Fundraiser - Veterinary Assistance for My Maine Coon Poe

Hello,

I am new to this site and I have been looking for new places to post my fundraiser for my cat Poe. He had a urinary blockage earlier this year and even though I couldn't afford it of course I still had to take him to the vet. He's my boy and for me euthanasia is not an option I would ever consider. I created a fundraiser  on youcaring.com that I am ending on his birthday. His birthday is on Halloween 10/31 which is fast approaching. I have been very lucky and received more donations and support than I ever expected. I even had someone put Poe's fundraiser on their blog -  http://kinseyscarves.com/. If you have the chance please visit my fundraiser site. It explains more of the situation than I can here. The updates I posted throughout this year kind of became like a journal of what happened and how it's affected and changed my financial situation and what Poe's been through.

If you can help that would be great although I understand their are many other people and causes that need help. Thank you for reading this and I hope I haven't misused your forum in anyway. Also if anyone else needs to set up a fundraiser I definitely recommend checking out youcaring.com. Thanks again

This didn't show up in my first post for some reason. It's Poe's fundraiser link.

Ok apparently I am horrible at embedding html so the link for Poe's fundraiser

is:

http://www.youcaring.com/pet-expenses/vetrinary-assistance-for-my-maincoone-poe/56451

What a very handsome boy your Poe is! 

Be very careful switching from the Royal Canin Urinary S/O to the ProPlan Urinary Health food.  I know those prescription foods are expensive, but there is a reason for it.  Let me refer you to this thread:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/253241/stopping-urinary-s-o   You might want to run the switch by your Vet, just to see what they think.  I know funds are extremely tight, but it might not be worth the risk of having to take him back in for another blockage

BTW, good luck with the fundraising

Thanks I was worried about that. Its just been hard to always feed the Rx food because sometimes I don't even have money to eat but I think money might be getting better soon. I do live in constant terror of a new blockage. Pro plan is much cheaper so hopefully we can stick to that instead of the royal canin. I've just been worried because I've read sites where they tell you how bad the vet food is so I never know what to believe. But I don't want to risk another blockage so I will just stick with the urinary food.
Thanks
Liz

Please keep in mind..... 

From the Mod Team Regarding Pleas for money:

Cats are a huge responsibility. Anyone who thinks otherwise, should not have one in their life. They are dependent on us for everything from providing a place to eat, to also providing vet care.

Anyone who has cats knows that they can and do get ill. Your best defense is to plan for that to happen before it does, and store monies away in preparation. 

If you read about a plight of an animal on the internet and your heart is drawn to help. Check out the story thoroughly. Google the vet's name or call Directory Assistance in the city and be sure this is a legitimate claim.

Do not blindly send money into a paypal account no matter how heart-wrenching the story. Instead reach out to the member and ask for the vet's name and phone number, and arrange to send the money there for the specific needs of the cat in question. 

If that information cannot be provided- you have your answer. Report the post to a moderator so that it can be removed for not being on the level.
 

Click to expand...

I understand the reason why you have this warning about people asking for money and I agree with everything you said. I have made sure from the beginning of my fundraiser to provide on my fundraiser the vets name and phone number if people wish to send donations directly to the hospital because I understand their are disreputable people that are running a scam or just trying to get money. I don't understand how someone can do that. I think it's horrible to try to play on people's sympathy to steal their money. I also agree that having a pet is a responsibility that you should not take on if you do not understand everything that it entails from money to love etc for your pet. This is Poe's second urinary blockage and his first cost be about $2000 a few years ago and I paid for everything on my own. I have a decent job and I am employed full time and I can afford to care for my pets Poe and Beatle, but sometimes events occur that unless you are very wealthy can even throw someone with a decent income into financial hardship. I feel I took proper care of my boy Poe and after the first blockage kept him on vet food for over a year until I was told by my vet, which now angers me, that it was okay to change him to regular food again. He was fine for about a year on regular food which was still Royal Canin but not the Urinary and then he suddenly developed a blockage again. I now realize that he will have to stay on urinary food for the rest of his life because of this repeat blockage and that I should have never taken him off of it. But the expense of a second vet stay to correct this second blockage was just too much on my finances after his first. I have learned a lot though and I am working hard to get my finances in order so I can begin a savings for Poe and Beatle along with Pet insurance in the near future. I have a retirement account and I have finally found a way where I may be able to take out some of the money in the next month which would help me begin to start the process of financial recovery. I did and do carry a certain amount of guilt about even having my fundraiser as Poe is my responsibility and also because there are so many other causes and people that deserve help more than I do. But the fundraiser was a desperate attempt in a very desperate time and regardless of anything if it helped Poe that is all I care about. I love my two cats, they are not my pets but my children and best friends. They eat before me and their well being comes before mine.

