Get Out Alive. Blocked Cat. What to do when you cannot afford the ER

I understand its a business, but vet care should not be as expensive as it is. A lot of us rescued, took cats out of a bad position as I did, tried to give them a better life but then can't always help them becuz its so unaffordable for a lot of people. Its sad.

All vets should offer payment plans. It's so awful that a pet parent needs to decide to allow their fur babies to get more sick, because they can't afford treatment.

This is the kind of integrity that is too often missing in the medical industry. I am dealing with a elder cat with kidney disease, and the costs having really been adding up fast.

Thank you for making these videos and caring. It’s sad how many animals die because all vets care about is money

This is exactly why it’s hard for me to trust Vets to care for my animals. They take advantage of the pain the owner is feeling to get every dime and when you can’t afford they cut you loose with no options. Finding good docs like Dr Krista who want to help is extremely difficult.

Just paid 1900.00 for my cats urethra blockage. Needless to say our bank account is in the negative. Veterinary care needs to be more affordable.

2 ER visits and surgery cost me 2786.00 I had to borrow money and do a go fund me. I'm just glad I still have my baby. Thank you for caring and sharing!

The vet industry is appalling, they make my blood boil!

it's criminal that vets charge so much and hold pet owners hostage with their ridiculous fees!

My little boy Milkshake was a resilient little guy. He was always friendly, he’d seak out attention, and he loved everyone. He showed so much strength even when he was in pain. We still aren’t sure how long he could have been blocked. There just weren’t any signs until it was too late. Shake would like to come use the restroom with me when I’d get home from work. He’d follow me around the house. He’d sleep near the window so he could sunbathe. I fed him Wednesday morning before work. That night my sister called me to say he seem sick, so I decided I’d check in him and take him to the vet the next day. The next day Thursday I got home and spent time with him. In those 6 hours he was having trouble using the rest room and he wants eating or drinking. I rushed him to the hospital as soon as I noticed. He was so weak I cried the entire ride to the ER. The team that helped us was amazing they jumped into action immediately and unblocked him. They explained all the concerns and statistics. They explained how common this happens and all of the possible causes. They gave him a fighting chance. The first 24 hours was definitely tough. I went to visit him every 8 hours. He had his favorite blanket with him. I’d sit there for an hour each time. I’d whisper to him about all the things we could do when we got home. The next morning we received somewhat good news from the hospital. They said his numbers were slowly dropping and that they weren’t giving up on him. But they also mentioned his potassium wasn’t moving and that it could mean kidney failure. 8 hours later I went to see my beautiful little boy shakes and he sat up to greet me for the first time in two days. He looked so healthy and ready to go home but flopped back down almost immediately after. The doctor came over to address the potassium levels again and said in the kindest way that he wasn’t going to make it without tremendous medical intervention. After that, I knew we weren’t going to be able to take my sweet boy home like I’d been whispering to him. I called my family and asked them to come see him because he wasn’t going to make it. They let us spend time with him in a comfort room. They disconnected all of the fluids and monitoring equipment. He had so much energy once he was out of the cage. it was almost like he was his normal cheerful self. He gave us hugs and kisses. It felt like he knew he only had so little time left and he wanted to spend it being happy. After about 45mins he became extremely tired and just wanted to lay down. We all knew the best thing for him was just to let him rest. It doesn’t make the decision any easier. Just watching him lay there we all knew he would have suffered more if we kept trying. We was such a good boy. No one prepares you for this. No one talks about dry food causing these complications. No one tells you to look for the signs. Please pay attention to your furry family members. They won’t speak up and they won’t let you know to check on them. I see so many good stories with happy endings, but I also see a lot of stories similar and worse than my own experience. Milkshake will always be with a bright light on my darkest days. Now, im trying to morne the loss of my sweet boy, without holding guilt for not seeing the signs sooner. I wish you all the best and the same for your little buddies.

I took my cat who was having trouble breething to the ER animal hospital in the middle of the night because he was in distress trying hard to breath. They examined my cat. He had pneumonia. My estimate for his 24 hour treatment would be $2,000. They wanted almost the full amount paid upfront before my cat would receive treatment from them. Insane! They said his prognosis was good if he was treated, or I could have him euthanized. I was devastated and my cat was suffering, and so I paid them the money so they would care for him and treat him. Dealing with the ER animal hospital was the worst experience I've had in getting pet care for him. Trying to make the right decision was extremely stressful when it involved thousands on dollars. I felt they cared more about the money than they cared about my poor pet. I am not rich, just a middle class citizen who can't afford such extravagant prices for veterinary care. I truly think ER animal hospitals take advantage of pet parents during a very emotional time when their pet is sick and suffering. They know their regular vet office is closed and have no other choice but to pay those high prices so their beloved pet will receive the care they need to save their lives. It's outrageous!

THANK YOU Doctor Krista for what you do. Pet care is so out of control cost wise. I have 3 rescues and they are always sick or having issues even though I give them immune boosters and healthy wet food. You are a saint for calling the ER to take over a pets care. Keep up the good work!! I can hardly afford them between FIV, Crystals, asthma, liver problems and coronavirus is always a scare for FIP. Ugghhh running out of money for them but I love them so much.

can’t afford to get my cat unblocked if it happens again. if this is such a common problem i don’t understand why there isn’t a cheaper option.

You just earned a new member, thank you for not being money hungry and putting this cat's health above you. I have a care credit card, that is only used for our cats, it's gets tough sometimes 🙏❤️

This is so sad. I'm going to change the world for all animals before I'm done with this atrocity humans call living.

Wish I would have known this two months ago. I ended up putting my cat down because I couldn't afford surgery and kitty ICU. If all he needed was a urinary catheter, I could have grabbed one from work (NICU Nurse) and drained it myself. Now I'm heartbroken because my 6 year old cat is gone who should have been with us for at least another 8 to 10 years!

Thank you, Dr. Magnifico. The world needs more vets, such as yourself!! What a beautiful thing you did for that little kitty.

Bless your heart.. thank you for caring enough for Mounds, and all the other furbabies out there. I hope everything turned out okay ❤️

Thank you Krista for your efforts and good heart, you are doing a wonderful thing taking care of these little ones. It is sad that life and death are based on money, I wish for you many blessings and sustained energy

This just happened to my cat. They gave me a $1300 estimate. They ended up keeping my baby for over a week because it was so bad and he was in acute renal failure, but never went over the estimate they gave us. I barely had the money, that is all I had, but my baby is now home and doing well. Another story, my Bernese Mountain Dog had a huge tumor the size of my head, they estimated us $6500 to take it out. We saved for a long time and used our taxes to do it. During the surgery the vet missed a 2 mm area and did not cauterize that area because they missed it. The next morning he was loosing so much blood he needed a transfusion and ultimately needed surgery again to fix his bleeding. While in surgery is when they realized they had missed the spot. Long story short, before they took him back into surgery they emailed me another $4000 estimate and said we had to sign it or my baby would die. So of course we signed. But now we're stuck paying another $4000 when it was their mistake. I swear some vets care about nothing except money. 😒 it saddens me so much.