I have $28 to my name

and Attitude is now sneezing and you can hear her nose is stopped up. I very literally can't afford another vet visit. Her eye is also still not right. It's like she picked this crap up right after going on the Baytril.

My vet won't do Care Credit(not that I qualify being unemployed) for less than I think $750 or some large amount like that.

I have a feeling that Attitude isn't going to make it to 2.

At this point with her eye, when I get money, should I take her for a second opinion elsewhere since her eye still hasn't cleared up and it's been 2+ months. I love my vet and trust them but this just isn't clearing up and I don't know if there are even any more options left. I'm not going to change vets permanently but I'm just wondering if I should let someone else have a go at it. The only thing I spend money on is gas for my car and items for my son(neither of which is something I can cut out.) I also now owe my mom money for financing my trip to OK and back because I'm broke. I had to pick up my son from my ex(who lives in Dallas, TX, we met at approximately the half-way point) so this wasn't anything optional. I didn't want to go to OK, the only reason TX doesn't fall in the Gulf of Mexico is that OK sucks.

I know this is minor compared to what is going on with everyone else, but I just don't know what to do. I am just financially tapped. I know I knew what I was getting into(and feel free to blast me, at this point I don't care) but I was expecting vet bills for serious things(and farther off in the future, like when I had a job) not a never ending eye infection and now what appears to be a URI(or could just be allergies, which is likely mine are acting up, and she was all sneezy the last time I was due to allergies.) It seems to be more allergies, she rarely gets URIs(in fact I don't think she's ever had one and neither has Nuts) and this doesn't seem to be one.

I'm lost, I don't know what my next step should be.

Taryn

Taryn, you need to look at getting a job... anything... Or if you qualify, I will say go to walfare, but you need to do something. If you can not get a job at all, and you try and try and try, apply for help, but you need to turn this game - it is on your hands. I know you said you don't want to get government's help... but sometimes you need it, and you have to have it.
One thing is for sure, if you keep doing the same you will get the same results - time to change the game.

Have you tried giving her Lysine? IMO that would probably help.

She has been on Lysine for a while, it helps minimally.

I've swallowed my pride, I have no choice. I'm going to apply for everything(welfare, food stamps and Medicaid) tomorrow or whenever I can get in. I'm not pregnant or have child under 5(Bobby will be 8 in Sept) so I don't qualify for WIC(which wouldn't help me anyways, Bobby is very highly allergic to all dairy so it would be pointless because they don't cover soy milk, etc.) I've been paying into it all my working life, so has Paul and my parents, all my aunts and uncles, my grandparents so I guess asking for help isn't really that bad.

I haven't worked since 2004 so I don't qualify for unemployment(plus I didn't work long enough at my prior job and had drawn unemployment at my previous job before that one for position elimination.)

I don't even really need this for me as much as I do to get vet care for Attitude. If only I knew of a program where I could apply for assistance with vet care.

She has an appointment today at 4:30, Paul is paying for it. She is having trouble breathing. Not emergency trouble breathing, you can just hear her rattle and cough and she seems to be having trouble breathing through her nose, but she is, she isn't breathing through her mouth.

I'm applying for jobs like crazy, problem is with minimum wage jobs is I'm overqualified so they won't hire me. Not to mention I look about 12 and they want adults. Of course if they look at my work history which goes back to 1996 they'll realize I'm an adult.

Taryn

Awww hun, I am so sorry, sending you vibes that you can get help, you are entitled to welfare so take it hun and don't feel bad, you will find a job soon.xx

Taryn -

Since you are so very low income did you check the local humane society, rescue/shelter or animal control agency for any help they may offer ? A couple years ago it seemed there were a lot of programs - that of course are now going broke along with the rest of the country.

But you can still scrounge around. Being unemployed should be enough to get a vet assistance but it is probably a lot easier if you able to document financial hardship by being on food stamps, Medicare/Medicaid, unemployment, SSI, etc.

Like everyone said, there is nothing shameful about applying for aid because if you were really lazy and were trying to not work you would have been milking welfare for years, long before this.

My heart goes out to the families really struggling and trying like hell to do their best to find a job stuck in this Unemployment Black Hole. SO SO SO tired and heart sick of the craziness -- about all of this madness that is going on. No jobs and debt as far as the eye can see...

Best wishes to you both - you and Attitude !!!!

Taryn, have you ran a full URI panel on her? You might not be dealing with the right virus or bacteria, and it might just be the case of finding out what exactly you are dealing with to give her the correct (and effective) medication. If Lysine is working marginally, chances are you are not dealing with Herpes... Lysine works very well with Herpes, and keeping related URIs at bay.

It is almost exclusively her eye, this is her first URI ever. Not saying much but it matters to me. No one will listen that it is her freaking eye. This isn't about a URI going to her eye, it about her eye leading to a URI.

She has a URI and of course her eye is still messed up. I couldn't afford a culture, or chest x-ray. She got another penicillin shot and another antibiotic to try Chloramphenicol. The vet knows we're broke, they gave the shot for free.

He said if it wasn't for us she'd be dead. Not exactly a vote of confidence on her making it much longer. Looks like Attitude is going to fall into the 50% that don't make it to 2.

This isn't fair. She's spoiled rotten and doesn't want for anything. We love her and it just isn't fair. Why the hell is it that people treat their cats like crap and don't care about them and they live forever and I treat mine like royalty and one might not even make it to 2. She's only 13 months old.

Paul currently hates me and wants nothing to do with me.

