Ginger, whom I often call “the other half of my brain,” has gradually stopped eating! She is drinking, but not enough. We went to the vet today and she was dehydrated. She weighs 2.9 pounds! Normal weight 4-5 pounds. I have watched her eat, but with two cats it’s almost impossible to know how much she eats. Apparently she’s been more sticking her face in the bowl than actually eating much!
So the vet wants to run a bunch of tests and get some x-rays, and she will probably have to have some medications and special foods. She estimates this will cost about $850 and wants to get paid at the time of testing.
I had a little money set aside and spent it today for the first examination and quick tests such as blood sugar, which showed nothing wrong. She also got some subQ fluids and meds (to increase appetite) whilst she was there. So I have to turn to this community and ask you again to help me out. I hate doing it, but I can’t lose Ginger! I would be unable to function. We need to figure out what’s wrong. She hasn’t shown any interest in food since we’ve been home. I’d like to take her back tomorrow or Saturday morning, before they close for the weekend.
If anyone has a little they can contribute to Ginger’s veterinary pot, I would greatly appreciate it. Please send it via PayPal using my business email , karlekonsultants (at) cs (dot) com. When times get better, probably in 2020, I will pay it back or pay it forward. Thank you very much!
edit to add:
There have been some questions about how to use PayPal, so I took some screenshots, posted below. If you already use PayPal, just ignore this part!
If you want to use PayPal and have never used it before, go to www.paypal.com, and you will see their welcoming screen, which looks like this:
Scroll down and you will see this:
Click “Get Started” on the left, and you will see this:
This is where you can log in if you already have an account; or click on “Sign up for free”. This takes you to this:
From there I can’t go any farther because I’m already signed up, but presumably they’ll ask if you want to link to a bank account. If not, you can use a credit card I believe. When they ask you who you want to send money to, that’s when you put in my email address. At some point you will be asked if it’s for business or to friends or family. Tell them it’s to friends or family and there is no PayPal fee to send money! This saves 3%.
My publishing company pays me via PayPal, so I think it’s pretty easy. Of course, YMMV. I have a PayPal debit card so I can access the money right away. Thank you all very much!
Friday, Dec 6, 2019 · 9:15:51 PM +00:00
·
elenacarlena
I have everything I need! We went a little past what the vet estimated, in fact, so should be able to see about that ultrasound, and get any needed meds, food, etc., too. Thank you everyone very much! The fundraiser has been successful! I will answer the rest of the comments and report back, but need to run — appointment at 4:30, and if we’re late they’ll probably go home on Friday afternoon!
Sunday, Dec 15, 2019 · 1:49:32 AM +00:00
·
elenacarlena
Labs and imaging were negative, in other words showed nothing abnormal. Vet thinks it’s a combination of an IBD flare-up and loss of taste sensation with age. She is eating her stinkiest gushy food and not the ones I like better because they’re less stinky, so that makes sense. (Oh the sacrifices we make when we’re owned by cats!) Now that I know she might go on a hunger strike without warning, I’m keeping a closer eye on her intake than before, so I’ll know and intervene before she collapses. We go in again this coming week for a recheck and re-weight. She has surely regained some weight — I can no longer feel her ribs. She is playing and climbing and talking, so acting like she feels much better. Thank you all again for helping us out of this crisis!