I was wondering if anyone here may be able to help me out. I know the answer should be "take him to the vet" but im at a loss as they wont do anything at all without all of the money upfront and due to recent financial hardship i cant afford that. My cats jaw has just about vanished, the big teeth fell out and his tongue started drooping out. He still has energy, and moves about as much as before purring and acting like normal. He just has a lot of trouble eating. I dont feel right putting him down as he is but hes having a harder and harder time eating. Is there a safe way i could keep him fed for something like a month while I get my money back in order and can have him helped? Ive seen people mention the syringe with milk but that cant be enough nutrients for that amount of time.
In short, old cat trouble eating but wants to eat
>>2116269
>A poor person owning a pet and not being able to care for it
Well gee, I never thought I'd see this.
>>2116270
Had thousands saved and was ready to take care of things, the cat was taken in after someone had him declawed and abandoned in a parking lot so ive been just taking care of him for years. I could give you a sob story about why i had to use all of my money but im more concerned about trying to care for him while i make the money again.
Naw, man.
Put the thing down.
It probably has an insane amount of infection in its jaw.
>>2116269
A lot of vets have payment plans if you cant pay upfront, find one locally.
I know "take it to the vet" isn't what you wanted us to say, but it's really the only thing to do when health problems are that bad.
Try to keep it mouth wet and clean, perhaps using warm water and just a tiny bit of salt to rinse it. If he can close his mouth, great, but still try to clean where the teeth have fallen out.
Wet his dry food down till its soft and mushy and mince up some chicken breast. Like really shred it up and make sure it isn't stringy. Putting it in the blender with his food might be the best way to go. He also probably doesn't eat much, so one chicken breast chopped into small chunks and frozen should last you quite a while.
Try to work out some kind of deal at the vets if you can, even if it's just buying some cheap meds to rub on the gums so they don't get infected.
Also maybe try and borrow some money? Try something anon, that kitty is relying on you.
I might be able to help you out, OP.
I just have one question, what size kneepads do you wear?
The way you make it sound, at this point, the cat needs to see a vet asap. A lot of shelters offer vet services and they're usually cheaper than a private practice vet. Not to mention there's always pet insurance. Some work like charge cards that you can pay back over time. I would suggest calling around to vets and see what they can do for your cat, how much they charge, and if you can work out a payment plan with them.
>>2116292
All local vets that did that wont do it anymore as people in my area are utter scum who will just abandon the animal at the vet to avoid paying so no one does payment plans now. Ive called every single listed vet
>>2116287
I can see by how he acts he wants to live and lives to eat. I feel like there has to be something I can do for him before that but im worried it may come down to that
>>2116297
I should be able to convince them to work with me on something like meds, its just for a normal looking city it has so many people abandoning animals and screwing over veterinarians. Im the only breadwinner in this equation but I may be able to get care credit but ive heard it is extremely sketchy. As for your suggestions for feeding I'll get right on that, any specific way i should or should not cook it for him?
>>2116304
Ive called every one I could find listed. Its pay all at once or bust and the only local shelter is just a put them down factory. Ill go into debt over this if i have to, I already work 6 days a week 12 hours a day just fine so I'll make the money back, the problem is finding someone who will give me that opportunity here. Also i know hes older so ive already been told they have to do blood work upfront and need that money upfront as well before they will do anything.
If your city has a vet college you could ask if they could do anything to help. They usually offer discounted rates and have last year vet med students do it.
Also could see if there no kill shelters or organizations in your area. We have a small one dedicated to cats and they know a few vets that will do things pro bono in extreme cases.
>>2116270
It's like you think you can afford vetcare
>>2116310
Then you may have to go into debt if you want to ensure your cat's health issue can be fixed. If your local shelter doesn't offer vet services, try finding one further out that does. Either way, your cat needs help. If you have to, use a credit card for payment for right now. At least with that you know you can make payments a little at a time.
For now I would follow what this anon is suggesting. >>2116297 Is it the jaw that's disappearing on your cat or just the teeth falling out? Does his breath smell awful? Is he drooling a lot? Any lumps or trouble breathing? It's possible he just has an infection, but if his jaw is soft or flexible or legitimately losing mass, it could be something worse. Switch to wet food for now and make everything as soft as possible so he can at least get something down.