I'm broke and I'm left with a cat that probably won't be here in 6 months, much less a year.

I want a freaking dog, they don't suffer from crap like this. I don't even know what to do about Nuts, I can't leave him alone without a companion but I don't know if I can go through this again with yet another cat. I might just foster when the worst happens, I can't afford this crap anymore.

Taryn

Taryn, I am so sorry.... I could never get cats with FeLV for that same reason.... I can't deal with early deaths... It takes a very strong person to go through it, and I am most definitely not one of them... I am sorry again...

for the stuggles but please try to get some assitence .... and as a FYI dog s are More $$$ and things do go wrong... My yorkie s bills cost me a decent New car ...

I didn't mean wanting a dog literally. It's just that there is no canine equivalent FeLV or FIV, dog owners don't face this stuff. Dogs are expensive and they require going outside, they are high maintenance pets. I also don't have it in me to deal with another animal I'm already broke from Attitude and I just can't deal with another animal emotionally. I'm in a bad place at the moment. I can't/ don't want to face Attitude's mortality at the moment. It's killing me and it doesn't help that Paul hates me and wants nothing to do with me right now. I need a hug and someone to talk to.

I also didn't volunteer for this, I didn't know she was positive until the test came back and by then I was too in love with her to do anything but love her and take care of her. Nuts was kind of an addition since him and 'Tude are partners in crime. I had also been told Attitude was 'definitely male' by the vet(after I said she was female) so I thought I had 2 males not a male and a female.

Taryn

Taryn,

I'm so sorry that I can't offer anything but my sympathy for you and Attitude during this difficult time. I do know what you're going through, as I had a little guy I lost to FeLV not long ago. I had to face the anger, despair, worry and crushing loss of his last day. Please look into any immediate assistance you can find, for yourself and Attitude, but above all, realize that you are not alone. Both of you are in my prayers.

She's spending her time hiding in the closet, she will come out and be social if I drag her out of the closet. Nuts decided she was laying somewhere he wanted so he decided to be an a-hole and bit her until she moved.

Her breathing still occasionally sounds like crap but she seems better today. She still won't play and just wants to lay around so i know she feels like crap. I was worried she wasn't eating(her dry) but she is eating, I saw her at the bowls with her face shoved in one. Before she was walking up sniffing them and then just standing there looking confused. I am giving them a can of wet to share(Attitude has no problem with getting what she feels is her portion of the food.) She is drinking and using the litter box. I have got 2 doses of the antibiotic in her(I think it tastes gross because she really acts like she doesn't like it.)

She seems better but she's still not herself. She went downhill on the Baytril and that eye stuff, I wish they had never tried that. I'm not pointing fingers or blame, this crap happens, I mean I have an immuno-compromised cat.

If she still isn't clear of her eye crap at the end of this round of antibiotics I think I'm going to get a copy of her records and take her to a cat clinic. I'm not changing vets I just think if my vet can't get it clear maybe a cat who only deals with cats might have a better idea. I don't want to do that. I am very leery about letting Attitude around other cats(for obvious reasons.) Oh well I'll cross that bridge if I get to it.

Could use more fight and get well vibes for Attitude, I'm not ready for this to be it, she's too young.

Taryn

Originally Posted by Taryn

I'm applying for jobs like crazy, problem is with minimum wage jobs is I'm overqualified so they won't hire me. Not to mention I look about 12 and they want adults. Of course if they look at my work history which goes back to 1996 they'll realize I'm an adult.

Click to expand...

I'm right there with you. I got laid off over a year and a half ago and haven't been able to land a job. I've got a college degree, but unfortunately my work experience for the last 15 years isn't in the area where I have my degree. Nobody wants to hire me to do the work I've been doing because I'm not degreed in it. Nobody wants to hire me for minimum wage because they feel I'll bolt at the first opportunity. I have told countless retail stores that I am more than happy to work for $7.50 an hour, but I can't seem to shake the "over-qualification". I'm almost to the point where I need to lie about my salary history on the applications I submit.

I had two interviews recently with Starbucks... I'm 37 and my first interview was with a store manager who looked like he was about 23 years old. I didn't get the job, when I know damn well I can make a freakin' cup of coffee!!! Holland and I are living with my mom because I can't pay my bills anymore. I am back in school (racking up more student loan debt, hooray!) getting a degree in the area where I've been working since I was 23 years old.

I hope you are able to get Attitude healthy. I definitely feel your pain, and I'm sending you plenty of vibes.

I would suggest calling all the shelters and rescues you can find and ask if they can help. Some of them have funds set up for this type of thing and some shelters have low-income clinics, or they may be able to direct you to a vet who would be willing to work with you.
Another option is to search online for pet/vet funds. When my dog needed a series of x-rays and a bone biopsy and then suddenly developed what we were afraid was squamous cell carcinoma in her mouth, I had already maxed my credit card and had over $2000 of vet bills I could not pay. I was able to find a fund online for people who needed help with their pets' vet care (for pets with bone cancer and other medical conditions) and they helped me out. Thank goodness it turned out to not be cancer, but rather a series of unrelated problems that just all came on at once...
You can do searches online for funds like this, there are a number of them out there and I would suggest emailing all the ones you might qualify for and asking if they can help. I've also seen a few sites that help people with pet medications or have medications that have been donated by other pet owners. Some vets also may have this, I know my vet has medications that were donated by other pet owners when their pets passed away or no longer needed them and she will donate to other pet owners if they can't afford them.