At a loss for what to do..please help

My cat Oscar is 10 years old. This past summer he got really sick with liver issues. I don't know exactly what the cause was (fatty liver, cancer, ate something bad, etc) because I couldn't afford to send him to a specialist for biopsies. My vet ran blood tests and Oscar's liver enzymes were terrible, so that's how we knew it was his liver. So I called Care Credit in a panic, had them increase my limit so Oscar could stay two days at the vet for intensive treatment.

He was sent home later with daily meds for me to administer and I had to force feed him for about a week and a half before he would eat on his own. I feel that I got somewhat lucky as I didn't have to do syringe feedings. I would just restrain him in a blanket and he would eat wet food from my hand. We graduated to no restraint, just eating from my hand. And eventually he ate normally on his own. It took one month of meds and this feeding regimen for him to come around, and he began acting normal again. I thought we were out of the woods. Eating, drinking, playing, running, etc.

Fast forward to last week and he began exhibiting the same symptoms-- vomiting, lethargy, not eating. A friend of mine took him to the vet for me as I was out of the country and when his lab results came back it was the same thing, but doubled. Oscar had to stay for two days for intensive therapy, and we were once again sent home with medicines and the need for force feeding.

This time, however, it's not going so smoothly. He will not eat from my hand. So I resorted to syringe feeding. I've tried several different techniques, several different types of syringes, food, YouTube videos, etc. To put it bluntly, it is pure hell for both of us. I feel that I mentally and physically cannot do this. And Oscar fights so hard against me, it's nearly impossible.

I see him getting weaker every day, but he still acts somewhat like himself. He still purrs, comes to me when I call him, and he urinates but hasn't pooped since he's been home (5 days).

I am out of money, I've maxed out my Care Credit account on him. My credit cards are done, I have no family or friends to borrow from. So I cannot afford to send him back to the vet.

He's eating on his own now, very very little. Not nearly enough to sustain or heal him. He pooped a very small nugget today.

So I have no idea what to do. I don't know if I should end his suffering, because it seems like whatever is wrong with his liver is getting worse since this is twice in a few months he's been sick. I'm out of money. I can't syringe feed him, it literally gives me anxiety and heart palpitations because it's so incredibly stressful. But it seems like he wants to be here. Also, I can't afford to take the time off work to stay with him all day to feed him and I have no one to help.

I don't know...advice would be much appreciated. This is tearing me up, I'm a mess and I don't know what's best at this point. :-(

I know how you feel about being maxed out on credit cards.  I was there too last year when Gracie was so sick.  I now wish I had someone to advise me to look into refinancing my house.  I was literally so scared I felt like I couldn't move, so I understand how you feel

This will be helpful if you own a home.  You could pay off your debts by rolling the loan amounts into the mortgage.  I think some people do this.  But I opted for a home equity loan and got a really good rate.  That way you could greatly lower your monthly payout in terms of interest.  Care credit will max out your interest rate if you don't pay within the 12 or 18 months no interest period.  So a home equity loan would be good if you rent.  Talk to a loan officer about your situation.  Maybe you will get one who is sympathteic to your plight. 

You could also start a Gofundme account.  It didn't work for me because I didn't have Facebook. So if you do have Facebook that will help.  

I agree it sounds like your kitty Oscar wants to be here.  I hope some of the other members will chime in here real soon and give you some good advice about how to help him.  

Also, it would be helpful to get some counseling to help with the anxiety.  There are counseling agencies that offer free counseling if you agree to see an intern (someone who is still in school.)  You can call your local social services and speak to a social worker who could help to find such an agency.  Or you could search online too.  

I"m so sorry for all the pain you are going through right now.  I can certainly relate.  Right now one of my kitties is sick too and I'm having to wait until Tuesday to get him seen by a vet.  

Hey there. We just spent close to 3Gs on our Wills who succumbed one week later. You could look into a personal loan through a credit union.

As far as syringe feeding goes we really struggled with that too. So much anxiety that we started fighting and snapping at each other. Is there a willing vet tech who would come by and help you with this? Maybe it will go better coming from a stranger? We ended up doing that with another cat of ours who needed fluids. It went so badly that we did hire someone every other day to do the fluids. We didn't want this dear old cat to remember us as the two fools who tortured him during the last weeks of his life.

marrin713 said:

Hey there. We just spent close to 3Gs on our Wills who succumbed one week later. You could look into a personal loan through a credit union....
 

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I just read over what I said and found it didn't make sense.  I'm sorry, I'm just kind of worried about my own kitties right now.  What I meant is if you do own your house, look into refinancing.  And you could either include the debts owed to Care Credit and other cards in with your mortgage OR you could choose to get a personal loan or revolving home equity loan.  You could get a MUCH better rate than Care Credit.  They will eat you alive in interest (26%!!) if you don't pay off within the no interest period.  Most people don't.  I chose to both refinance my house at a lower rate and got a home equity loan at a fraction of interest rate that I had been paying on my credit cards to pay off my other debts.  That will help you get some of your spending money back while paying off your loans.  

If you rent, you could just opt for the personal loan, as @marrin713  said.  

I'm so sorry marrin713 about your kitty

Thanks Ginny. What's going on with your cat(s)?

marrin713 said:

Thanks Ginny. What's going on with your cat(s)?

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I'll answer you in PM so I don't hijack this thread, if that's ok?

I am sorry you are going through this with your kitty, Cats can be so difficult when they are sick. the fact that he is starting to eat on his own is good. Try feeding him something he really loves, I have tried boiled chicken liver and most cat love it. Once he starts eating more introduce his cat food. A liver exclusive diet is not healthy for a long period of time. 

Sending healing thoughts to the both of you. It does sound like he wants to stay with you and it isn't his time