maybe i did things the wrong way....

[bk4sky]

well the second i realized i couldnt pay my credit cards i went right away to the lawyer, retained him and cut up all my credit cards...with no emergency savings or anything. maybe i should have stopped paying on the cards for a few months and saved up a nice emergency fund....owell too late for that now.

im really sad right now. my cat that i had for 13 years has been sick these few days, he eats and lays, he walks a few feet and lays...and yep you guessed it i dont have any money for a vet bill, no savings and my paycheck already is gone for rent and to pay the lawyer. i feel so helpless right now. i cant even help my pet. i guess all i can do is hope and pray maybe he will start feeling better in a few days. its really going to suck if he dies. ill have to live with that for the rest of my life knowing that i couldnt help him. i called my vet wich whom ive already spent thousands of dollars there on my cat( he needed some urinary surgery in the past) you think they would have given me a break. i told them i only had 100 in my account and asked them if they do payment arrangements, they said that they would accept a postdated check for the balance in full. then they told me good luck.

i wish maybe i wouldve been smarter and stopped paying my cards for a few months and saved myself a nice emergency stash, but no, i was too stupid to think about that (((((((

[danaf]

How much of a retainer did you give to the lawyer? It might not be too late to save up an emergency fee. Just because you retained a lawyer doesn't mean you have to file right away. I know a girl who did the same thing as you a year ago and still hasn't paid the attorney in full.

[bk4sky]

i gave him 300 to start, but we agreed on 250 per month due on the 27th of each month, which has to come out of this pay...i mean do you think he would let me lower the payments down to like 100 just for this month? or i dont know!!!! im just so stressed and i havent even told my creditors they been calling me and i havent answered the calls yet cause im just to depressed. even if he would let me do 100 instead of 250 that would give me some back up cash....i guess ill have to call and see.

[justplaintired]

Call the attorney, and explain you problem. You have time to file, specially if you just quit paying. I don't know what your payment arrangement is with this attorney, but tell them you need more time to pay him. Then call some other vets. This vet seems heartless knowing your pet and not offering to see you regardless if you had the cash that minute, find one who will. Take care of your beloved pet first. You have time to file.

Tell your creditors the truth, you have retained a lawyer. Make sure your attorney knows you will be giving his name and number to them. Ours had us do this, and it did help stop the calls. Oh and be careful what you put into savings. Remember you won't want a big savings acct before you file, it may not be exempt.

[JRScott]

Sorry to hear of your troubles , I suggest talking to your lawyer as well see if he'll work with you explain that the vet won't

[bk4sky]

thank you. im only trying to maybe save up like 500 bucks, for emergencies such as car repairs, but what i just did is i wrote my paralegal and email to see if he would accept lower payments. i was under the impression you couldnt skip a payment. if i dont hear back by monday im going to call his office. i really thought i would be able to swing 250 per month, but then car problems happend, and now my cats sick!

[crazycat]

..Don't Let Lack Of Money Kill The Cat!

...There are pet rescue groups all over that have Vets on File who work free or at very reduced prices...See your local newspaper classified ads, Local Craig's List etc for group postings (look for cat Rescue Groups offering new adoptions, etc). You may have to inquire and ask a group member if they can help locate a cheap vet for you....Just a suggestion!

[danaf]

Every attorney works differently. BTW - how much is his total cost? If the attorney doesn't want to work with you - you can forfeit the 300 retainer, build up a small savings to give yourself a level of comfort, and then start again. I know losing 300 is a hard pill to swallow but it's not the end of the world. It takes a while to get sued from what I've heard.

We do love our animals - thats for sure. And sometimes they do end up costing lots of money. Maybe it's a thyroid issue. One of my dogs was really lethargic some months back and I thought she was dying. But it turned out to be her thyroid. I guess cats could get thyroid problems too.....

[momof2furbies]

Yes, that's a great idea, looking for assistance through animal rescue leagues. I went throught Spay,inc. a couple of months ago to have my youngest dog spayed and it was just $100.00 compared to $275.00 my regular vet was going to charge. Please get help for your pet!

