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I once had two of my cats get into big trouble at the same time. I had had wall-to-wall carpet put down and you know how the woolly part of the carpet is sort of woven to the rubber backing with some very thin nylon thread? Well, that nylon thread was apparently irresistible to cats so one of them gobbled down 2 feet of it and the other nearly 6 feet! They both needed major surgery ASAP to get it unravelled out of their intestines at approx $3000 a piece. That was a lot of money for me! I was desperate, so I went to the library and loaned a book listing all sorts of charitable foundations and trust funds. (It was called "Legat Håndbogen" in Danish. I'm sorry I don't know what the equivalent of such a book is called in English, but if you ask the librarian maybe they know of such a compendium.) Those kinds of trust funds are often set up by people who leave all their money to a trust fund to be given out to their favourite good causes etc. I found a fund that was set up by two spinster sisters, who loved cats and gave away money to help cats in need. There are often certain criteria that must be fulfilled, but if you wade through some of all the miriad of foundations and trust funds, you are almost certain to find one that can help. I applied and they gave me a grant. They paid all of the vet bills, including the aftercare and medicine. They were truly a Godsend. Maybe you can search for similar foundations or trust funds in the country you live in? There are such foundations for practically any and everything imaginable. I do hope all will be well with little Jack.
 
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I did a quick search and found a page that lists a lot of different charitable animal organisations in the U.S. Here's the page;

http://www.poisonedpets.com/financial-assistance-veterinary-bills/

One of the organizations listed is called "The Big Hearts Fund" and it's "Dedicated to raising funds and awareness for dogs and cats diagnosed with heart disease." There's a link on their webpage where one can apply for financial aid. :)

http://bigheartsfund.org
 
My now 14 year old cat was diagnosed with a heart murmur a few months after we moved from MD to TX about 2 years ago. No idea if our previous vet had missed it or if it was new. Luckily the tests came back with no indications that anything warranted medical attention, but it sure freaked me out. I hope Jack doesn't have any serious issues! Hugs to you and your furry children. >^..^<
 
Thank you, Tienne!

I hope your cat is doing well, Jencat. I worry and freak out over even the littlest of things with these two. They're really my first forray into being wholly responsible for another life.

And I got the results back from Jack's stool sample. He is also free of parasites! At least that's one thing I don't have to worry about with them.
 
Well, when it rains, it pours. Yesterday Jack wasn't comfortable when I got home. I thought it was just a really bad flare-up of oncoming arthritis in his hip... And he was going in today for a follow-up on his neck anyways. Then really late last night I saw heard him straining to use the litterbox and he didn't want breakfast this morning...

He has a urinary blockage, and when the vet took a sample it was bloody. :( And I'm next door, but I can't head over to talk to them directly.
 
Our male cat had that and it's really serious, they need a catheter and unblocking or they will have kidney failure and die :( it was really expensive though £600 after all the overnight stays etc. we did give him something called metacam which is an anti inflammatory which can help reduce swelling and start things flowing again. I am so sorry, I really feel for you. :(((( I hope he's ok.
 
My best friend and her husband's cat had a blockage, just a couple months after they got him, so they know what it's like. It was a week of hospital visits and overnight care and a lot of tests for them. I was helping them get to and from vet visits (best friend was the only driver at the time, and she had to work), and was there when one vet thought it might be cancer and referred them to a more specialized hospital. That was a blow for me because I had just lost my mom to cancer a few weeks before, and it hit me hard even though it wasn't my cat.
 
So Jack has some bladder stones, and that's what caused the blockage. They're trying to get him flushed and stabilized. He's spending the night at the vet's, and it might be a few days before he can come home.
 
THank you, Hazel. I think I can figure out how to handle this as long as he doesn't need to stay in too long, and if I can space the surgery out to another paycheck.
 
Poor Jack! And poor you too, Flyby. You must be so worried. Thank heaven's you noticed he was straining and caught it in time. Once they have a blockage, time is of the essence and it's such a relief to hear he got help in time. I hope he will okay and that he'll be back home soon.
 
That was exactly the problem with my cat, they are prone to getting blocked again immediately after as everything is sore and swollen. Try and get some anti inflammatory from the vet for when he comes home, we give ours a dose if he ever looks uncomfortable and it seems to do the trick in stopping him blocking up again. They told use to give him special ridiculously expensive urinary food, but it made him sick so I gave up and it doesn't seem to have made any difference so I would give that a miss.
 
There is a card call care credit that is specifically for this type of thing. Your vet should be able to get you the info if not just google Care Credit and it should come right up. Payments are affordable and they will usually work with you. We breed pitbulls and it can get expensive if they have hip or eye issues we have been using this credit card for long time. Almost all vets in my area take this.

Sorry that you are having trouble. Like other have said a murmur can really be a minor thing. Was your symptomatic before you took him to vet? If not may be nothing more than trying to restrict activity so it won't become over exerted. Some people live their whole lives with heart murmur with no problem so let's pray this will be the case for your boy. Sending prayers your way!
Also don't know if you are near a vet school or not but if you are they will sometimes do work cheaper if it comes to that as they can use it as a teaching tools for students. Just a thought! Again wishing you guys the best!
 
Jack is doing much better today! Urine test came back with everything in normal values, and the blood is almost gone from his urine. As long as he keeps up the improvement, they'll be able to remove the catheter tomorrow morning, and release him tomorrow evening. It's definitely a relief to have him do noticeably better each day.

After this will be saving up for everything else he needs, surgery to remove the stones (I saw the x-ray. I doubt a girlkitty could pass these stones, much less a boy!) and an ultrasound for his heart.
 
Glad to hear Jack is doing better! Two of our male cats had blockages in the past. Scary stuff! The vet recommended an expensive prescription food, but after a while we switched to Blue Buffalo cat food and still haven't had any further problems (knock on wood).
 
Yeah, the food thing is a bit of a scary idea, though much less scary than him having it again. Even if I don't switch to a different food brand, I'll try to incorporate more wet food into both his and my girl-cat's diet.
 
We were given royal canin urinary diet food for our boy and every time he ate, he threw it back up within about 15 minutes. He started looking really sad and more ill than he was in the first place so I put him back on normal food. He hasn't had another problem thank heavens, but we give him anti inflammatories if he looks a bit iffy to keep everything flowing properly.
 
Glad your boy is doing better. What about trying raw diet for cats? I have dogs who have been on raw for ages and our big 10 year old great dane mix is healthy can be.
 
And Jack is home! First thing he did was run to one of the litter boxes to mark it with pee. He also went and pooped in the other box within about 15 minutes of being home.

I have meds to give him, and special prescription urinary food that he's supposed to eat for a month.
 

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