**See update on how Little is doing at the bottom of this post**
A few weeks ago I took my cat in for a routine check up, where I discovered he needed oral surgery that would cost me upwards of $1k. Before booking the appointment I consulted Dr.Google to see if there were any other options for dental care with cats, and what I discovered as the bottom line was that the answer is no, but I also discovered options to make the payment less painful.
One of the options was to create a GoFundMe account, something I had seen numerous times for a myriad of procedures. I tucked this information into the back of my mind, because I planned to pay the $1k out of pocket and call it a day.
Then something else happened.
I’m currently in Arizona, thousands of miles from home, and I received a call from my mom telling me she had to take him in because he was acting bizarre. Come to find out he has multiple bladder stones and one is stuck in his urethra. After bouncing between multiple emergency hospitals the end of the day total was over $5k.
Some people might say I’m crazy to shell out five thousand dollars for a cat, but when a member of the family needs help – you do whatever you can. He is too young to accept death as his fate, and recovery from this is probably. Euthanizing him to save the money would be the cheap route, but living with the remorse of taking his life because of a price tag would be a lifelong scar I choose not to carry.
I’m un-tucking the GoFundMe idea, and have created an account. I struggle with the idea of asking strangers for money for a cat they know nothing about, but this cat has saved me from endless trials in my life and it’s my turn to save him. If anyone out there reading this can find it in their heart to donate even $5, every penny counts.
This isn’t how I planned to spend my New Years Eve, but alas sometimes God has other plans.
Below you will find the link to my GoFundMe. Thank you to anyone who feels inclined to donate, and for those of you that can’t prayers are welcomed and appreciated.
https://www.gofundme.com/bladderstonesurgery
**2/26/2018 UPDATE: Little has recovered amazingly well, but he continues to have check ups due to an odd urination stream. I am so happy he healed well on his tummy. He is still due for oral surgery still within the next couple months. Any additional support is greatly appreciated**
Blissfulbritt 
42 thoughts on “Bladder Stone Surgery”
Thistles and Kiwis
Hope he is on the mend! Our fur babies are important to us.
Brittany
Thank you. ❤️❤️❤️
An Unrefined Vegan
You’re not crazy at all. For many of us, our animal companions are family. It would be impossible to put a number on what they give to us (with no strings attached). We must do all that we are able to provide care and comfort. ❤
Brittany
Thank you friend, I couldn’t agree more! ❤️
rootchopper
Sorry to hear about this Britt. Hope you raise enough to cover the cost so that you can focus on caring for your cat. For you and me, 2017 went out on a sour note. Nowhere to go but up, my friend. All the best to you.
Brittany
John, your generosity has brought tears to my eyes. I’m so sorry you also ended on a sour note, but the optimism and positive outlook is the right approach! Thank you for your endless support.
rootchopper
Just paying it forward. 😉
Liz H
Ow. Poor kitty!
Brittany
He’s a fighter!
Arctic Hare!
Oh, Britt, I’m so sorry! I’m so glad that they can do the operation. I hope he feels ever so much better soon!! *hugs*
Brittany
Thank you for your kind words. I will update as soon as he’s home.
Ellie
I’m sorry to hear about your cat Britt, he must be really special if you’re doing this for him ❤
Brittany
He is family. ❤ Thank you friend.
dave379
Hoping for many more healthy cat years! Just made a donation. Happy to help and look forward to catching up on your other recent posts too.
Brittany
I hope for a good handful more! Thank you SO much! You have brought a smile to my heart.
Julanne
Brittany,I haven’t had time to read all the way through this but just saw this on my vet’s page. Perhaps there’s also an organization that can help! https://www.youcaring.com/blog/2016/need-help-with-vet-bills
Brittany
Thank you for sharing this! ❤️
fallcorn1936
Pets are very important to some of us and we will always go for whatever treatment regardless of the cost. The worst thing is to have the pet die during the treatment and then still be faced with a large bill.When my dog was bitten by a rattlesnake and died, it still cost me over $2K which I had to pay. The bill doesn’t go away if the animal dies. Hope your kitty does OK.
