# Can't afford vet bills :'(



## Violet99

When I brought in my beautiful Violet, I figured I'd just need to get her fixed and vaccinated. She seemed very healthy and energetic.

However, I've been to the vet twice already for other things. The first visit, they said she was fine, but took a stool sample that came back positive for an intestinal parasite. That was $85 plus the medication, which luckily was only $16. 

Now she's going back to the vet tomorrow, as she is throwing up every single time she eats and is getting very skinny. I've tried switching to food after food to no avail. That vet visit will be another $85, plus whatever tests or treatment they may give. 

I also got the quote for her fixing and vaccinations, and it was over $300. Someone with a full time job could swing in a couple months, but not me on my part-time pet store salary. I refuse to take her to one of those cheap places, as I've heard the ones nearby have sent cats home with worms, and that they don't save the cat on the table if something goes wrong during surgery. 

I love her with all my heart, and am tearing up right now just searching out my options, but I know I can't afford to keep her healthy and happy right now. She's already displaying some definite signs of needing to be fixed, and that behavior is getting out of control. She's an angel with people when they want to cuddle her or lay with her, but when she's alone, not so much. I was told it's because she really needs to be fixed ASAP. 

I'm going to see what the vet says tomorrow about what my options are, if I even have any, but I know it's going to hurt my bank account. I'm very low as it is, with rent and all, and my bearded dragon. 

As a last resort, however, I may have to let someone with more money in the bank take her on. As soon as she's healthy, I know she'll be an incredible cat. She already is.

Anyone with any info at all, any suggestions or anything would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to lose my little love, but if the right home will take her, it may be what's best.

Thank you


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## 0ozma

Would a temporary second part time job be an option? To me, it sounds much better than giving up an animal. Sure you'll be stressed, busy, and not have much time to yourself but wouldn't it be worth it in the long run?


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## Jakiepoo

That's really rough, I can only imagine. I don't know what I'd do in that situation :/. 

Maybe try giving your local shelter a call and telling them about your tight financial situation. They could probably get you some sort of deal on the spay and vaccines. 300$ seems steep, but it varies from vet to vet. When we adopt cats from the shelter they're 150$ which includes their care, price of spay, and all vaccines, so asking a shelter could give you a good deal. 

Also try checking out other vets, of course you don't want to go to a sketchy, dirty vet that has a history of pets coming home with worms, but like I said, 300$ seems steep. I know our local vet charges I think 25$ or something for a neuter and 50-75$ for the spay, and I don't think her vaccinations are expensive either. 

If after that the vet you're currently at is still your only option at that price see what kind of payment plan you can set up, if you can. See if you can pay them so much a month/bi-weekly, it's still the same price, but a little bit coming off over time is much easier to handle than the whole chunk at once :/

If the vets office won't set up a payment plan maybe ask a close friend/family member who are in a better financial position if they'd work something out. See if they'll take the initial loss, and then you pay them back as you get the money, set up a budget where they get a certain amount every pay check. 

If all of that works out, and those initial vet expenses are taken care of start putting a small percentage of every pay check away for just these sorts of emergency's. The initial vet bills after a pet adoption can be expensive. Kittens OFTEN get worms, it's very common. After those initial treatments, vaccines, and spay/neuter things tend to slow down (though not always of course). We had our last girl for 11 years without a single incident, took her to the vet once for tips about her weight and that was it. 

Also, this newest development could be a possible reaction to the vaccine/the vaccine didn't work completely. It could also show a possible food allergy. Or it could just be an upset stomach from too many food changes with so much else already going on. The vet should give you a better idea tomorrow.

Good luck with the checkup! Let us know how it goes!


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## Violet99

0ozma said:


> Would a temporary second part time job be an option? To me, it sounds much better than giving up an animal. Sure you'll be stressed, busy, and not have much time to yourself but wouldn't it be worth it in the long run?


I don't have a car (another thing I can't afford) so there's very few options within walking distance of my current job. There's also no nearby bus runs. Trust me, I'd love to. I'm willing to dip into my life savings, but I'm also moving across the country in march, and need that car, so I can't dip in too much.

Like I said, it's a very last resort. My fiancee made me look into the option, as he's already lending me about $250 this month and i still have nothing. I didn't want to.


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## Jetlaya67

Check out your local shelter and/or other animal services organizations, they may have a reduced fee spaying for lower income families. Also, check with other vets and see if you could come up with a payment plan. I wish you and Violet the best.


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## Violet99

I tried contacting shelters when I first got her, and none wanted anything to do with us. They never even called me back to say they couldn't help. 

