Cat will die without urgent treatment but no insurance

[Missmuffin1984]

Hi,

just after some advice please, my friend’s cat rapidly came down with anemia while we were on holiday this week, literally went from normal to progressively weak. The charity vet she took it to did just enough to diagnose the problem but said they could not do anything except send the cat home on pain killers and leave it in God’s hands basically!
An emergency vet consultation at another vets said unless the cat has an urgent £1.5k blood transfusion and night in at the vets, at £3k a night, for however many nights are needed the cat will have to go home to die.
that was last night and the cat is still alive, although getting weaker and no doubt in pain.

my friend does not have pet insurance and I really don’t want to hear that it is irresponsible because it isn’t my cat and she has her reason I don’t feel necessary to divulge.

i’m just looking for any advice really, I have my own cats who are my children and keep tearing up thinking about it.

From what I understand charities do very little. It breaks my heart how expensive vet fees are!

If she can't pay then please tell her to put the poor cat out of its misery ASAP. Poor kitty.

even with a transfusion that in no way is diagnosing where the bleeding is coming from or what it is due to.
so expect the bill will be much higher than simply a transfusion.
if the cat has internal bleeding due to a tumor or anemia due to cancer i hope your friend is able to make her kitty comfortable and not alone until it passes naturally.
if the bleeding is from massive injury and the cat was previously healthy it's possible it will recover with time and gentle care on it's own.
but regardless pet care is expensive and she will not be able nor would it be wise to magic up money for this.
it appears she was not in a financial position to fully care for this little fellow.

Pain relief and allowed to pass naturally with his cat slave would be kindest. I know. I've been there. Cats are good at masking pain and will purr until the end, btu they will not be happy.

Thank you both for your replies

I agree.

is the blood transfusion a sticking plaster or will it cure the cat?

if they don’t know the underlying cause and the transfusion is just the vet treating the anaemia rather than a diagnosis, I’d have the cat put to sleep. There’s no guarantee it will help long term and the cat may die anyway.

if it was a case of “transfusion and the cat will be cured” I’d be trying to find the money. But it sounds a bit like the vets throwing what they can at the cat with little hope of a good outcomes. So end the suffering now rather than put the cat through procedures that likely won’t help.

always bear in mind vets are private and get paid for treatments. Always ask the question as to whether whatever they are suggesting will change the outcome, and feel no guilt at saying no if you think it’s going to be £££ and little benefit.

3K a night is just ridiculous. Unfortunately pet insurance has got us into this situation where vets can charge what they like.

if doesn’t sound like they actually know the root cause of the problem so the cat may well die even after spending all that. I think it would be completely reasonable to let the cat pass away at home peacefully, or if there’s no chance of recovery PTS.

If she can’t afford treatment then she will have to PTS. You can’t leave a cat suffering. The cost of vet treatment is why we have pet insurance.

That is a crazy amount for the vet. In Australia vet fees are expensive but nothing like that. We have pet insurance but it’s very limited and so many exclusions. You can only take it out on a puppy or kitten and once you have claimed for something you can’t claim for that again. Like if your dog gets hit by a car and you claim for fixing a broken leg, any further issues with that leg down the track aren’t able to be claimed. It’s kind of a scam here - I’d say most pet owners don’t have it.

All the treatments suggested will cause the cat further suffering and pain. The kindest thing to do for the cat is pts - vets will not tell you this, they want your money.

Try phoning around there might be a cheaper vet

Have you tried the PDSA? Please do, if you/your friend haven't. I had a similar but different experience years ago and they sent me to a local vet who carried out all of the treatment that I couldn't afford and the PDSA paid for it.

Even if I had all the money in the world, I don’t know if I could put my darling cat through that if it wasn’t going to cure him. It’s just prolonging the agony.

The cat needs to be put to sleep if she can't afford the treatment. She can't just leave it suffering.

Will the cat get better
will it get back to prowling in and out the cat flap at night
if not
do the right thing
save its misery

I've had to do that several times, the last just over a year ago
its awful
but its right

3k per night! That’s just insane.

I have cats so I get it, she loves the cat. But it's suffering she doesn't have the money and it's likely to need ongoing treatment too which she won't be able to afford. She should get the charity vet to put it to sleep so it doesn't suffer any longer

If you want to help phone the pdsa or whatever charity vet you have near you and see if there is any help available.

If not the biggest kindness you could do is accompany her with her little cat on its final journey to the vets.

Please don't let it suffer. Make sure you tell her the same. There comes a time you need to put the one in pain first before your own feelings of love and fear of loss. The cats suffering will be real.

I was surprised when I found a vet that charged some items at almost 10 times less than other vets. If you can find one, someone who really cares about animals over profit

I agree it's cruel to take the cat home and watch it slowly pass away. Get the cat PTS to put it out it's misery.

Euthanasia is also a treatment option, harsh as it may seem. For anaemia to be bad enough for transfusion there’s always an underlying reason which may not be treatable.

Not really considering the standard of care provided - a blood transfusion, overnight stay. 3K might be a bit steep but I'd expect each night to cost 1.5K at least. Staff need to be paid for unsociable hours monitoring the animal, electricity, etc.

Also a blood transfusion.... Just stop and think about it for a second...where does it come from?
Other cats which also requires significant expense in collecting not to mention storage and transport.

All these complex and human like treatments didn't exist 2 decades ago. If a pet had something seriously wrong it was PTS.

BTW I don't doubt that some prices are inflated due to vets being bought out by private equity firms or similar. But it's also true that treatment expectations have gotten higher.

OP your friend needs to work out how much she can afford and phone around. But also worth considering kitty's quality of life.

Vets in the UK must be pretty awful then. Where I live they will suggest you pts if it's what they think is best. I've had four pts in the last four years.

I'm also reeling in shock from the cost of the overnight stay - it doesn't cost anything like that here. Lots of people, in fact probably most people, don't have pet insurance here.

Sorry, I forgot to say OP, I agree that it would be best for the cat to go on its final journey. It sounds seriously ill, and may well need far more treatment than just a blood transfusion.

Have it put to sleep.

and tell her not to get any more pets if she can’t or won’t pay for insurance.

What is the prognosis? I doubt the treatment is a permanent cure. Insurance or not, PTS is the kindest thing to do.

That'swhy I don't have insurance it's just to tempting to prolong their suffering. (I have a emergency fund for accidents ...)