Brittany
That’s always the concern I have as well, but I’d take comfort in knowing I tried all I could. I’m so sorry for what you went through with your dog, he was clearly very loved.
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Marc-André
Poor baby. Our Oliver had a bladder stone recently but lucky spotted early enough to do food based treatment. 😦
Brittany
I think we caught it in time too, so far recovery is going well. I am so thankful! Sending love to you and Oliver.
Marc-André
Thank you 🙂
Keep us posted how it goes and once he recovered let me know if you’d like a little guest post on our blog. ^^
Brittany
He is six days post surgery and recovering well! I will write an official update post after his follow up appointment. Thank you so much.
Marc-André
Looking forward to it. ❤
Meghan@CleanEatsFastFeets
Poor puss. I understand. My first cat would get stones all the time, and they did the surgery to turn him into a girl essentially from a boy. He was on a special diet the rest of his days, and it was worth every damn penny. Gotta love our furry friends.
Brittany
It’s always nice to hear about success stories with this! The things we do for our babies.
Allie Zottola
Brittany, I am so sorry to hear about the bladder stones. I can’t imagine how tough that must be to go through just knowing your poor cat is suffering. I’m so glad it’s a fixable issue, though. I’m going to head over to GoFundMe right now ❤
Brittany
It was a hard day, I’m so thankful he’s doing ok today. 🐾❤️
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Marianne Guarena
I know it is expensive but are you feeding only wet food? I feed half a can am and half at night. The occasional sprinkling of Beyond dry for teeth and to satisfy the crunch craving. But wet is the way to go. The worst wet food is usually better for the renal system than the best dry kibble. I have three rescues, a 15 year old (almost 16 with failing kidneys now !), a 12 year old and an I don’t know but I’m guessing 2. They’ve cost me a pretty penny. $2000 each in vet bills for the older ones when they were kittens for various surgeries (long story) and the third, Abi, she’s been cheap thus far. I’m sorry about your kitty. Hopefully all is good now 😦 I swear, though, wet food is the way to go. Homemade food is difficult to get right because of the thiamine and what not. But canned is okay.
Brittany
Yes! We completely switched to wet foot per vet recommendations! He LOVES wet food, so this is a win for him. I was spending $$$ on fancy dry food anyway so cost is no problem. Only the best for the king. Thank you for sharing your tips, and THANK YOU for your donation. That was so kind. He is recovering well and I am so blessed. 🙏🏻❤️ I lost my 20 yr old kitty to kidney disease back in July, sending love to your older baby.
Marianne Guarena
I’m so sorry about your kitty, twenty years! It gives me hope for a few more years though. Here’s to fast healing and thank you for your thought to Chicken. He is a PIA, didn’t want to eat this morning so I know that now I’ve left for work my fatty kitty, Poulet, will jump up there and watch us food and he won’t get to eat until I get home. Out of curiosity did your other kitty have really bad constipation in the beginning stages? That’s what I’m dealing with now with him.
Brittany
No constipation, in fact the only reason I discovered he had an issue at all was because he was howling a lot. I decided to take him in (I admit I’m terrible with vet check ups) and the vet discovered he had the disease. We had him for 6 more months after the diagnosis. We gave IV fluids every other day as well as medications. Some of the medication was not helpful, and made him like a zombie. That was hard. Do you administer fluids yet?
