Juniper's Vet Bills

Hi everyone,

 

This adorable queen is my cat, Juniper. She’s been very sick the past three weeks. We’re not yet certain why, and between diagnostic tests, vet visits, and medications, she needs more veterinary treatment than I can afford. She’s so young, I didn’t anticipate expenses at this scale for a number of years—and pet insurance won’t cover her vet bills (see details below).

 

I can’t even begin to express the depth of my grief at the thought of all the pain and suffering she’s experiencing. And I’ve been terrified of losing her throughout all of this, worried that there’s something we’re missing and I just feel so lost thinking that this might be it for her.

 

Any help you can give for her veterinary care would go a long way in easing some of the financial stress in caring for her right now, and make sure that I can afford the treatment she needs to get better. Anything above the amount I need to pay her veterinary bills will be donated to the Farley Foundation , which supports low-income individuals in Ontario with pets who need veterinary care.

 

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart,

 

Shoshana

 

Below you’ll find more details about Juniper and her illness and a full, transparent breakdown of Juniper’s veterinary expenses. Also, lots and lots of pictures!

More about Juniper

I adopted Juniper about five months ago from a shelter. We didn’t get a chance to meet beforehand due to covid-19 restrictions; I was relying more than a little bit on luck and a gut feeling that we would get along. The adoption organization described her as curious and friendly, but shy, and guessed that she would probably spend the first few weeks in her new home hiding. But moment she stepped out of the crate she was effusively friendly, saying hello, twining herself around me, making cute trilling sounds. All the little hiding spots I had readied for her were ignored and that first night she curled up on my lap while I sat on the couch and read, purring gently.

In the past few months she’s become my faithful, curious shadow. She loves being in the same room I’m in, and will often demand that sit “just so” so she can curl up on my lap or by my feet. She’ll swat my phone out of the way and sit on my computer if she thinks I’m spending too much time on either, and each night gives a little chirp before jumping up onto my bed and curling up beside me (sometimes hunting my feet or waking me up for pets in the middle of the night). She’s almost trained me to play fetch, and will leave a toy for me to throw down the hallway for her that she’ll then chase after, making little trilling sounds as she dashes across my apartment.

Like many cats, she goes by her nicknames more than her actual name. These include sweetheart, boobah (a Hebrew term of endearment), and stinkybutt. (The latter was supposed to be a joke, but she’s earned it!) It’s surprised me how quickly we’ve bonded, especially since I grew up with dogs at home. But she makes it so easy, with her sweet, friendly nature, frequent headbutting, purring, general chatter, and gentle requests for scratches behind her ear.

 

It’s only been a few months, but I already can’t imagine my life without her. She grounds me. This past year has been an incredibly difficult one for me personally (outside of covid) and somehow she’s managed to break through that and bring me more joy than I thought was possible. I look to the future with her and see endless, cosy nights with me knitting or reading on the couch and her curled up in my lap, purring.

About Juniper’s illness

(Warning: the description below includes graphic details)

 

On the morning of November 14, 2021 Juniper started vomiting, almost nonstop. By the seventh time she’d vomited, she hadn’t even been able to keep water down and there were red specks showing up in her vomit. Worried that this was blood and she’d swallowed something she shouldn’t have, I took her to the emergency clinic (one of the only options available on a Sunday, with my usual vet closed).

 

At the emergency clinic, the veterinarian checked for signs that she’d swallowed string or similar (nothing), and indicated that it wasn’t likely she would worsen if I took her home and waited for the less expensive rates at my vet for diagnostic tests (e.g. bloodwork, ultrasound, x-ray). Juniper was alert, curious, and friendly in her care, and so she seemed to feel it was likely that Juniper had gastroenteritis (a stomach bug/food poisoning) and that the vomiting would pass.

 

She continued to get worse that evening and by the time I took her to the vet on Tuesday, November 16th, she hadn’t kept down any water or food for nearly three days and had developed diarrhea, with blood in both her vomit and bowel movements. She was lethargic and clearly in pain, hiding under the bed for hours at a time (which she never does).

 

At the vet, she was in so much pain, she was outright swiping at anyone who tried to touch her (she’s usually praised for being super sweet and friendly, so it was quite a surprise). She eventually calmed down and the vet was able to examine her and took samples for bloodwork and x-rays. The x-rays showed no obstruction (or at least, none that would appear on an x-ray), though it did glimpse enough of her lungs to diagnose her with feline asthma, on top of everything else. The vet felt it was likely that she had pancreatitis, and when the bloodwork came back positive with inflammatory markers typically seen in pancreatitis, Juniper started on a course of medication (painkillers, anti-nausea, anti-diarrhea, antacids) to help settle down her pancreas and get her back to normal. At the time the vet felt an ultrasound was too expensive and could wait until it was absolutely unnecessary.

