^^^^^I'm just saying simple things can cost a lot of money. And I'm not referring to alarmist pet owners. Dogs throw up all the time. It's normal. So the one time my dog got really sick I didn't think much of it when I saw him throw up a few times. Or even when he had diarrhea a few times. But it kept going on for a few days so I took him to the vet. He had a stomach infection and was severely dehydrated. Stayed on an IV 2 nights overnight at the vet. The vet was concerned that he might have eaten something harmful (or large) that could be causing the infection and recommended a few tests that would rule that out quickly. Cost an extra $200-300 but seemed the prudent course of action instead of "wait and see". Tests showed nothing, and vet wasn't sure what made him since, though I was 99% certain at the time it had to do with a roommate of mine (someone that had the worth hygienic habits I'd ever seen). Long story short it was an $800 vet visit (and this about a year after I had cancelled pet insurance, lol FML).

11/5/2015 2:37:38 PM

She also spends annually ~$1500/yr on allergy meds and exams plus $1000 from her cat going into heart failure. So she isn't a bum, she is a biologist with a steady income (not great, because really biologists don't make shit )

we have even called NC state Vet School, but they said they don't do any surgery like that

So yes, we need one of 3 things:

1. Awesome vet that will donate their labor (currently there is only one NC vet that we found that has experience/willing to do it)

2. One big awesome cat loving donor (we have been calling sugar daddies and oil tycoons all morning, no luck yet)

3. A lot of animal lovers giving $1 here or there and sharing it on social media


SO PLEASE SHARE!!!!!!! Thank

11/5/2015 3:36:05 PM

just got a call from a vet in Atlanta who works with the paw project and she said she will gladly do a phone consultation once we get the xrays

whooot

11/5/2015 4:51:28 PM

[Edited on November 7, 2015 at 8:39 AM. Reason : ]

11/7/2015 8:38:57 AM

I still think spending $5000 on an aging cat is fucking stupid. I won't shell out that amount of money on any animal I own, maybe with the exception of my 5-year-old horse.

11/7/2015 5:51:32 PM

maybe a contrast ct scan will show things clearly enough... that's only a few hundred.

11/7/2015 6:39:16 PM

how about you cat lovers donate some money to my wife instead so she can get the MRI on her shoulder that she needs (which thanks to obamacare is no longer covered by her insurance)

11/7/2015 10:46:05 PM

Quote :

"which thanks to obamacare is no longer covered by her insurance"

How so? Isn't she on your plan?

11/7/2015 10:57:47 PM

no she has her own plan through her job. MRI costs are all out of pocket now. and if i sounded angry with that post... well i was but i was just venting. my grandmother passed away yesterday and i had just gotten done helping load her body into the funeral home van.

so any mean things i may have said on here over the past week i apologize for. i think i was just venting.

11/8/2015 11:21:59 AM

Im sorry for your loss, in spite of you shitting on this post all week, I can empathize

and yea, there are a lot of things in this world that are comparatively worse than a person removing claws from a cat which results in pain and infection

yea i know this is cliche but I am putting it out there

Quote :

"Mahatma Gandhi — 'The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

11/8/2015 12:16:39 PM

^ So, you're judging logical people for their refusal to spend money on animals?

i actually think we're all great pet owners in real life. There's just a line in the sand for what we're willing to spend.

11/8/2015 5:46:43 PM

I am a veterinarian and usually try to stay out of these type of situations/cases since I do not have a relationship with the patient/client but felt that some advice is needed based on responses in this thread. With the signs that the cat is showing I am concerned about digital flexor tendon contraction of the cat's feet that can occur after declaw procedures. Also, there could be pieces of bone left behind from the declaw procedure depending on which surgical technique was used for the cat's declaw procedure. Some cats after declaw procedure can have tendon contraction due to the inflammation from the procedure itself leading to them walking on the middle bone (i.e. bone right below a human knuckle towards the tip of the finger) that is improper and abnormal formation/pain. A radiograph/x-ray should be the first diagnostic procedure completed to look for bone fragments as well as to look at placement/position of the other bones in the feet. Usually a simple surgical procedure that cuts the tendon and rehabilitation such as massage techniques/pain control helps these cats long-term. I do not understand why NC State Veterinary School could not help you since they have boarded veterinary surgeons that perform more difficult surgeries on a daily basis that some regular DVM's do not feel comfortable with in practice. I am not going to go into whether I approve of declaw procedures or not. Many veterinarians perform the tenectomy surgeries instead of declaw since cats keep there toenails and seems more humane.

