The perfect harness

[Rafiki]

Oh NO! How horrible. I am so sorry. I don't know what to say.

 

[John Campbell]

Yes, unfortunately this past weekend our baby developed severe intestinal intussusception (no confirmed cause, wasn't genetic, and Xrays/ ultrasound did not see any unwanted swallowed objects) and needed emergency surgery running up into estimates of $8-11k+ to start, with many possible complications and a long road to recovery. Without pet insurance (won't make this mistake twice) we could not afford the surgery and its unknown outcomes' costs... we are so very thankful that several of the vet staff pooled together cash for one of them to take ownership of Mars from us to give him the surgery he needed this afternoon and care for his future needs. Sorry to get this thread off topic, was hoping I didn't have to share this sad and scary news.... but please guys, get pet insurance, I really think it's worth it.

Sending prayers your way... I am so sorry that this happened, and hope for a speedy recovery.

 

[admin]

I'm so sorry to hear about Mars...so here is my question - did you let the breeder know all this was going on so she could have some input?

 

[Pam Flachs]

Yes, unfortunately this past weekend our baby developed severe intestinal intussusception (no confirmed cause, wasn't genetic, and Xrays/ ultrasound did not see any unwanted swallowed objects) and needed emergency surgery running up into estimates of $8-11k+ to start, with many possible complications and a long road to recovery. Without pet insurance (won't make this mistake twice) we could not afford the surgery and its unknown outcomes' costs... we are so very thankful that several of the vet staff pooled together cash for one of them to take ownership of Mars from us to give him the surgery he needed this afternoon and care for his future needs. Sorry to get this thread off topic, was hoping I didn't have to share this sad and scary news.... but please guys, get pet insurance, I really think it's worth it.

I am VERY sorry to hear this! He is such a beautiful boy and I enjoyed your posts introducing such a very precious kitten

I trust you contacted his breeder...Debby...about this unexpected turn of events? I am certain she would want to know what transpired with one of her babies...we breeders always want to know about the babies we place trustingly....good or bad.

I am sending prayers his recovery is swift and uneventful.


I wish you had asked here before making the decision to surrender your kitten. There are many options such as Care Credit to help with unexpected emergencies:


http://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/whycc.html

http://bestfriends.org/Resources/Financial-Assistance-For-Pet-Guardians/

http://www.animalfriendsrescue.org/financialassistance.html

http://taildom.com/blog/by-daniela/financial-assistance-for-pet-owners/

http://www.care-evanston.org/pet-financial-aid/

http://www.ruffpatches.org/component/content/article/33

http://www.ehow.com/list_6850892_emergency-surgery-grants-pets.html

http://einhorninsurance.com/california-insurance/financial-aid-for-pet-owners-san-diego/

http://www.ehow.com/list_6816219_foundations-people-animal-medical-bills.html

 

[Carykd7kau]

I am so very sorry. Prayers to Mars. Hugs to you.

 

[Mars_F4]

Thank you for the kind words and thoughts everyone!

Yes, we told our breeder about what happened but only after surrendering Mars. So much just happened so fast, and we were in shock for the last few days waking up in the middle of the night to get status calls from the emergency vet, having to make very big multiple exam, treatment and cost decisions in very short timeframes - on reflection we know that we should have contacted Debby sooner, and we did not prioritize it as much as trying to get Mars the immediate help and attention he needed.

Carecredit was an option offered to us, but my husband and I do not believe in going into debt to such an extent for uncertain surgery outcomes and recovery. We really tried our best, paying out $1700 cash in exams to get 3 different vet opinions to identify what Mars really needed, before the high surgery estimates and unknown future costs shut us down.

If we had the insurance we will buy for our next kitten we would have not hesitated to see Mars through surgery until it became of little sense and too much risk to keep operating.

 

[John Campbell]

Thank you for the kind words and thoughts everyone!

