Moumou's Story

Hi everyone,

Moumou is my 4 1/2 year old domestic long hair cat that I adopted from Refuge Animex in Monteal on April 20th, 2025. He's cute, fluffy, and very nice! As an introverted person who loves to spend time at home, I was super excited to bring a fluffy companion into my life, especially after befriending all of the neighborhood cats over the last few years. His personality was described to me as gentle, calm, and affectionate - just what I was looking for!

Our adventure has been intense. At our very first visit to the vet together on April 30th - which I scheduled expecting to set up a file and get a check -up - the vets found that Moumou's bladder was the size of a grapefruit, and he had to be expressed. Since then, he's been to the vet several times to get his bladder expressed, and finally, after 3 blockages, received perineal urethrostomy surgery three weeks ago in hopes of resolving his recurring blockages.

Urinary blockages in cats can be fatal within 24 hours. Unfortunately, the surgery does not seem to have solved his problems. At our recheck today, Moumou had to be unblocked with a catheter again. To my understanding, the vets think that it could be a neurological issue in that he is not able to feel when his bladder is full, or that there is lingering scar tissue creating a blockage further up in his bladder. The vet recommended another surgery, but I don't want put Moumou through another one. The last option we have is to take Moumou to see a specialist at the DMV and have him hospitalized for a few days depending on what the specialists find. However, given his history and the complications he's experienced, there is no guarantee that these treatments will resolve his problems. This is another option that I simply cannot afford. Either way, I don't want to put Moumou through more invasive procedures, he's been through enough. There is another medication I could try that helps the bladder to contract, however with his history of blockages and the potential for there to be scar tissue blocking the opening, it could cause further complications and make things worse, and the vets have advised me against giving him this medication.

Right now, Moumou is on a course of anti-inflammatories and pain relievers to see if this will help him to use the bathroom. Finally, I have decided that to have a consult with Internal Medicine at the DMV to receive a second opinion on treatment options, and see if this bladder contraction medication is feasible. We will see how he does over the next little while, but I am devastated to say that this may be our last chance before I have to consider saying Goodnight to Moumou so that he can rest. I am simply at a loss - I cannot believe the turn that our journey has taken.

I am strongly committed to providing Moumou with the care that he needs in order to live a happy, healthy, quality life for a long time. However, the immediate onset of these unexpected, but necessary treatments have been stressful emotionally, physically, and financially for me and Moumou. He doesn't even *have* a wallet!

In the last 6 weeks I've spent upwards of $4000 dollars on his veterinary care, and this number is growing. This includes follow-ups, medications, sedations, catheters, the surgery, Uber trips to the hospital, blood tests, urinalysis, kidney tests, and more. Most of these claims I cannot submit to my pet insurance because coverage doesn't begin until 30 days after signing up, and the majority of them, including the surgery, were incurred during this waiting period. Additionally, since his urinary issues were pre-existing conditions, he does not qualify to have a lot of his treatment covered. This is my first time having a pet ever, and while I was aware that he had pre-existing urinary issues, there is no way I could have possibly expected this and I don't know what to do. I was under the impression that his urinary issues were stress related, and with urinary/stress food and medication it could be managed, but evidently it seems to be more than that.

Moumou is still energetic, sweet, and loves his food, and in no way is he showing me that he is tired yet and that it is his time. I don't want to give up on him and I'm trying my best, and have done and am doing everything I can. But I feel like I'm running out of options, because the in-and-out appointments to get his bladder expressed every other day is not the high quality of life I was hoping to give him, and I cannot afford to go the route of specialists, hospitalization, and the following course of treatment that this route could take (they quoted me ~$10,000). I also can't imagine having to put him through that after all he's been through in the last month and a half. I've lost count of how many times he's had to get his bladder expressed now, and the longest we've gone without having to go to the vet is 12 days. He's been on 6 different medications and has been wearing a cone more than he's worn his beautiful purple Halloween scarf. I've met every single doctor at my vet clinic and every single member of the staff knows Moumou. I just can't believe this is happening, I'm so incredibly sad, it's so awful and I can't help but feel guilty for not being able to give Moumou what he deserves. But I also think that I've done and am doing everything I can, and I only hope that he knows how much I love him and care about him, my sweetheart. Knowing that I'm doing my best is my only consolation.

I am completely heartbroken, and feel like I'm grieving in advanced. I sincerely hope that this is not the end for me and Moumou, he has so much life left to live, life without constant trips to the vet, the ability to jump and play without needing to worry about his incisions, a life without sedative medication on a constant basis... He is such a good and brave boy and I am learning so much from him. The way he's able to still show love and affection even after all he's been through... Somehow I feel like this is a lesson we can all learn.

I am extremely grateful for all of the support, kindness, and grace that my friends and family have shown to me. I am also so touched by the love that Moumou has been shown, and I feel stronger knowing that he has so many people in his corner believing in him and cheering him on. Finally, I cannot express enough gratitude to the staff at Gilmour Veterinary Services who have been so compassionate, accommodating, and thorough with their care of Moumou. They have gone above and beyond in every way to give him the best chance he has, and have been incredibly generous with their support. He has been in such good hands, and knowing he has such a great team behind him makes me feel some hope.

I have also been touched by offers from friends, family, and the Refuge Animex community to financially contribute to his care. I have created this page for that reason. I ask for nothing but love, hugs, and positivity, but if you feel so inclined to donate, it would help to offset some of the financial burden while Moumou and I navigate this challenging time.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Moumou's story. He is very cute!

COST BREAKDOWN TO DATE

Perineal urethrostomy surgery and follow-up care: $3321.73

Other veterinary care to date (catheter, sedation, meds, etc): $1969.83

Transport to hospital: $189.85