11/8/2015 8:45:57 PM

^thanks for your input I really appreciate it. We are going to try the vet school at another point, and see if maybe we can speak to a vet, because I am 99% sure she spoke with a tech, and they don't always know everything, so we are keeping it open. Honestly, we were really disappointed when they said they don't do anything like that.

Quote :

"you're judging logical people for their refusal to spend money on animals? "

I will assume you mean that you refuse to spend a lot of money on animals, because if you refuse to spend money of pets I can say you should 100% never own any animal ever, please. and no, I am not judging anyone (except I kind of jusged Doss2K so I'll give you that one, but I have some strong opinions since I have seen the repercussions of declawing) I 100% understand that every owner has that line. But an immediate reaction to have the cat put to sleep before at least TRYING to help her, seems to me like you don't care THAT much. We are in a unique situation where her lineage is fascinating to enough people and that there are so many rescues set up for cats just like her, that we figured we could give a gofundme a shot.

end rambling

[Edited on November 9, 2015 at 11:31 AM. Reason : .]

11/9/2015 11:28:15 AM

Quote :

"how about you cat lovers donate some money to my wife instead so she can get the MRI on her shoulder that she needs (which thanks to obamacare is no longer covered by her insurance)"

my deductible went up to $6k, i'm posting a gofundme

11/9/2015 11:33:38 AM

thanks, but this thread is not about you and your deductible, make your own thread. k thanks


I'll be sure to troll it

11/9/2015 11:38:56 AM

not a positive update, but it's an update

Quote :

"Her vet appointment did not go well. Even though we went to a cat specialist, the vet was afraid to touch her!! She's a very large cat, and the vet was nervous about even doing the basic checkup. She wouldn't even take bloodwork for a pre-op. I can't believe I even PAID the exam fee!! She also proceeded to argue with me about declaw not being an issue, and when I started giving her statistics, she required scientific journal evidence. Which I sent her, in bulk. Do not go to Raleigh cat clinic!! Her nervousness terrified Serabi, and the vet wouldn't even let me calm her down. I needed to "stand back". I'm so furious right now. I can post the worthless 78$ bill for a checkup if anyone wants to see it. But no xrays yet, vet refused to do them. I also requested my money back from the vet, since she didn't even do the exam properly due to her fear of a big cat (who didn't even growl or hiss mind you). Here's a picture of her poor blistered paws though. Pictures are hard to get because she hates her toes touched. You can see what appears to be bone coming out of the second toe pad. Both her second and third toes on the front are like this."

11/25/2015 7:09:09 PM

poor girl. that vet should definitely give back the exam fee if no exam was performed.

11/28/2015 6:31:50 AM

She just needs some kitten mittens.

11/30/2015 6:44:18 PM

there's something else going on here

have you guys ever known a person that is always having sitcom-style misunderstandings in their everyday life?

12/1/2015 7:33:29 AM

^ yes

something is off about this

12/1/2015 10:46:56 AM

did she ever post the vet bill?

12/1/2015 11:05:36 AM

seriously, if the animal is in that much pain(you have stated it cannot even be touched) it should be put down, you prolonging the process to try to raise money that may or may not help is just prolonging the animals pain and suffering. this is disgusting.

12/1/2015 4:29:45 PM

^ so her pain is primarily associated with when she puts significant weight on her front paws. She does not let you touch her paws, but touching them is not what causes then pain. She has arthritis, which is painful, but not a reason to euthanize unless it is crippling. This cat has the potential to have arthritis pain reduced and to be able to use her paws more than she does now, this would allow her to play and exert energy and she live a more fulfilling cat life


I will hopefully post said vet bill tomorrow when I get a copy.


if anyone can make a contribution, me and my friend are working on 'presents' to give donors. We were thinking of making ornaments or magnets or a card, but we talked together and if there is cleaning, editing, cooking, present wrapping or other things that you would rather get, then we are happy to do those (non-sexual and legal) things so long as the donation matches the request

[Edited on December 1, 2015 at 5:56 PM. Reason : .]

12/1/2015 5:51:55 PM

This story is fishy, no one should donate

12/2/2015 9:09:44 AM

thanks

12/2/2015 9:57:12 AM

If I said I would pay the remainder of the $4,000.00 if your friend entered into contract with me stating that upon the cat's eventual death she would cook it and serve it to me and watch me eat it, with a clause stating that if the cat's remains are rendered inedible for any reason that she must get a new cat, have it declawed, and cook & serve that one instead, would she take me up on it?

12/2/2015 11:15:22 AM

Quote :

"seriously, if the animal is in that much pain(you have stated it cannot even be touched) it should be put down, you prolonging the process to try to raise money that may or may not help is just prolonging the animals pain and suffering. this is disgusting."

agreed 100%. the saddest thing is that the owner is continuing to panhandle through/from others to pay for it. pathetic.

