Can't afford my cat anymore

[HarLace1]

In a nutshell my cat has epilepsy (3 years old) has done since he was 8 weeks old. Lovely cat but the expense of medication is crippling us and I'm now having to think if we can afford to keep him. Don't get me wrong I love this cat but with COLC and 3 children it's a struggle. We pay £41 a month for the phenobarbital and £60 every 3 months for the levetiracetam. Pet insurance is also a high £35 a month due to his claim from reacurrent seizures that were uncontrollable from 2 years ago (they are now managed). We cannot stop this type of medication as he will seizure and it's heart wrenching to see. I just don't know what to do :( my children would never forgive me if we had him put down but how can we carry on like this? We can't give him away as no one would pay what we pay every month for a cat, especially one they don't love/know well. Please no judgement feeling very wobbly at the moment about this.

This is probably the only circumstance I would say do a go fund me. Put up the fund to cover the next 3 months - say 250. Say you will produce all the receipt for medication etc. It’s such a small amount for such a big difference. People will sponsor I am sure.

Can you get the meds on line? My mate had his dogs heart meds shipped from abroad and saved a fortune.

Can Blue Cross or PDSA help at all?

No judgement here, you’ve tried your best. Really feel for you 💐

Have him PTS but tell the children the cat has had to go to hospital long term. They'll forget about him in time.

so you pay roughly £100 a month for medication and insurance? That’s not actually that much, I would see if a charity can help you out with some of the costs.

Why don't you stop the insurance? What's the point in paying £35 if they won't pay out for medication or his recurring condition

Overthebow · Today 14:00

so you pay roughly £100 a month for medication and insurance? That’s not actually that much, I would see if a charity can help you out with some of the costs.”

That is a great deal for a lot of people.

Can you just get the prescription and buy it online? My friend does this every 12 months see a vet and gets a prescription this lasts 12 months and they buy it from an online vet place way cheaper

Have you ever met a child 🧐

Alright daddy warbucks, that’s a lot for a lot of people.

Because it will pay for any other issues.

Try talking to The Cinnamon trust. They’re a charity who might help. Check their website.

Second getting a prescription from your vet and buying online. I believe the script will cost £25 ish and then the meds will be significantly cheaper. Your other option is to drop the insurance and put say £20 into savings every month. Then minor vet bills can be paid but a major one would be PTS, which sounds like it is a current and (totally reasonable) consideration for you at the moment anyway?
Sounds like you're doing the best you can OP, no judgement at all, good luck x

why not 'gone to live on a farm', ffs, of course they will remember

I stopped the cat insurance and put £10 away each month. The insurance didn’t cover the main issues for my cat as he has bladder problems for years and they wouldn’t cover it. In the end he died of natural causes and I used the money for his cremation and a lovely small tree in the garden to remember him.

I fully sympathise with you. We are struggling a bit financially at the moment, and I’m scared to death of vets bills.

Have a look at Animeds or Viovet online, see if the medication is any cheaper. We sometimes pay for prescriptions from the vet (costs about £20) and buy the meds ourselves. Also speak to your vet and see if they can suggest any cheaper alternative treatments. They know a lot of people are struggling nowadays.

And if push really came to shove, it’s not the worst thing you can do to quietly put a pet to sleep without any suffering. Sad, but the cat won’t know anything about it, and up until then has had a lovely life and been loved.. You’d have to tell the children he was poorly or something. And I’m saying this as an animal lover with a houseful of pets.

I'd be getting the drugs from abroad or online not paying those prices

There are a few animal charities around who can help if you cannot afford the medication. Otherwise if it’s easier for you and the children an animal charity will take the cat and find it a new home. Do not put an animal to sleep unnecessarily.

@Richvanilla i hope that nasty little post made you feel better.

The OP is struggling and a profoundly ill cat might be very hard to rehome, especially as rescues are struggling.

I agree that the meds might be cheaper online.

This is my biggest worry too. between two dogs we have paid over 4k in surgeries over the past two years. I now just put £150 away a month in case it happens again !

You really have a few options :

1. stop the insurance and use that money towards his meds and if something unaffordable happens pts then
2. keep the insurance and check out the cost of the meds online
3. do both 1+2
4. pts now
5. have a really good look at your budget and see what you can cut back on to finance the family pet . Whatever you do don’t do a go fund me .

Contact rescues continuously. Gofundme. Sell anything. Someone will help. The comments suggesting to PTS are astounding. I feel for you but poor bloody cat. Please don't consider euthanasia. It isn't the cat's fault he has medical needs and the world is the way it is right now.

Why should op not do a gofundme?

Some really great suggestions which have made me feel better. I will definitely look into meds online failing that I'll speak to a charity. Failing that I think cancelling let insurance would be a good idea and saving £10 a month instead.
I cannot re-home him as I doubt very much someone would pay for the medication we do plus he has the medication orally by a syringe 5x a day. Good job me and my partners jobs mean one of us is always home to do this.