Help Rebuild Benji's Peepee

Hi, my name is Caity.

Benji is a rescue cat that I have had since early 2019; when he and his sister were babies. Anyone who knows me knows that these cats are my entire life. They've moved to different cities and across the country with me. We are each other's emotional support animals. Benji and Bo have been with me and helped me through countless life changes, family deaths, COVID and lockdown, and traumatic experiences that would have been so much worse if I didn't have them. They are, in the truest sense, my fur babies.

This morning, I noticed Benji began to act strange- straining to pee and meowing in the litter box. He kept trying to pee in other places, too; the corner of my bedroom, on my laundry, and in the kitchen. This was highly unusual for him. He was also lethargic and withdrawn, he seemed visibly uncomfortable. As a past veterinary technician, I feared the worst- a bladder blockage. Common in young, male, and neutered cats (like Benji) and 100% fatal if left untreated beyond only a handful of days. I rushed him into the hospital.

It turns out Benji did have a blocked bladder, but in the early stages. Thankfully, the doctor was able to successfully intervene and unblock him this morning. We jumped the first, and most dangerous, hurdle!

However, these types of procedures require days of inpatient hospitalization because a catheter must be left in the urethra after surgery to allow for sufficient flow of urine. Then, even after the catheter is removed, the pet must be monitored to ensure there are no further blockages and everything is healing.

So basically, it's a big ol' vet bill.

I am not in a position to cough up $5000, as I am classically 22, living with a roommate, and supporting myself post-college in a big city with plenty of bills and expenses. I have to come up with $1500 today to pay the first vet, then I will have to figure out the rest in the next few days for his inpatient care at the emergency/overnight animal hospital.

I am having to open up (a lot) of credit cards to pay for Benji, which puts me in an extremely tight spot financially.

Anything at all would be immensely helpful. I am just trying to stay on my feet, afford rent, and let Benji go back to being his happy-go-lucky chonky self.

Also, personal note to enroll in pet insurance when this is all over.