12/2/2015 11:28:34 AM

update: vet returned the exam fee

Quote :

"Win! Got Serabis exam fee back! Along with a letter. Vet said I misunderstood her, and that she doesn't agree with declaw. She just doesn't believe it affects behavior. Maybe she'll read some of the research on this I sent, since there was plenty. Either way, that means I have the money for a different vet checkup. "

12/4/2015 9:09:19 AM

still waiting to see the proof

12/4/2015 10:53:46 AM

well if you want to check out the letter my friend sent the vet that performed the check up to get the xrays :













and this is the vet response:





luckily she recovered her exam fee. Also I wanted you to also know that my friend has done extensive animal rescue work, and that is how she has animals "she can't afford". She was receiving free care for the animals she looked after and the many fosters they put in her care. At one point she had 20 kittens and other animals she had in her care. They overloaded her and kept pushing back appointments she made to get the kittens fixed, which is frustrating since when they come of age they start trying to piss on everything. Eventually she stopped taking in new kittens, which was hard for her, and she left that rescue. Since then she still has cats finding their way to her, so she does what she can where she can.




also to those still campaigning for her to be euthanized, here is a little more of why she isn't going to just put her down:

she eats
she has interest in her surroundings
she is in pain sometimes, but it is based on pressure she puts on her front paws
she will play with you and snuggle and purr with you

Quote :

"The Quality of Life Assessment Appetite, mobility, hydration, pain, interest in their surroundings, and hygiene are all very specific categories we can assess to determine a pet's quality of life. Think of it less as a "yes/no" switch that gets flipped and more like a spectrum as a pet approaches death. There's a large grey zone towards the end where owners could make a good argument for or against it being "time", and that is the agony and the burden we face as pet owners. I like the quality of life assessment that uses multiple variables to assess a pet's condition because all too often, people focus on one specific thing. "Radar hasn't gotten up for a week," an owner will say. "He cries all night, soils himself, and pants constantly, but he ate a piece of hot dog yesterday and wagged his tail once, so I don't think it's time yet." In these cases, I counsel owners that we don't need to wait until every moment of a pet's waking hours are miserable before making the decision to euthanize."

12/6/2015 4:54:53 PM

Quote :

"If I said I would pay the remainder of the $4,000.00 if your friend entered into contract with me stating that upon the cat's eventual death she would cook it and serve it to me and watch me eat it, with a clause stating that if the cat's remains are rendered inedible for any reason that she must get a new cat, have it declawed, and cook & serve that one instead, would she take me up on it? "

hahaha. i laughed out loud at that.



also:

Quote :

"there's something else going on here have you guys ever known a person that is always having sitcom-style misunderstandings in their everyday life?"

Quote :

"^ yes something is off about this"

12/6/2015 5:14:19 PM

your friend seems pretty crazy in her letter, and in the "response letter" they blacked out the only parts that could possibly be considered proof

this whole story seems fishy and looks like fraud, i'm reporting the gofundme

12/6/2015 5:15:22 PM

yea, because I am going to let this site troll the vet and/or my friend


I still am not entirely sure why this is so fishy

12/6/2015 5:17:16 PM

all of these problems with getting service, saying they need expensive imaging then after getting called out finding out that no actually they don't, finally going to the vet but no the vet couldn't actually help them, their unwillingness to go get xrays etc... are all evidence that this is fraudulent. (also the letter that they wrote doesn't exactly make them seem stable)

how well do you know this person? 24 people have shared this on facebook but only 2 people have donated (one for $5, and one for $20). Are you one of the random people who is sharing this but not putting up your own money? Have you actually seen this cat and evidence that the owner is actually trying to help it.

Why are you aprehensive about providing proof? In the latest update they said " I can post the worthless 78$ bill for a checkup if anyone wants to see it" so yeah, please post that. And not some random letter they can write themselves, post an actual receipt or proof of payment. The letter said they enclosed a refund, so post a picture of the check with the routing and account number blacked out.

[Edited on December 6, 2015 at 5:29 PM. Reason : if this is legit it should be easy to prove ]

12/6/2015 5:23:44 PM

well no, I have not donated. I have a long history of being pathetically poor, and most of my efforts were to help her get the campaign going. But I do have a payday next friday, so I will be sure to put some money up.

