medical advice via e-mail, message boards or othe groups, call your vet. It costs nothing to make a phone call. If it's after hours, call an emergency vet. Vets can help you figure out if your pet's problem is an emergency or not and if there is anything you can do at home to help your pet. Forums generally are not qualified to give you this kind of information.

With that in mind, here are some groups that can help you afford the vet bills:

American Animal Hospital Association
http://www.aahahelpingpets.org/home/
"Through the AAHA Helping Pets Fund, veterinary care is possible for sick or injured pets even if they have been abandoned or if their owner is experiencing financial hardship."

Angels 4 Animals
www.Angels4Animals.org
"Our services range from financial aid to complete treatment
to those pets and pet owners in need."

Care Credit
www.carecredit.com
A credit card company for health care, including veterinary care.
"With a comprehensive range of plan options, for
treatment or procedure fees from $1 to over $25,000, we offer a plan
and a low monthly payment to fit comfortably into almost every
budget."

Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance (FVEAP)
http://www.fveap.org/sys-tmpl/door/
"Seniors, People with disabilities, People who
have lost their job, Good Samaritans who rescue a cat or kitten - any of these folks may need financial assistance to save a beloved companion."

The Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program is a nonprofit 501
(c)(3) organization that provides financial assistance to cat and
kitten guardians who are unable to afford veterinary services to save
their companions when life-threatening illness or injury strikes.

God's Creatures Ministry
http://www.all-creatures.org/gcm/help-cf.html
"This fund helps pay for veterinarian bills for those who need help."

Help-A-Pet
http://www.help-a-pet.org/home.html
"Our efforts focus on serving the elderly, the disabled, and the
working poor."

IMOM
http://www.imom.org
"We are dedicated to insure that no
companion animal has to be euthanized simply because their caretaker
is financially challenged."

The Pet Fund
http://thepetfund.com/
"The Pet Fund is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit association that
provides financial assistance to owners of domestic animals who need
urgent veterinary care."

United Animal Nations
http://www.uan.org/lifeline/index.html
"The mission of LifeLine is to help homeless or recently rescued
animals suffering from life-threatening conditions that require
specific and immediate emergency veterinary care. We strive to serve
Good Samaritans and rescue groups who take in sick or injured
animals. In certain cases, LifeLine can also assist senior citizens
and low-income families pay for immediate emergency veterinary care."

UK Assistance with Veterinary Bills
http://www.petloversonline.co.uk/financial.htm
"Most of us can cope with the financial commitment involved in the
day to day care of our pets. However, how many of us come out in a
cold sweat when our pet is ill or injured and we know we have to take
it to the vet? Most of us are fortunate enough to be able to afford
it but, some of us who love our animals dearly cannot. Unfortunately
we do not have a PDSA or a RSPCA Centre within our area, but there
are a few charities who may be able to help."

Other Groups Who are Breed or Injury Specific:

Corgi Aid
http://www.corgiaid.org/

Dachshunds Needing IVDD surgery
http://members.rushmore.com/~dds/applyforhelp.htm

www.doberman911.org
It's for special needs and senior dobermans who need medical help.You can donate to help them, or have them put your dobie up there if you need help too!!

HandicappedPets.com
http://www.handicappedpets.com/Articles/help/
"From time to time, HandicappedPets.com recognizes a caretaker of
handicapped pets that need some special attention, and a little extra
help. There are those who are so selflessly dedicated to their animal
families that they give up a little more than they can afford."

Labrador Lifeline
http://www.labradorlifeline.org/success/2005-abbey.htm

LabMed: Rx For Rescued Labs
http://www.labmed.org/aid_main.html

HB

Outstanding resources HB. I am going to tuck them away in my aresnal for future people I run across who find themselves in a financial hardship.

Anyone can run into money problems. Sometimes a person may acquire a pet and have the means, but then life takes a bad turn for us. It has happened to most of us at one time or another, and with this unstable economy, could happen again.