thank you for understanding, that was my point.

I'm glad she's going to be ok.

Thanks for the update Jo, glad it was nothing serious.

Some people just think they are mightier than others. don't worry about those opinions on here.

Glad All Is Sorted

And some people just show concern for the animal. Yes, maybe comments can be worded better and maybe the OP didn't like the messages, but there's no point in disparaging the comments that are, ultimately, relating to the welfare of the this cat. Or any pet that is reliant on us for it's health and welfare. It is an ongoing responsibility regardless of level of bank account.

There is no guarantee that financial catastrophes won't happen to any of us... but I have a contingency fund of about 500 euros for pet emergencies which will never be touched except for those emergencies. There's no getting around the fact that many vets won't treat animals if you tell them you can't pay.


More to the point, OP, first of all, do you know how the cut happened? Could it be as a result of a bite - often sustained by a fleeing animal if it is being pursued by another cat? If so, it may turn into (or even be) an abcess which will require treatment if it doesn't heal and secondly, what are you doing to ensure the wound stays clean while it heals?

If you've no Betadine or similar antiseptic that is okay to use on animals, bathe the cut with salt water several times a day. Boil water, let it cool and then add about 2 teaspoons of ordinary cooking salt to a small glass of water. Use cotton wool to dab the wound.

And finally, it must be quite a cut if it bleeds when the cat pees. There is no straining required for pee-ing unless there's an underlying problem. So while I hope that the cut is the answer to this cat's problem, there may still be something happening that will require veterinary attention so don't assume the problem is diagnosed.

Normandie,

Like you I also have a pot of money for pet emergencies only...just in case disaster struck. I never touch it but i just make sure I can fully commit to my pets needs 100% and that includes any financial ones.
I dont think i've been judgemental at any point in this thread.. I would like to think I bring an element of realism to it though.

When everyone else says 'oh get better soon, fingers crossed' I think it's also good to highlight the cold harsh realities of life and that medical/vetinary care costs £££ and we all have a responsibility to be the voice for our pets when they need help.

But as I already mentioned the welfare of the cat is top priority here, nothing else..I merely want to highlight that IF anything like this happened again you would hopefully be in a better position to help yr cat

So saying "people like you shouldnt have pets" wasn't judgemental and just bang out of order?

no...it's called having an opinion

Well bully for you, not everyone is fortunate to have spare funds. I'm sure the cat gets fed well and looked after.

Like I said already, let's hope you're never in that situation, I'd hate to have a friend like you..."I told you so..."

Albeit a rotten one!

No, "bully" for my animals.

I've got five cats, a dog and two rabbits and sheep. It would be the height of stupidity and plainly irresponsible not to have a ring-fenced fund.


You may disagree, that's your right, but if you think saving money for emergencies is something you can't do, then I'd hate to be a pet owned by you and reliant on you if something goes wrong for me.

Queenshanks, you're clearly unhappy with some of the opinions which is fine but I'm not seeing any practical help or advice from you for the OP. Presumably, since you are so defensive, you have been in a similar situation yourself and therefore your experiences and how you solved your treatment dilemmas will be helpful to all. Please enlighten us.

Get off your high horse eh!

There's was nothing more to add as the fms who did help were very good not the ones who criticised about the OP's lack of funds.

Nothing to enlighten you about, sorry to burst your bubble. Oh yeah---->

Totally agree with you Normandie

You sound like a great owner....I bet your pets are spoilt rotten! lol

But in seriousness I think it's very wise and safe you have an emergency fund for your pets...it shows you care for them whatever happens x

Right. Got you. "People like you shouldnt have pets" wasnt a judgment then? Interesting.

I must remember NOT to post here if I ever have a cat problem.

I dont think I want FM's who have never met me opinionating on the kind of person I am.

So glad to hear that your cat is ok, its such a worry when they take ill.

All 3 of my cats are insured but my cat the passed away in december had so many problems the insurance would no longer pay out as he had reached his limit, My vets had thousands out of me over a period of 3 years and im so lucky and so grateful to them that when he needed his willy amputating about £400 op, they only charged me cost price what it cost them, they also rang the rspca and asked them to donate to the cost, i ended up only having to pay £50 which was fantastic, any time he had a relapse my vets would let me pay weekly or let me sort something out as they had gotten to know me over the years, they even gave him free pain killer injections for 2 weeks, Sometimes insurance doesnt always work and im one of those people who doesnt have anyone to borrow off and i never have savings so i sympathise with the original poster.

Going back to what you said in your first post, you said that the cat had blood in her urine and scooted along the floor after toileting. Having re-read the post above, does this mean that she has blood in her poo as well?

If this is the case, the blood in faeces and the scooting may be worms. And perhaps the cut you've found was caused by the scooting - over something sharp? It may be something as simple as a worm infestation but if it's bad, the worms will damage the intestine / bowel leading to blood in the faeces.

If you have not wormed her recently (in the last 3 - 6 months) get a wormer from the vet. You may not need to spend money on an appointment. Don't waste your money on the pet shop wormers as, if it is a bad case of worms, over-the-counter wormers won't solve the problem.

Someone earlier in the thread said that vets never refuse to treat a sick animal - but that isn't always the case and that is the main reason why we should never get rid of the NHS for humans. Most of the big vet practices operate as 'businesses'. I think they have special contracts with rescue centres such as the RSPCA or Cats Protection but they can be pretty ruthless when dealing with ordinary members of the public.