I have known her since HS, she is a passionate and a good person. She was upset that the vet was behaving so weird about the whole thing ( being afraid of a cat that was not being openly aggressive despite her clinic being exclusive to cats and being a self proclaimed cat expert) She was mostly offended that she found a vet who does in fact NOT perform declawing and believes it is wrong for the animal, then when she showed up to the appointment, she told her that she did not think moody/bad cats behavior is linked to declawing (if you call around most vets still support declawing because you chop off the digits and in 20 minutes they made their clinic a few hundred bucks)

Anyways, yes my friend ranted, but she did so with the backing of science.


when I get a copy of your proof I will post it, I think she misplaced the bill, but I'll see if we can find it

12/6/2015 5:37:03 PM

if they misplaced the bill they should still be able to post the refund check, or they can post their bank statement showing the payment or refund

i'll refrain from reporting the gofundme but will report tomorrow with an explanation of all the suspicious circumstances if more evidence is not posted

12/6/2015 5:44:23 PM

ask your friend why they are unwilling to go get xrays

Quote :

"Since then she still has cats finding their way to her, so she does what she can where she can."

this animal did not come to her, she seeked it out. they also post in their gofundme that they are still taking in many cats, and that most of their living space is devoted to cats.

considering that in the past that you know about at one time she cared for 20 kittens that she couldn't care for and wouldn't get fixed, I'm not sure why you are enabling this person. they have a problem and shouldn't care for animals.

tl;dr
your friend is a crazy cat person with a history or taking in animals they can't care for and you need to stop enabling them

[Edited on December 6, 2015 at 5:52 PM. Reason : .]

12/6/2015 5:44:58 PM

^ what? do you even know how fostering works?

shelters and rescues place animals in foster homes, and some organizations are better about keeping up with their fosters than others, she told them she did n't have room, and they said well if you can't take them they will be put down.

12/6/2015 5:50:56 PM

^^and yes, she adopted this cat because Serabi was not finding a home that was willing to work with her, at the time she was apart of a rescue.

She is not unwilling to get xrays, that is exactly why she went to the vet. She is trying to find 1. a vet that does not declaw animals and 2. will look at a 30 lb cat and give her xrays

this is not very easy, and again the MRI is still possibly needed, since the only people who know about the surgery explain that you need to beable to see the tendons via MRI, an xray is not enough to determine the scope of the surgery

12/6/2015 5:54:33 PM

why is she still fostering animals when she obviously can't care for them and has a history of being unable to care for them? 20 kittens without getting them fixed? most of her living space is devoted to cats? she can't even afford an exam or xray for this cat without first seeking donations?

your friend is a crazy cat person with a history or taking in animals they can't care for and you need to stop enabling them

12/6/2015 5:54:42 PM

the cat center recommended the NCSU vet school in the letter and gave her her money back, so what's the problem?

why did it take a month to even get to the first appointment? how long will it take for another appointment?

12/6/2015 5:57:01 PM

she is not fostering anymore, she has taken in and subsequently placed 2 cats this year that were sick or injured. But she does not do formal fostering anymore because the last rescue she was apart of overloaded her and kept postponing kitten spaid/neutering

Rescues are 100% responsible for the medical costs associated with foster animals, not the foster themselves. She was asked only to house kittens that needed homes, and that is all. Then they kept postponing the surgeries for some kittens

12/6/2015 5:58:16 PM

Quote :

"Stacy takes on so many cats every year"

Quote :

"Most of her living space is dedicated to cats"

Quote :

"yes she is a cat lady"

your words

stop enabling her

12/6/2015 6:02:05 PM

12/6/2015 6:33:51 PM

so when is the next appointment, the one at NCSU for the xray?

12/6/2015 8:00:11 PM

Quote :

"It was oh man that sucks I assume I am gonna have to take him to the vet and have him put down"

Save yourself the $100 and do it yourself. That's how I'll do it next time (if I ever get another pet)

12/6/2015 10:10:54 PM

Quote :

"this whole story seems fishy and looks like fraud"

oh i don't think it's fraudulent. I think the parties involved are genuine, and maybe there's nothing to see here...

but it carries a whiff of them being not especially bound by reality, prone to poor communication and worse logic/reasoning/judgement/objectiveness, and just generally making things 10x more difficult than necessary, all garnished with off-putting bitchy attitude.

[Edited on December 6, 2015 at 10:14 PM. Reason : ]

12/6/2015 10:13:02 PM

Can someone, ANYONE PLEASE explain to me how and why there is not yet a "cat deworming agent repair surgery" parody thread yet?

[Edited on December 7, 2015 at 8:03 AM. Reason : I was gonna take out one of the "yets," but I like both.]

12/7/2015 8:02:59 AM

all the crazy in here.

12/7/2015 11:50:55 AM

she has an appointment tomorrow to run blood tests to make sure she can be anesthetized, then they will schedule a followup after that.

NCSU vet school has already told us that they will not do the surgery and would not be comfortable making recommendations since that is not what they focus on

12/7/2015 2:57:02 PM