Yes, we told our breeder about what happened but only after surrendering Mars. So much just happened so fast, and we were in shock for the last few days waking up in the middle of the night to get status calls from the emergency vet, having to make very big multiple exam, treatment and cost decisions in very short timeframes - on reflection we know that we should have contacted Debby sooner, and we did not prioritize it as much as trying to get Mars the immediate help and attention he needed.

Carecredit was an option offered to us, but my husband and I do not believe in going into debt to such an extent for uncertain surgery outcomes and recovery. We really tried our best, paying out $1700 cash in exams to get 3 different vet opinions to identify what Mars really needed, before the high surgery estimates and unknown future costs shut us down.

If we had the insurance we will buy for our next kitten we would have not hesitated to see Mars through surgery until it became of little sense and too much risk to keep operating.

So sorry... I do not know what to say...

 

[Pam Flachs]

I understand your shock and the urgent nature of decisions to be made concerning your kitten in a time of emergency when decisions must be made quickly.

If I might ask, Mars_F4....what was the final total cost for surgery that your kitten had...if you know? And what was the likely diagnosis? The estimate you quoted seems very high to me....

For the future...for ANYONE on this forum faced with life-threatening and immediate medical concerns with their cat/kitten...PLEASE post a question on the forum! Some of us should be on here, including myself ( I work midnight shifts and am awake every night from midnight through 6 a.m. or so)...are more than willing to offer advice, support and prayers....

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I understand your shock and the urgent nature of decisions to be made concerning your kitten in a time of emergency when decisions must be made quickly.

If I might ask, Mars_F4....what was the final total cost for surgery that your kitten had...if you know? And what was the likely diagnosis? The estimate you quoted seems very high to me....

For the future...for ANYONE on this forum faced with life-threatening and immediate medical concerns with their cat/kitten...PLEASE post a question on the forum! Some of us, including myself ( I work midnight shifts and am awake every night from midnight through 6 a.m. or so)...are more than willing to offer advice, support and prayers....

Agreed with Pam, that estimate seems outrageous even where I live (San Francisco is very expensive for veterinary care).

And fully agree that asking questions on this forum is why this forum exists! Many of us have a lot of experience, and might not only have advice but be able to interpret some of the more confusing information (like those with medical type backgrounds). And prayers do help too!

 

[Mars_F4]

I understand your shock and the urgent nature of decisions to be made concerning your kitten in a time of emergency when decisions must be made quickly.

If I might ask, Mars_F4....what was the final total cost for surgery that your kitten had...if you know? And what was the likely diagnosis? The estimate you quoted seems very high to me....

For the future...for ANYONE on this forum faced with life-threatening and immediate medical concerns with their cat/kitten...PLEASE post a question on the forum! Some of us, including myself ( I work midnight shifts and am awake every night from midnight through 6 a.m. or so)...are more than willing to offer advice, support and prayers....

I did a quick search for intussusception in this forum and did not get any results, and since many decisions we had to make were within minutes to half an hour due to the time sensitivity, the forum at the time was not a place we looked to help for... thank you for offering help and advise for other forum members if they should (i hope never) run into a tough situation like this.

We don't know the actual final surgery cost as we had to hand off the kitten with privacy rights to the new owner bearing the surgery costs. On diagnosis confirmation, our initial estimate was 4.8k to a high of 8k, and post final ultrasound results, our new verbal estimate was a high of 11k. The doctors said to expect a high as they could only go as far to confirm at least 1 affected area, and that the rest was in the air until surgery was performed, and the costs will just rise from there. Note that the estimate is just for today's surgery, not considering any recovery complications that would require repeat surgeries, and not knowing the extent of help needed on possibly multiple areas of the intestines. As of now, it is at the discretion of the new owner to give us any news of how Mars did and whether he made it out of the tough surgery he faced this afternoon... my prayers are with him too.

Brigette - yes, I live in the bay area as well (San Jose), and the vet costs are insane. Note that since this was an emergency case that could not be scheduled with our regular vet, the estimates were from an emergency 24 hour vet.