MYO: Unforseen expenses and how I almost killed my cat

[Devin Montgomery]

Last Friday I woke up to find my cat throwing up and an unwound spool of thread lying on the floor, frayed on one end. I had thoughtlessly left it out the night before, and my heart sank as I imagined how much of it he may have gobbled up. After a day of him(Mac) puking on every rug in our apartment, we took him to an emergency vet on Saturday. After an examination and x-ray, the vet said that, sure enough, the thread had created a "linear foreign body obstruction" in his lower intestine. An abdominal surgury and over $2000 later he's doing fine and will have a nice big scar to show all the lady cats. So much for "saving money" through MYO. :(

Here's the x-ray:

I don't know what there is to see either, but it (along with the several meters of thread they removed and gave me to keep in a sealed bottle, but was too gross to post) said one thing loud and clear – EXPENSIVE!

[Nick K]

Damn, man, that sucks! Both for the cat and the monetary set back. I'm glad Mac is back in action though. The vet is probably laughing all the way to the bank :P I'll be sure to remember this lesson should I ever have a cat of my own.

Nick

[Bill Fornshell]

Interesting what cats can get into.

Sounds like something that happened to one of my kittens named Rocky. Someone had given my daughter a Penny that had everything cut away from Lincoln's head and put a piece of fishing line on it so it could be worn around her neck. Somehow the kitten found it and the Penny ended up in its stomach along with the piece of fish line. Same story, throwing up and a trip to the Vet. X-Ray showed a white looking circle. The Vet showed the X-Ray to me. I say I don't see anything in the circle you drew. Laugh, laugh, the circle is what is blocking his stomach. I ask how do you get it out. A bit of surgery is necessary. The kitten was about at the age to be Neutered – boy kitten. I ask if he could do both at the same time. The Vet says maybe if everything goes OK. A few hours later the Vet calls and everything when well and the circle is a Penny and the kitten is Neutered. Cost for both was only $1008.

What a deal I got.

So when dose a Penny cost a $1,000, when it is swallowed by your kitten and has to be cut out.

Rocky was one of four kittens I was able to get away from their wild mother when they were just over 4 weeks old. I raised them in the house and they have been really wonderful kittens. One of them is laying on the top of my computer monitor watching me type.

The good part of this story is that after four litters of kittens I was able to tame the mother enough to catch her and now she is fixed. She also has become a nice pet but likes it outside and seldom comes in the house. Of the four litters of kittens I raised three litters and got them all fixed and someone down the street took care of the fifth litter.

[Tony Beasley]

One of our last cats got sick the vet misdiagnosed, cost us $2000 to get it better, the other cat we had at the same time was hit by car $2000 for the hip operation, both were top cats and lived to 17 yo

For our new cats I built some cat runs and with special cat door in class panel $2000, the cats are not the best companions and had problems we spent over a $1000 to get sorted out plus medication at $1 a day each, plus food at $4 a day and regular vet bills $???? cost I can not wait until they go.

The cats belong to my wife and daughter, that is how I justify my new gear.

Tony

[Jeremy Anderson]

I had a cat that ate thread along with the NEEDLE! Yes. That's right. We noticed a long string hanging from the rear of the cat… she passed the needle later that night. Absolutely disgusting and amazing that the cat didn't die. It reminds me of those freak TV shows like Ripley's Believe it or Not.

[Joe Clement]

Speaking of disgusting……….my wife noticed some thread hanging out of one of her cat's mouths……pulled it….pulled more……..gagged some…….pulled more. Ended up pulling about 10 yards of thread out.

[Stuart Burke]

My wife pulled a rubber band out of one of our cats butts. She was a little freaked out because she thought it was a tape worm at first.

[Devin Montgomery]

Bill

>A few hours later the Vet calls and everything when well and the circle is a Penny and the kitten is Neutered. Cost for both was only $1008.

That sounds like one heck of a two-fer. I thought I had been a bit taken by the place – they had him on an IV, a monitor, and all these medications the whole time he was in there. I think the place I went to caters to the kind of people who feed their cats nothing but fancy-feast out of crystal goblets. I think it would have cost us less out of pocket if I had just downed the half-spool myself. :)

>I can not wait until they go.
The cats belong to my wife and daughter, that is how I justify my new gear.

Harsh, but I know what you mean. There's no love lost between many cats and me, but Mac is one of those "top cats." I'd love to see pictures of the cat run you made!

[Ken Helwig]

Devin, glad your cat is better. One of my cats cost me a few thousand in vet bills and 6 months of hand feeding him because he had Lipadosis. He's not better and up from the weight when he was sick. He weighed 11 pounds and was complete skin and bones. Now he is back to 22 pounds.

This is why I CANNOT buy gear!

[Devin Montgomery]

Thanks Ken, and everyone! I'm glad your cat is getting back to his old self. At least I'm not the only one that's a sucker for these little guys, and at least they all seem to have recovered from their aliments.

My sewing supplies now go in the closet as soon as I'm done with them. :)

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