Paying Ollie's Emergency Medical Bills
Donation protected
My cat Ollie was recently hospitalized for an infection (we’re still not sure of the cause of this infection). He was hospitalized overnight, and is currently at a veterinary clinic receiving intravenous antibiotics.
I first noticed symptoms Monday night, around 9 pm. Ollie was gagging, like he was trying to get something out of his throat. I assumed he had a hairball and that it would pass.
By the end of the night Monday, he was still having problems. I decided I would call Tuesday to schedule a vet appointment, thinking he might have some sort of issue that was causing him to have severe hairballs.
On Tuesday, I went home for my lunch break (I live very close to my place of employment) and noticed he was gagging much worse. He also seemed a bit lethargic. I called a few vets, though most were unable to take an emergency vet appointment. I was able to get him to eat, and after eating he seemed completely normal. He had a lot of energy, and was playing on his cat tree.
I am a graduate student, and I have a class Wednesday nights after work. I got home around 8:30, and realized things had gotten much worse. Ollie had thrown up a white foam, was very lethargic, and gagging frequently. I became very afraid and called an emergency animal clinic. They advised that I take him in for a checkup.
After a wait at the emergency clinic (they had a dog who needed emergency surgery, the staff was extremely friendly and warned me about the wait time as soon as I arrived), Ollie was brought back for a basic checkup. Here we learned that he was running a high fever, and they advised that we do blood work as well as a few other tests to get a better idea of what might be wrong with him.
When these results came in, we learned that he had an elevated white blood cell count, indicating that he had an infection. The clinic recommended that I leave him overnight for more testing, and so he could begin receiving treatment.
When I picked him up in the morning, they had managed to get rid of his fever, but he was still not eating. I was told to take him to his vet for continued treatment. After looking over his chart, my vet suggested that I leave him all day for treatment.
Right now, Ollie is at the clinic receiving treatment. While I was fortunate enough to have a credit card to cover his emergency treatment, this is a large financial burden. I have a steady job, but it does not pay extremely well, and because I am in graduate school, it’s difficult to pick up side work to help offset the cost. I am also in the process of moving, which is quite expensive.
Ollie is very important to me. I picked him up off the streets a few years ago, at a rough time in my life. Caring for him gave me a sense of purpose, and helped me get to a much better place. I will do whatever it takes to make sure he gets the care he needs.
I am asking for $1500 to cover all of his expenses. I doubt I will receive all of this, but here is a breakdown of the costs:
Overnight stay at emergency clinic: $1000
Today’s vet care: $150-200 (I will not know the final cost until I pick him up)
Follow-up vet appointments: $100-300 (this is an estimate)
There is also a chance he will have to spend another night in an emergency care clinic, but I will not know that until I pick him up after work.
In the event that I receive more money than needed for his veterinary fees, I would either save the money for his continued care (if it’s a small amount over) or donate it to a local animal related charity (if it were a large amount over).
Thank you for your support, I will continue making updates as I learn more about his condition.
I first noticed symptoms Monday night, around 9 pm. Ollie was gagging, like he was trying to get something out of his throat. I assumed he had a hairball and that it would pass.
By the end of the night Monday, he was still having problems. I decided I would call Tuesday to schedule a vet appointment, thinking he might have some sort of issue that was causing him to have severe hairballs.
On Tuesday, I went home for my lunch break (I live very close to my place of employment) and noticed he was gagging much worse. He also seemed a bit lethargic. I called a few vets, though most were unable to take an emergency vet appointment. I was able to get him to eat, and after eating he seemed completely normal. He had a lot of energy, and was playing on his cat tree.
I am a graduate student, and I have a class Wednesday nights after work. I got home around 8:30, and realized things had gotten much worse. Ollie had thrown up a white foam, was very lethargic, and gagging frequently. I became very afraid and called an emergency animal clinic. They advised that I take him in for a checkup.
After a wait at the emergency clinic (they had a dog who needed emergency surgery, the staff was extremely friendly and warned me about the wait time as soon as I arrived), Ollie was brought back for a basic checkup. Here we learned that he was running a high fever, and they advised that we do blood work as well as a few other tests to get a better idea of what might be wrong with him.
When these results came in, we learned that he had an elevated white blood cell count, indicating that he had an infection. The clinic recommended that I leave him overnight for more testing, and so he could begin receiving treatment.
When I picked him up in the morning, they had managed to get rid of his fever, but he was still not eating. I was told to take him to his vet for continued treatment. After looking over his chart, my vet suggested that I leave him all day for treatment.
Right now, Ollie is at the clinic receiving treatment. While I was fortunate enough to have a credit card to cover his emergency treatment, this is a large financial burden. I have a steady job, but it does not pay extremely well, and because I am in graduate school, it’s difficult to pick up side work to help offset the cost. I am also in the process of moving, which is quite expensive.
Ollie is very important to me. I picked him up off the streets a few years ago, at a rough time in my life. Caring for him gave me a sense of purpose, and helped me get to a much better place. I will do whatever it takes to make sure he gets the care he needs.
I am asking for $1500 to cover all of his expenses. I doubt I will receive all of this, but here is a breakdown of the costs:
Overnight stay at emergency clinic: $1000
Today’s vet care: $150-200 (I will not know the final cost until I pick him up)
Follow-up vet appointments: $100-300 (this is an estimate)
There is also a chance he will have to spend another night in an emergency care clinic, but I will not know that until I pick him up after work.
In the event that I receive more money than needed for his veterinary fees, I would either save the money for his continued care (if it’s a small amount over) or donate it to a local animal related charity (if it were a large amount over).
Thank you for your support, I will continue making updates as I learn more about his condition.
Organizer
Nick Wort
Organizer
South Bend, IN