I am ending my fundraiser in 5 days because I feel that I have received more generosity than I could ever have expected and I am very hopeful that the time has come where maybe I can begin to get back on my feet. I still would like to continue as a member of this site as it is a resource for information on a lot of topics that can help me continue to take care of my cats. I thank you for allowing me to post my fundraiser and once again I understand the need for the disclaimer and warning about fundraisers that you have posted. I hope my comments do not seem harsh but this has been a hard year and I am sensitive on the subject as I do carry a lot of guilt. I feel that if I had not listened to my vet and kept Poe on his urinary food none of this would have happened and to know that not continuing that food was most likely the cause of the pain he went through causes me the most guilt.

I should have spell checked my last reply. I see I used their instead of there in some places. 

I do have a question though that maybe someone can help me with. I am now feeding Poe Purina Pro Plan Urinary Tract Health Formula. Does anyone who's kitty has had urinary issues used this food and what was your experience with it? I have switched to this from Royal Canin because I read reviews that Pro Plan worked well for other people's cats with urinary issues and it is much more reasonably priced than Royal Canin. But I have also been to sites where holistic vets do not recommend this food or any vet diet and believe cats should just be kept on a high protein wet food diet of high quality non vet food. I've decided I am not taking the chance on a raw food or non urinary food diet because it's just too great of a risk if it causes another blockage. Does anyone recommend a certain Urinary food that they feel is the best? Even if it ends up being more expensive I will switch if Proplan is not a good choice.

We have a cat that has urinary blockage issues and he eats the Purina Urinary UR St/Ox Veterinary Formula (although I think you're talking about the Pro Plan Focus Urinary Tract). And we have 5 cats, and for various reasons, that means that they ALL have to eat the Purina - which just went up in price for something like the 3rd time in 6 months - and my husband and I are self-employed, so paying for prescription cat food for that many cats is tough. And we were just talking today about talking to our vet about seeing if there was anything less expensive we can switch to - so I totally understand your concern/frustration/etc. We've had SUCH good luck on the Purina - although I will say it hasn't 100% fixed things, but definitely done about a 98% fix. We'e discovered that if he (his name is Jojo) eats absolutely ANY other (non-urinary tract oriented) food - he immediately has a blockage. So definitely beware of treats, etc. - and even of switching around. How much did you pay for the Royal Canin? I looked into the Hills, but it was even pricier than the Pro Plan (and here in NW Ohio at least - the Pro plan Veterinary Formula is something like $60 for a 16 pound bag! 

But Jo has had amazing luck on the Purina Pro

Yeah my vet recommended Hills but it's just too expensive, at least right now, for me to buy consistently. You were right I was talking about the Pro Plan Focus. When Poe had his first urinary blockage years ago he was on the Royal Canin SO dry food and it worked really well. At the tome is was about $40 for around a 10 pound bag but now they only carry a 7.7 lb that's around $35 a or 17.6 lb that is around $60. He really liked that dry food and it worked great for him. I think Royal Canin is really one of the best brands out there so if it's a little cheaper than what you are buying now I would try it. Poe didn't have any issues until about a year or so after his first blockage when the vet said that I could try to transition him to a regular cat food because his test came back that he didn't have any urinary issues. Big mistake he was okay for about a year and then all the sudden he got a blockage again. 

This time though the vet told me he has to be on a can food wet urinary diet because moisture is the most important thing for cats with urinary issues. He was addicted to dry food but he now only eats canned food which works well for my other older cat too. She has trouble chewing harder food now that she is getting older. Canned food is more expensive though.  I just started buying the pro plan a couple months ago because it was cheaper than the royal canin wet food. Before I had to supplement regular can food during the period between getting more money for the Royal Canin. As mrsgreenjeens mentioned above I think it's way too risky to mix the vet food with regular. If Proplan works and I just found out I can buy it at Petsmart by the can, instead of online like I have been, then for now I can buy it constantly and not supplement with regular can food. You might want to try mixing some water with the dry food. I read this is a way to get more moisture into your cats diet which helps prevent urinary issues. I am going to go back to the canned Royal Canin when I can afford eventually. I don't like that the Pro Plan Focus has corn and wheat as an ingredient.

I feed my cat who had continual blockages Royal Canin Urinary SO WET food. Never feed dry! That's why he blocked again. I switched him to a different food to save money and it ended up costing more because he blocked again. So be careful....