 

Over the past three or so weeks, instead of getting better, Juniper’s health has been up and down. Some days she’ll have horrible diarrhea and throw up and spend most of the day hiding; other days she’ll be happy and active and want to play (and figure out new ways onto my bookshelves). A week ago the vet suggested (and I agreed) that we should extend her medication and try her on hypoallergenic food. But that hasn’t seemed to help, and on Friday, December 3rd, she started vomiting again, not just once or twice at a time as she has in the past few weeks, but with almost the same speed and intensity as when her illness first started. She now has an ultrasound scheduled for the morning of Monday, December 6th, at which point we’ll hopefully know more about next steps for treatment.

 

I don’t yet know if she’ll need surgery, or what kinds of medications she might be put on in the short or long term, but at this point I’ll do anything to help her feel better.

 

How funds will be used:

Funds will be used to cover Juniper’s veterinary and medical expenses to date (and estimated fees for known procedures, a.k.a. the ultrasound) and GoFundMe fees, nothing more.

 

I will always be transparent about the funds and costs for her veterinary care. I’ve listed the fees below so that you know exactly where the funds are going. If I increase the amount requested (e.g. she needs surgery), I will always update with why and provide a breakdown of the expenses.

 

Any amount in excess of what’s needed for Juniper’s medical bills will be given to the Farley Foundation, which helps low-income folks in Ontario with veterinary care for their pets.

 

The expenses for Juniper’s veterinary care below are up to date as of December 10th, 2021. All amounts are in Canadian dollars.

 

Emergency vet clinic visit (Nov 14, 2021):

• Examination/consultation: $124.00

• Emergency fee: $50.00

• Medication (famotidine): $36.50

• HST (13% tax): $27.37

Emergency vet clinic visit total: $237.87

 

Follow up appointment with regular vet (Nov 16, 2021):

• Examination/consultation: $93.00

• Bloodwork: $236.16

• X-rays: $349.40

• Medication (codeine, cirenia, metronidazole, omeprazole): $199.58

• HST (13% tax): $114.16

Follow up vet visit total: $992.30

 

Medication refills (Nov 25, 2021):

• Medications (codeine and cirenia): $82.58

• Discounted prescription fee: $-58.00

• HST (13% tax): 3.20

Medication refills total: $27.78

 

Medication refills (Dec 4, 2021):

• Medications (codeine, cirenia, and metronidazole): $136.58

• Discounted prescription fee: $-58.00

• HST (13% tax): $10.22

Medication refills total: $88.80

 

Ultrasound appointment (upcoming, Dec 6, 2021):

• Estimated fees: $427.50

• HST (13% tax): $55.58

Estimated ultrasound total: $483.08

 

Total vet fees as of Dec 10, 2021: $1829.83

Estimated biopsy fees: $4000
Note: The vet estimated that a biopsy may be between $3000-6000. The range is so large because Juniper will need to be referred to specialist and we don't yet know for sure what they will quote. The vet is hoping if she's seen soon enough they won't have to repeat the ultrasound, so I'm hoping it will be towards the lower end (with a bit of a buffer) and changed the GoFundMe goal to reflect that for now.

Total estimated vet fees, including biopsy: $5829.83

GoFundMe fees (operating costs):

• 2.9% of amount requested: $169.01

• 0.30 USD per donation, or approx. 0.40 CAD (estimated at 100 donations): $40.00

 

Total GoFundMe fees: $209.01

 

Total estimated amount (including GoFundMe fees): $6038.84

Record of changes to financial breakdown:
Dec 10, 2021:
• Adjusted ultrasound total to reflect actual bill amount (lower amount because she didn't require sedation)
• Added estimate for a biopsy of her intestines
• Updated GoFundMe fees to reflect new amount (didn't change # of donations estimate)

A note on pet insurance:

The majority of my savings for anticipated veterinary expenses were used for exams, tests, and vaccines the shelter hadn’t yet done for Juniper. I also used them to care for abrasions she had when she arrived at the shelter, and that reopened shortly after I adopted her.

 

Once I signed up for pet insurance, the insurance made clear that there were several temporary exclusions from her coverage that would be removed only after a waiting period (6-12 months) and the vet cleared her as no longer having these issues. I elected to simply wait out what seemed to be unnecessarily strict exclusions, since Juniper was so young it would be unlikely that they’d be an issue in the sixth month waiting period. Unfortunately, one of these issues was “gastrointestinal” issues, simply because I had once called the vet for suggestions for a laxative when she was constipated while on antibiotics. That was enough, apparently, to exclude her from coverage for her current illness.

 

I am currently working with Juniper’s vet to try and change their decisions on my insurance coverage and claims, but this will take some time and I’m skeptical that they will reverse their decision. If my insurance does eventually reimburse me for these claims, all amounts in excess of what’s needed to pay the remainder of Juniper’s vet bills will go directly to the Farley Foundation.

Update as of Dec 10, 2021: I'm still working on fighting the insurance. I'm hoping with the need for a biopsy and potential treatment for lymphoma, they might cover her (though it's still all "gastrointestinal" so they may not). The coverage (if it does come into effect) is 80% for up to $5000 per illness, an amount that would normally be reasonable for a young cat, but is obviously not enough for Juniper right now, so even if they do cede she will still need help.