Do you have anything around your house that you could sell? Since you make crafts how about trying Etsy? Do you have any friends or family that could help out?
If your cat has continual blockages, I would opt for the surgery. There is a risk, of course, to every surgery so be wary of that. But my Buddha had the surgery and is totally fine now with no blockages and it's been about two years. His quality of life is much better and I'm so happy they could...
I totally agree. Some people just don't care about putting in the effort to make raw food. Some do care, but they lack the resources. I'd rather have someone's cat eat kibble all their life than only cooked chicken (their interpretation of a raw diet).
Calmly explain to them and educate them about good nutrition - wet food. It's probably due to ignorance. Start the conversation by going, "Oh hey, I came across these really informative articles about cat nutrition when I was looking for info for my cat" so it's not like you were intentionally...
My poor cat has been through this FOUR times, then he got the PU surgery ($$$$). The most important thing is to FEED HIM WET FOOD ONLY!! I cannot stress this enough. NO dry kibble whatsoever, not even prescription. You need the water to flush out the crystals.
I used a 50/50 mix, 50% water to 50% vinegar. A lot of people use 25 (vinegar) / 75 (water), but I find 50/50 gets the pee/poo stains better off the pan.
To be honest, I just one day switched their box with Dr. Elsey's. I did this knowing they wouldn't eat the litter first though. They didn't...
Imagine someone eats salads for non-stop all their meals every day. Then imagine a year later, they decide to cold turkey stop eating salads and eat a huge steak. Of course they're stomach is going to do flips because the diet is so different! It's like that with cats too, but cats are more...