Help offset Tobias' vet hospital bill
Donation protected
Some of you that are seeing this may have met Tobias before, but in case you haven't, here's a little bit about my old man:
Tobias was fostered (with two others) from the Philly SPCA when he was about 3wks old, as a tiny little fat furball, flea bitten and on tapeworm treatment. When he was old enough, he was adopted with one of the other kittens, Autumn (the third had sadly passed away early on). That was about 15 years ago. He's grown to be a a giant gentleman, and I've been convinced that he's got maine coon mixed in him somewhere, with a giant head and giant paws, and being a healthy svelt frame weighing 12-13lbs (compared to the healthy weight of the average cat at 10lbs). He's probably one of the most chill cats I've ever known and loves being with his humans, being patted like a dog, peanut butter, and brushies. He's been with me a long time: a faithful companion during a number of moves, the source of so much serotonin and dopamine, a steady comfort through heartbreak, and and overall good boy (even when he kind of wasn't). He's my old man, and I love him.
Although Tobias has had a history of urinary obstruction a number of years ago (maintained with a urinary diet), he's overall been a very healthy boy. However, at the beginning of this month, he showed signs of constipation and tried some at-home dietary approaches to help him poop. But as his appetite lessened, I decided to take him to his regular vet 7/11. X-rays showed that he was relatively backed up and in order to help him pass the stool, he would need to go to another animal hospital for treatment and an overnight stay to receive various care.
My visit with his regular vet was $233 for the visit and x-rays. The overnight stay at the other animal hospital alone was quoted at starting at $2,000, up to $4,000 for the medications, enemas, bloodwork, etc that would potentially be needed. This was three times the amount I was anticipating, but because he was having so much trouble I agreed to the overnight care.
To help determine the cause of the constipation, I agreed to bloodwork being done, and learned that Tobias has advanced kidney disease. Constipation is a common secondary issue that can happen with kidney disease. Although after (several) enemas he finally cleared the stool he was backed up with, much of his other care both at the hospital and now at home will primarily be to treat the kidney disease -- which, I'm well aware is terminal/uncurable, but can be maintained to help him be comfortable and happy for whatever amount of time he has left on this earth.
I'm thankful that the staff at the animal hospital tried to keep costs down for me, but in the end the final bill from the overnight stay was $3,196.48, with an additional $150 worth of medication. I've received a lot of help from my dear friends in the past, for other pets and otherwise, so it's hard to ask once again. Although I've listed closer to the full amount of just the overnight stay, $3,300, any amount to help offset this from my credit card will be immensely helpful, and deeply appreciated.
(Proof of invoice below:)
Organizer
Yvonne Valenza
Organizer
Collingswood, NJ