I can't afford my vet bill

Speak to your vet to see if they can do plans/help
why do ppl trot this out? I've yet to hear of a vet that will allow payment plans

Look this is controversial but I think vets do far too much. A 9 month old kitten not eating and in respiratory distress?

The best case scenario is probably infection, have they looked for that? Most manageable conditions ought to be identifiable or at least suggested from initial basic bloods results.

Otherwise what is the point doing exhaustive investigations to find a condition she cannot survive in the long term (cancer, congenital heart disease etc)

My personal experience is when my 14 year old cat had multiple clinically malignant tumours - and those just the ones that could be externally palpated - they were offering bloods, infusions, scans, general anaesthetic ultrasound guided biopsy, chemotherapy etc. For an animal clearly going to die. It put me in the position of having to refuse. A colleague at work was asked by the vet whether it was okay for them to stop CPR (I'm not joking!) on their elderly cat brought to the vet in extremis. Ridiculous and frankly unkind to the animal. They are animals not children.

I would start with a frank discussion - what are the actual differentials here and which of them have a prognosis that involves survival with a good exercise tolerance and minimal regular medical intervention? It's worth taking out a loan to treat a condition your cat will recover fully from, it's not worth spending a fortune to find out that have a congenital heart defect that they can survive for an extra 12 months if you dose them up with diuretics, before deteriorating and suffering all over again.

Edit: I should add that I'm so sorry this is happening to your moggy and to you. I don't mean to sound brutal when I say they are animals - it isn't an insult or something to say they aren't or shouldn't be dearly loved, but they have different priorities. I'm really sorry to say that respiratory distress in a kitten of this age makes me immediately think of congenital heart which is usually not a good prognosis. But I'm not a vet, of course.

Kitten very young to be ill. Can you get a second opinion

Has the cancellation actually taken effect yet? Was there a notice period?

Speak to your vets and explain you cannot afford it and ask for alternative options. Payment plans, cheaper options, PDSA etc.
But let’s be real here. £1000 is not a big bill in terms of veterinary care. Pet ownership is expensive, healthcare is expensive, we just have no idea how much things cost because we have the NHS and don’t have to pay for our own healthcare.
I know cost of living is rising but people need to seriously think about whether they can actually afford a pet before they get a pet. Because even a small animal like a rabbit or guinea pig is going to cost you hundreds of pounds in veterinary care if they get sick

Speak to your vet. If you can't afford it you cant afford it

Price it up with another vet. I have just been told £1000 for a heart scan by my vet. I have actually gone elsewhere as they can only offer it at another branch with a 2 hour round trip or wait a week. Rang a local vet and it's £500-£700 depending if she needs sedation.

also try blue cross and rspca they can help with vet bills:
https://www.rspca.org.uk/whatwedo/care/financial

Check if you're eligible for pdsa or any reduces cost vets in your area.

What are the vets looking for? If this is a case of doing multiple tests just in case then they need to prioritise them for you and possibly do one at a time to minimise anything unnecessary.

Tell the vets that money is an issue and the cat isn't insured. They'll be used to setting up payment plans. Alternatively loans etc but you need to be sensible with what you can actually afford.

Worst case scenario, contact shelters about surrendering the cat. Some will treat and rehome rather than pts in these kind of medical situations, especially when the cat is young.

Speak to the vet. They must come across pet owners that can’t afford big bills all the time.

They might be able to offer you a payment plan or refer you to an organisation like the PDSA.

Remember a payment plan will only be available via credit, so would be subject to credit checks etc.

PDSA or Blue Cross may be an option for you if you're on a low income/benefits.
What symptoms does the cat have?

Could you see if you meet PDSA criteria? Failing that, Credit card? Or speak to vets to see about a payment plan? Unfortunately, those are the only options

What does the vets think is wrong with the kitten? What are the symptoms?What blood test are they doing? What are the scanning.

Are you on Universal Credit, or any other benefits? If so, speak to the PDSA. If not, speak to your vets and see if they'll offer any payment plans. Otherwise, for me, it would be credit card. Which isn't ideal.

Please do look into a new insurance. I used to use Sainsbury's and they were good when I needed them (you also get double nectar points which can help when you're short of cash). I know the insurance feels like a waste when you don't need it but it's worth it's weight when you do.

Also no one expects to blow £1k on vet bills out of nowhere, that doesn’t make you not worthy of an owner. The only mistake you made was cancelling insurance without having another. I’m sure it’s no one you’d make again. You’ll have to be aware though, new cover may now cost more or won’t cover anything your cat now has.

Dont fall for the trap of saving a little in a pot, instead of insurance. £1k for a cat is actually not much in the grand scale of things. My last cat cost me an additional £4k in vet bills - on top of the £4k limit!! Find a good insurance that is over £6k cover at least imo

Speak to your vet to see if they can do plans/help

Overdraft, creditcard, surrender, or put them to sleep. Any pdsa?