>>2116325
No trouble breathing, no lumps, toungue hangs out and doesnt grasp food so to speak, im already on wet food but hes having a hard time getting it consumed at this point. I dont have a credit card currently but ill look for somone who may give me one if thats what it takes. I live in texas so whe you say "find one further out" we are talking hours of travel to at least dallas and of course he flips out in car rides.
Does anyone have experience with care credit? Ive heard its a credit you can get even with bad credit that just has shitty high interest
>>2116330
>>2116332
Maybe blend his food up then for awhile until you can get to a vet. Is he able to drink without any problems? Any family members that may be able to help in terms of payment? My concern with drooling, lumps, bad breath, loss of bone mas, etc. is that it can be a very serious health issue like cancer, and bad breath can help determine if there's an infection, though it's also not entirely reliable either. That sucks that it's hours of travel to reach another city and that your cat hates car rides, but at this point, his situation is seriously affecting his life. You have to bite the bullet on this one and either see a vet or find a practice/shelter that's cheaper or allows for payment plans.
>>2116337
I dont personally mind the drive, i just worry about how he will take or make it but if it comes down to it then fine. Ill make some calls tomorrow morning and see if i can find anyone willing to work with me.
>>2116330
Care Credit doesn't charge interest if you pay it off in a certain amount of time. It's probably your best option.
OP, I AM A VET TECH AND SEE THESE THINGS ALL THE TIME DO THE FOLLOWING:
1. GO TO THE VET. Preferably a good one with a trusted reputation. An online message board will only be able to help so much. The way you describe it this could be anything as simple as resorptive lesions and bad dental disease to as bad as oral rumors and mouth cancer. Only a good doctor and some money can tell, so:
2.GET CARECREDIT. The interest rates can rape you like other anon said, but off you pay off early enough they won't. And it sounds like you don't really have another option. If you have fairly decent credit this is the route to go. Forget pet insurance, it's mostly a scam and it's too late anyway.
3. SUPPORTIVE CARE IN THE MEANWHILE. Soft, mushy canned wet food or dry food with warm water to soften it is the best way to feed kitty in the meanwhile. Do not try any at home medicinal care, you don't have the proper supplies and it won't help anyway. Your cats mouth hurts like a mother right now all getting him to eat anything is a positive.
In general, medical issues concerning cats mouths are not good. Good luck OP
>>2116497
As far as a credit card goes, many of them will give you the first year with no interest. Look into that.
Welp, i applied for care credit and was turned down. Going to search out other options now I guess. Currently looking for other clinics that may do payment plans. Called one office that said i should boil the chicken breast so im going to pick that up on my way home tonight.
ok, you should probably take him to the vet, however...
take some dry food and mix it with boiling water. let the dry food solve into the water and be sure to mix it if there are any chunks. you can even take a "food" hamer and grind it into a bit of dust before you pour boiling water on it to make it work faster. Take the following goup, when it's luke warm or just normal tempeture, and put it into a bag. Take a straw and put it into the bag and guide the straw to a corner of the bag. Cut the corner of the bag and tape around the corner and straw so excess won't leak out.
Now you need to feed this to your cat. If he is able to drink, he'll be able to lick this soup-like thing. If not you can try to force feed it to him, but he might choke, but it's all liquid so.. still. Just take very small doses at a time. you can probably do this with wet food too but I haven't done so. You could also take a fork and turn the wet food into mush but I don't know if that's good enough.
Take it to the vet
>>2117949
>that OC
I kek'd.
>>2116269
Cancer, or such bad teeth that its caused an infection thats been left so long it has started to eat away at the bone. Common in older cats and dogs that have never had their teeth looked at. Take it to the vet, allthough you may have left it far too late allready, and depending on how long you've let this go on, you may have to euthanize anyway. Also, if it is the result of poor dental hygene, its entirely your fault. It shows that its not actually seen a vet for years, and is genuine neglect on your part.
>take it to a fucking vet for once
>>2117983
Hes probably close to 20 years so I've been taking good care of him so far and have kept things up to date medically. We changed the consistency of his food and hes been able to eat for the last couple days. No vet that ive seen so far will see anyone without all the money so for now im just saving my money back up while making sure he stays fed. Thanks for the advice everyone. Ive been told about one vet that may still take payments but I cant contact them until tomorrow so we will see how that goes