I will definitely look into a payment plan option, though. I didn't realize vets did that. It would be extremely helpful. We also have a vet affiliated with the pet store that I work at, and they tend to be especially helpful to employees, so there's that. I hate to ask for special favors, but it's worth a shot.

She was never vaccinated, so the throwing up isn't related to that. I went through different foods with the possibilities of allergies and nothing has helped, so that's something I'm going to ask about tomorrow. I hope they have a relatively simple solution, because I'm definitely starting to get worried.

Thank you so much!


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## Violet99

thank you  I'm going to look into it. There aren't many vets around here to choose from, so I just picked the one my parents go to with their cat.


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## Auroraei

We use Care Credit for our vet bills, it's like a credit card that has a certain useable balance on it, and they give you like 12 or something months to pay it off. I don't think the interest is high. It's been a great thing for us.


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## Violet99

That actually sounds like a pretty good idea. How do I go about doing that?


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## Auroraei

You sign up here, Healthcare and Medical Financing for Consumers | CareCredit™. My husband did it a few years ago but from what I remember it was very fast, and you can even start using the service before they send you the card.


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## Violet99

i'll check it out  thanks


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## Auroraei

Violet99 said:


> i'll check it out  thanks


You're welcome! We use it for everything, doctors, dentists, vet, ect.....


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## Jakiepoo

Sorry, I meant a reaction to the medication used for the worms! 

And yeah, testing for allergies is hard when you go by trying different foods, their are so many things that could be causing the allergies, not to mention she could be allergic to more than one type of food which just makes it more complicated!
Just some common food allergies in cats that you could try cutting out:
-Chicken
-Beef
-Grains
-Fish

But remember, it takes a couple days for things to get better when there's an upset in the digestive system, so hopefully your vet can help you a little more with that.

Also, when you were calling shelters did they think you were trying to give your cat up? Sometimes that's what shelters assume, and while they shouldn't just ignore you, they just don't have the resources or time to deal with another cat coming to them. If you explain that you don't want to give your cat up, you're just looking for a more affordable spay and vaccinations, and if you explain the tight bind your in they might be more reasonable. If they still ignore you then that's another issue entirely


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## Violet99

Jakiepoo said:


> Sorry, I meant a reaction to the medication used for the worms!


Oh sorry, I misunderstood. Yeah for allergies I was told to pay attention to grains, corn, and soy, so I got a food that had none of those. At first it seemed to have worked, but then we were just back to square one again. I'll take her to my current vet for the puking thing, but I definitely want to look elsewhere or into payment plans to fix her. We have two adoption agencies that run out of our store as well, so they're all there for me to ask.


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## 0ozma

Violet99 said:


> I don't have a car


oo I see, yeah not having a car is very frustrating  Best of luck to you and I hope you get to keep your kitty!


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## Marcia

0ozma said:


> Would a temporary second part time job be an option? To me, it sounds much better than giving up an animal. Sure you'll be stressed, busy, and not have much time to yourself but wouldn't it be worth it in the long run?


I agree - something, anything. Babysitting, raking leaves, running errands, selling something, ANYTHING at all. I've even been seeing some help wanted signs at fast food restaurants again. No job is too small right now and it you tell yourself it's just temporary and you are doing it for her it will be easier to swallow, meanwhile see if you can set up a payment plan at the vets.


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## Shybail

Auroraei said:


> We use Care Credit for our vet bills, it's like a credit card that has a certain useable balance on it, and they give you like 12 or something months to pay it off. I don't think the interest is high. It's been a great thing for us.


I second this, as a matter of fact I just applied 2 minutes ago and got accepted. My animals all seem to have needed the vet in the past month and a half after like years and years of never going! So we needed to have dental done on my male cat and we just don't have the money right now. So this is a great way to get their work done and pay it off slowly. No worrying. And you can keep your cat!!


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## gizmothecat

What about your local human society or aspca?? They usually do mobil vet and give big discounts on shots and spay neuter...I'm sure if you explained your situation and asked for help...they would. Even if its not that close, maybe a friend could take you. With so many people dumping pets and not doing the right thing by not "fixing' them....it would save them money and time in the long run. 

Your not asking for a handout...just a lil help...Its ok to ask for help sometimes


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## tezster

Hi Violet - do you think your parents would be willing to help you out with your vet bills if you asked them? 

As for CareCredit, I was reading through some of the details. It looks like it works similar to a standard credit card, but one which has a much longer grace period for you to pay back the bill before interest starts getting charged. But, as with any credit card, make sure you know exactly how it works, and that you're able to handle the monthly payments. And of course, your vet would have to accept it as a form of payment as well.

Best of luck with your situation


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