Get Snow surgery

TLDR; My cat, Snow, unfortunately needs to get some teeth extracted and quite possibly additional surgery. I am not able to afford this by myself currently, and he does not have time to wait until I have enough money.

It’s a long story, sorry, I tried to keep it as short as possible while keeping details for clarity.

The medical side

My cat Snow has been with me since 2022. He had medical problems from the moment I adopted him. It started with some sneezing here and there, which quite quickly developed to a lot of sneezing with blood & intense coughing fits. I took him to the vet, who gave him antibiotics & painkillers. There they also found that he had a problem with one of his ears. After the antibiotics course was done, I took him back to the vet. Luckily his ear was okay now, but he was still sneezing and coughing a lot, though not as much as before. At this appointment they found his teeth were really bad as well and would likely need to be extracted. The vet recommended a second course of antibiotics & painkillers to hopefully avoid this, and to hopefully get rid of the sneezing and coughing since it became a bit better from the last round of antibiotics. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and his teeth definitively need to be extracted. He will also likely need additional surgery to solve the sneezing & coughing, as they suspect a polyp is causing this. The vet said this will cost me at least €1500,- including getting X-rays done to see what is going on pre surgery.

Adoption agency & insurance

I adopted Snow from Bulgaria to the Netherlands (where I live). This was an exchange to alleviate the Bulgarian shelter since they have way more stray animals over there than over here. I never met Snow before adopting him, I only saw a few pictures and a short description; ‘’Snow is a one year old cat, he is a bit shy but playful and sweet. He has trouble getting along with other cats in a big group because he is small and a bit shy. He got along well with his brother and mother but they were adopted separately.’’ I very much related to him not doing well in groups, so I chose to adopt him from just that. In his pictures he was always in a corner looking a bit sad. The shelter in the Netherlands approved my adoption application and I was given a date when he would arrive here in the Netherlands.

The day he arrived he was very stressed, so we left him in the house alone to calm down. I immediately got insurance for him as per the recommendation of the shelter/adoption agency.

After a couple of days of me reading to him (I didn’t know what else to do, first time cat owner) he would let me closer. About two ish weeks later, he was sitting on my lap and revealed himself to be the true cuddlebug he still is today. During this time he had already started sneezing. I contacted the Dutch adoption agency/shelter about this, but they told me it was due to stress would go away. I didn’t trust that, so I went to the vet (see ‘’the medical side’’). When I confronted the agency about this, they quite angrily told me I did not take proper care of him and there was nothing they could do, as it was not their fault. I then contacted my insurance to see what could be covered, but since I only had the extra ‘’vaccinations & teeth’’ package, they would not cover it, because apparently all the medications fell under the ‘’nose/lungs/airways’’ package. Since it was now diagnosed, I cannot add this package to help cover costs.

Why I cannot afford this

I adopted Snow right before I broke up with my then fiancé. I was 19, working part time and being a part time ‘’stay at home girlfriend’’. I had just dropped out of college. My ex was financially stable enough to be able to cover vet costs and such, which is why we got pets in the first place.

After we broke up, he moved out and left me with pretty much no income & no social network (I was distanced me from friends & family over our 4-year relationship). I unfortunately couldn't afford all the bills by myself, and I didn’t know where to go for help. I ended up about €5000,- in debt from missing rent, health insurance payments, etc. Eventually because of a mental health crisis I was referred to a branch of our municipality where they could help me negotiate bills, get a job and get the mental health care I needed. Now, 4 years later, I am debt free besides my student loans but I don’t have to pay those off yet because I am back in college so I can provide for my cats and I in the future.

I was planning on saving up money to get his surgery finally done, but I am afraid time is running out. He has become more lethargic and a lot less playful. My cats saved my life in the darkest time of my life, please help me save him now. If there is anything unclear, please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you.