Marianne Guarena
I am terrible at it, too. I hate the vet, though. They always want to give them vaccines for crap they won’t even be exposed to. All of my cats had their initial vaccines and that is it. They are indoor-only except for if I go on the patio with them, one at a time. Actually that is not true anymore, as only Poulet is allowed to go out now because she listens like a dog. Chicken is half blind and hard of hearing and has attitude; he doesn’t care what I tell him to do. So he lost privileges. If he steps on the grass, he hates the way the feels, so he runs and keeps on running until he finds a smooth spot. And runs into things in the process. Plus he eats weeds and throws up. Abi is too recently taken in from begin a city-slicker stray so she might bolt. Besides, she is in a rural area now and there are bigger, badder animals out here than she is. I do not administer fluids (yet), I think he is in the very beginning stages. But I have given lubricating and water-only enemas that seem to soften it up so he can get it out (it comes and goes). If I notice a problem I increase his water by giving him bone broth I made, or tuna water. If you find your cat gets picky sometimes (you know how they are, they love their food and then they thumb their nose at it no matter how much it costs), you can give them nutritional yeast sprinkled on top of it. I have to do that to Chicken occasionally since his sense of smell is not that great anymore. If all else fails, he will go ape-poop for rotisserie chicken or a can of tuna. He has a high metabolism so if he doesn’t eat or gets sick, it snowballs because he has no energy. He has been that way since he was a kitten. He gets to eat as much as he wants. The other two will overeat so they have to watched. I find that both of my cats that were “starving” and low weight when I adopted them (Poulet and Abi) have eating disorders. I am so sorry, I have written you a book, droning on about my “children”. At least I haven’t brought out the photos yet lol. I know you are on vacation so I should leave you be, haha!
Brittany
No worries at all about the novel you wrote, these are my favorite kinds of comments! I’m with you on the vet, I don’t agree with a lot of what they try to prescribe and I don’t think a lot of it is necessary. I have a similar approach to pet health that I do to human health and am not a fan of drugs and unnecessary procedures. The kidney disease was hard because I never felt right about the meds I agreed to give him, but the fluids I could get on board with. Really it was just a matter of making him more comfortable for his final days (20 is old, I’d say he lived a solid life.) It’s hard to know what’s best sometimes.
My kidney kitty was a trooper, he would let me stab him with that needle and hardly flinch. He’d probably take the enema if needed, but my younger kitty with these stones is a feisty little thing and I pray he never has kidney issues because he’d flop like a fish on a deck if I tried to needle him. Mine’s indoor too, except on the rare occurrence he slips out the door. He’s quite the escape artist. He usually comes back in within a couple hours. Unless I catch him, which happens most of the time. Thankfully we don’t have trouble with him eating, he eats moderately and loves the wet food. He loves chicken too, so I’ll give him pieces as a treat.
Ohhh the life of a pet parent. Never a dull moment. 🙂
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Catherine Lingg
Dear Brittany, I so understand everything you’ve been through, years ago, my boyfriend was a pilot and had a roommate who supposedly was caring for his sweet ginger boy, Morris. I went there one day to find a litter box full of (well you know) empty food and water dishes. IO took him home to the chagrin of my sweet Citlin. With time they were cuddle buddies and partners in crime. One day Morris was glued in a corner unwilling to move. To the vet, he was blocked with struvite. Doc unblocked him, 3 days later again, vet again, 2 days later a third time. Morris was 6 years old. That cost $600.00. Mind you, that was MANY years ago. Finally the vet suggested removing his “boy parts” essentially making Morris, Maureen lol. Morris got a 250 mg vitamin C every day, which he took like a trooper. Morris died in my arms at the ripe old age of 20. That’s how much life he would have had stripped from him. He was the most gentle, sweetest cat I’ve ever had. Never heard him hiss. Needless to say, when my boyfriend came home initially, I told him “Morris is now MY cat” Blessings for many more happy, healthy years with your sweet house panther
Brittany
Oh my goodness, what a story. Thank you so much for sharing. You gave Morris an amazing life!! Bless you. ❤️🐾
Catherine Lingg
Oh yeah Brittany, worth EVERY penny Hugs and Purrs
Brittany
Thank you! He is alive and well and it was ALL worth it.