Peeing red, UTI

[Country Cat]

One of the cats, Yennefer, I’m looking after is peeing red, which is probably blood. She had this before and it got better by itself but now it’s back again. I have a vet appointment but I’m afraid of the cost. I don’t have the funds to pay a lot of money. I’m ready to rehome her and her mother. I love them but they’ve become a financial burden on my family. I have a total of four cats and one dog in my home. Plus, it’s not fair to them if I can’t get them proper care. I don’t know what to do. Is there anything out there that’s over the counter that I can buy and save myself a vet bill? Probably not but I thought I would ask. My only other option is to take her to no kill, shelter and let them treat her. I thought this through a lot and I think that’s probably my best option. They’ll be able to adopt her out better than I could. I tried asking everyone if anyone would want a cat, everyone keeps telling me no and giving excuses of why they can’t. If there’s reliable website that helps rehome cats please let me know.
if there’s a rehome thread on here that I’ve missed, please let me know.

 

[Krienze]

I'll be honest with you, most shelters will put a sick animal down rather than treat them because it's too much money and they likely odn't have the funds. At least it's like that here.
You could ask your vet if there is a payment plan you can work out, look into care credit or look into finding pet insurance?
I have pet insurance for Jasper specifically because he's UTI prone.

Take your cat to the vet ASAP though. UTI's aren't that expensive to treat but if you wait too long and it becomes a blockage, THAT can be expensive.

You probably wanna look into a diet change if this is a problem. What does your cat eat? Does she drink a lot of water?

 

[Country Cat]

I just called the vet it’s gonna be $145 estimate. That’s way too much for me. I’ve asked for help. They said there’s no funding right now. I really can’t afford another monthly payment so care credit is out of the picture I’m looking into no kill shelters. If I am to drop her off, it’s definitely gonna have to be no kill. I will not take her anywhere else, my only other option is medicine over the counter, looking on Amazon. They have more reasonable prices not sure what else to do.

 

[Alldara]

Country Cat surrendering sounds like a good plan for you. Bladder infections in cats often happen repeatedly and need vet attention regularly until you find the underlying cause.

It would be best for you to surrender him ASAP, as he needs immediate vet attention. Please let the place know when you call.

This forum is global, so I don't think we have a rehoming forum, but if you contact local rescues rather than shelters in your area. Rescues are usually humane euthanize only (when it's too cruel to keep them alive).

As per shelter kill rates, that depends on your area. Many places shelters have a ton of support and can easily fix things like urinary infections.

In some places you can also surrender at your vets office.

Since we aren't sure where you are, we can't provide exact places. You can also try posting the situation on any local Lost and Found groups on Facebook. Another cat lover might be able to help you.

 

[di and bob]

She needs an antibiotic. You could beg the vet and see if they have an over the counter they could sell you after you describe her symptoms. Or see if they would OK a online prescription. See about payment plans. Is she spayed?! If not the best option would be to find a shelter for her.

 

[Country Cat]

She is spayed. My vet will not approve of giving any medication unless she’s been seen. MY vet couldn’t see her until 14 February which would be way too long so they recommended this other place.
I’ve just found a good shelter that will care for her. They’ve adopted out over 1500 cats in 2022. They are very reputable and I’ve heard good things about them. I will be taking her there tomorrow.
Thank you all for your good advice.

 

[NekoM]

Have you contacted the Humane Society? They have a veterinary association to help in situations like yours, it’s better for everyone and takes the burden off shelters. Even if one isn’t close to you, they probably have Vets who are subsidized by them. If your not in the US every country has an equivalent, the UK has the RSPCA and Canada a SPCA for example

 

[Alldara]

Country Cat That's good news. It's a hard decision, but it sounds like you've made your peace with it.
Thanks for taking care of her this far and taking so much care to find a good, reputable place to help her when you couldn't any longer.

 

[Krienze]

She is spayed. My vet will not approve of giving any medication unless she’s been seen. MY vet couldn’t see her until 14 February which would be way too long so they recommended this other place.
I’ve just found a good shelter that will care for her. They’ve adopted out over 1500 cats in 2022. They are very reputable and I’ve heard good things about them. I will be taking her there tomorrow.
Thank you all for your good advice.

Can you use chewy's vet stuff or see about getting into a vet school to be seen, etc? The fact that there's that long of a wait for your vet is concerning. I'd be finding another vet, honestly.

I'm gonna be honest with you again, most sick surrenders are put down. So if your goal is to surrender her to avoid her being put down, I'd see if you can find someone you know locally maybe through a fb group or friend group who can take her in as a rehoming. No kill shelters still put animals down. Many here will put them down if they come in sick because they can't afford to take care of them.

I would def look into what NekoM said, too.

 

[Country Cat]

Update: I’ve found a clinic connected to a humane society that is more reasonable. She’s went went back needing stronger antibiotics. She threw up a lot and had diarrhea with amoxicillin so he tried to give her one that doesn’t make her as nauseous. I have to call tomorrow with an update. She started on the new one last Friday evening 2/10/23 So far she has not peed anywhere but the litter pan. Still just a spot though. No throw up yet. He also gave her some probiotic powder to put on food but since she feeds with other cats, this is hard to get her to feed separately but I am still trying. He also suggested some Greek yogurt which I also tried but she has no interest in.
I’ve also confirmed that the Humane Society shelter is no kill shelter unless they have no cure for a patient or if the patient is aggressive. Those are the only two reasons they would euthanize they said. I am also looking into this other lady who said she might foster. Until she can find them forever homes. I’m sort of looking at her before the shelter. We will see because the lady is a far drive and Humane Society shelter is not very far.

 

[Alldara]

Update: I’ve found a clinic connected to a humane society that is more reasonable. She’s went went back needing stronger antibiotics. She threw up a lot and had diarrhea with amoxicillin so he tried to give her one that doesn’t make her as nauseous. I have to call tomorrow with an update. She started on the new one last Friday evening 2/10/23 So far she has not peed anywhere but the litter pan. Still just a spot though. No throw up yet. He also gave her some probiotic powder to put on food but since she feeds with other cats, this is hard to get her to feed separately but I am still trying. He also suggested some Greek yogurt which I also tried but she has no interest in.
I’ve also confirmed that the Humane Society shelter is no kill shelter unless they have no cure for a patient or if the patient is aggressive. Those are the only two reasons they would euthanize they said. I am also looking into this other lady who said she might foster. Until she can find them forever homes. I’m sort of looking at her before the shelter. We will see because the lady is a far drive and Humane Society shelter is not very far.

Those are all lovely solutions thus far. Great job. You're working so hard for them

 

[Alldara]

So sorry for your loss

 

[NekoM]

I am so very sorry this has happened to you again. Don’t reproach yourself or feel you did anything wrong, she was well cared for and loved. It was a challenging situation but for the short time they were in your care you did everything you possibly could. Don’t think of this only of loss think of this as what you gave.

 

[Country Cat]

I am so very sorry this has happened to you again. Don’t reproach yourself or feel you did anything wrong, she was well cared for and loved. It was a challenging situation but for the short time they were in your care you did everything you possibly could. Don’t think of this only of loss think of this as what you gave.

Thank you for your heart felt words!

 

[fionasmom]

When a cat passes, we lock the thread out of respect. Country Cat wrote a lovely tribute to Yennefer which has been moved to our Crossing the Bridge forum.