My cats are fully insured and my Tabitha was going through extensive treatment for cancer last year. My vet agreed to take direct payment from the insurance company (minus the 20% excess that I had to pay). Even then I had to provide all the documentation to prove she was insured before they commenced treatment. She had to be admitted as an emergency one weekend, on a Saturday but on the Sunday I got a call from a nurse from Vets First which was the emergency cover provided at that surgery on a Sunday, She insisted I needed to pay £250 for that day's stay (my cat was just on an IV drip ) because she said that they were separate to my normal practice - I would then need to claim separately from the insurance company. My excess was amounting to nearly £1000 at that time and I honestly had no spare cash in my account to pay the £250, The nurse said I could choose to put my cat to sleep (which would also cost) or pay for her stay. She had the cheek to say that it was only £250! I was so cross with her business like attitude that I was tempted to take my cat home and bring her back on the Monday but I thought she needed to remain on the drip as per my own vet's advice the previous day. Luckily, I have lots of helpful family and my brother and father paid the fees.

The cost of an NHS bed for a day (eg. to an overseas patient) is also about £250 but I would like to think they get a bit more for their money!

I am a responsible pet owner who has made insurance provisions for each of my 3 cats but, like many people, I don't always have a lot of spare cash, particularly at the end of a month so I can completely sympathise with the OP's predicament. Of course I have some savings but they aren't easily accessible on a Sunday - and I don't use credit cards. It's not just a question of ability to pay, some vets want to be paid there and then and this can be really stressful when your pet becomes unwell unexpectedly.

In general I agree that anyone who takes on the responsibility of pet ownership also takes on the responsibility of maintaining their health care needs - which can be expensive.

no there was no blood in her poo, she has been wormed recently, im not sure what caused the tear to her bottom, she is a house cat and rarely goes out, she did go out the day before it happened, but she stays in the garden, so maybe shes sat on something in there, im not sure, im just glad to no its nothing major, and shes going to be ok.

as some one said before i should have money put away, i did when i was working, but i have been out of work for a bit and every penny went on me and the cats food and general household things.
like i said i have started a new job so i hadnt enough money til i got paid..

people shouldnt judge, i have had cats all my life, and they always get treated right, i also looked after 2 stray cats aswell, so you should never judge anyone you dont know. so instead of judging me get off your high horse and judge people who dont give a crap about there animals and treat them awful.

Yes, there are many people who took on pet ownership when they were working but we know that many people have lost their jobs in recent years It's easy, but a little patronising, for those of us in safe, secure jobs with a regular income to be critical of those in less fortunate circumstances. I had a colleague who lost her job and it was scary to see her sudden loss of income (it can take ages for benefits to kick in after job loss), she couldn't even afford a jar of coffee. Her little cat was well looked after but I know she would not have been able to afford veterinary care - which wasn't needed at that time, luckily.

During the current recession, many cats have been abandoned or sent to rescue centres because people just can't afford to keep them. Cats in rescue centres are also taking longer to re-home than before the recession.

We should be sympathetic to those with financial difficulties who still strive to keep and care for their cats. However, people shouldn't take on cats, as first timers, if they can't afford their healthcare - but that's different to people with a proven track record of paying vet fees only to later face unexpected financial hardship.

I am sorry you have been judged so harshly but I hope this incident makes you realise you need some kind of emergency plan for any unforseen incidents. At 15 the kitty could need the vets even more in the future so that is something you need to consider as well.

I would suggest an emergency credit card or some kind of savings account you always have access to, just in-case you find yourself stuck in the future.

of course i always did have money aside when i was working, and now i am working again the money will be there again, just this time caught me off guard, and i would never give my holly up because i lost my job, love her to much, she gets better fed than me lol

Sorry to persevere with this subject but some of the comments posted have made me a bit cross. It's al very well having a contingency fund for pet emergencies but people who suddenly find themselves without an income will obviously need to use any spare funds they have to pay essential bills - like a mortgage . Some people seem to have no idea at all what it's like to suddenly not have any income My friend who lost her job had to continue paying her mortgage and, at one point, seemed to be at risk of losing her flat before she was fortunate enough to secure another job. She just didn't have any savings because she had only recently bought her flat (with all the expense that entails) and she had no prior expectation of losing her job. There are lots of people like her, not everybody is 'sensible'. While she was unemployed it was a real eye opening experience for me so I completely sympathise with those who unexpectedly find themselves in a similar situation. An 'emergency credit card' is not of much use if a person doesn't have any funds with which to pay it.

The poster who said she kept aside £500 for pet emergencies, well that would only have covered 2 days treatment at my emergency vets practice What happens after that? I remember when my Bernard got covered with paint (not long after I got him and before I had got round to insuring him) I was charged over £200 just for a night's stay at the vets and for a bath next morning. It would have cost me even more if he had needed sedation for the bath (but he's a lovely docile cat ).

The sensible approach is to ensure that all pets are insured with a good, safe insurance company and that people take the covered for life option rather than just shopping around for the cheapest deals that often aren't sufficient for their pets' needs should the worse happen. I have a covered for life policy with Petplan and I am paying less than £15/month per cat. Surely most people, even those on benefits could afford £15/month maximum for good, reliable pet insurance.

I'm 100% with you Marella. We're not in a great financial position due to my husband getting made redundant (he was earning 5 times what I earn now).

But I do have good pet insurance with John Lewis of which I pay £20 monthly. Our cat is well fed, well looked after and he has a better life compared to the rest of us.

We always had funds put away for a rainy day, but those funds have been used due to obvious circumstances. Worse comes to the worse, my parents will always help us, but not everyone has that luxury.

I think you very effectively undermined your stance on this point earlier. You said...


So there, sadly, we have it. Pet insurance doesn't cover everything and it is still wise to have a contingency fund. If you hadn't had access to money - source irrelevant - your pet insurance was not sufficient to prevent your cat being put down.

Pet insurance is good but isn't always enough - as you have clearly explained - to keep a pet alive.

However, this thread was originally about offering advice to a poster with an unwell cat. As that objective seems to have been achieved, I'll leave you to any further persevering...