[AngelinaCatHub]

Your vet needs to be fired!!! Do you have a cut up card that is still current? If so, take your cat to a new vet, you say you have a hundred cash now, take a statement with the numbers of the best cut up card as the numbers can manually be put into the keypad for the credit card. This is an emergency and can be explained if needed. Before the work is done after the NEW vet gives you an idea of what it will cost, run the card to make sure he is paid up front. Then get the cat fixed. If the vet goes over his quote, then you have a negotiation factor and the cat will be fixed one way or other. I think you said it was 13 years old? It is an old cat and anything could be wrong but for your OWN peace of mind, make that effort.

We had an 18 year old cat that never got bigger than a kitten. Was some foreign type, and was just as frisky as a kitten. One day it was just walking to its bed and keeled over Dead on the spot. No symptoms at all. Heart attack I guess. 'Hub

[arkienurse]

well the second i realized i couldnt pay my credit cards i went right away to the lawyer, retained him and cut up all my credit cards...with no emergency savings or anything. maybe i should have stopped paying on the cards for a few months and saved up a nice emergency fund....owell too late for that now.

im really sad right now. my cat that i had for 13 years has been sick these few days, he eats and lays, he walks a few feet and lays...and yep you guessed it i dont have any money for a vet bill, no savings and my paycheck already is gone for rent and to pay the lawyer. i feel so helpless right now. i cant even help my pet. i guess all i can do is hope and pray maybe he will start feeling better in a few days. its really going to suck if he dies. ill have to live with that for the rest of my life knowing that i couldnt help him. i called my vet wich whom ive already spent thousands of dollars there on my cat( he needed some urinary surgery in the past) you think they would have given me a break. i told them i only had 100 in my account and asked them if they do payment arrangements, they said that they would accept a postdated check for the balance in full. then they told me good luck.

i wish maybe i wouldve been smarter and stopped paying my cards for a few months and saved myself a nice emergency stash, but no, i was too stupid to think about that (((((((

My kitty is about the age of yours. When she goes, I have sworn there will not be another cat in the house. Have you tried calling your local humane society? Surely they will know of a vet that can see you for emergency care at low or no cost to you.
Then I would sit down and write a letter to the local newspaper, and tell them you story, how they had always seen your cat, you always paid your bills, and now this. This vet doesn't have a heart, and everyone needs to know that.

And don't feel bad about the no emergency stash. We had actually just mailed off all the cc min payments the week before we filed, and we had less than 500 saved up, 300 of it went to the lawyer for filing fees.

[Flamingo]

To the OP - I have had dogs and cats all my life and understand your situation. Unfortunely, resurrecting and using a credit card right now after retaining an attorney is not the answer. It may create issues as to your filing. I would first ask your attorney if that is possible under the circumstances before I went and did it. It is an emergency situation but you will be using the credit card fraudulently with no intent of repayment - that is the issue. You have an aged cat with medical problems. There could be any number of things wrong with him, including age. The vet would need to recheck his urine and see if that is the problem - if he has symptoms of a urinary infection you will know. Your vet should at least initially check him to see what the problem is and then discuss with you the cost of what needs to be done. I don't see why your vet just cannot see you for a consutation/check-up appointment for a diagnosis.

Also, cats in that age range can start having heart issues which make them lethargic and do strange things they didn't do before. Our previous cat starting jumping up on the dining room table and laying there all day and constantly meowing. It was his sign to us that something was wrong and we read the signal. The vet checked him out and it was his heart due to his age. As it was painful for him (and he was telling us by making himself noticable up on the table and meowing), we did have to have him put down since he was 14 and nothing really could be done for him.

Your other option is family or friends - can someone help out in a pinch and you can pay them later?

Best of luck to you. I hope things go well....

[bk4sky]

today he seems a little better. i woke up and he was on the bed sleeping, then he came down the hall into the kitchen and started eating. he's still not himself and a bit lethargic. he doesnt seem in pain at all and me and BF have been giving him lots of love and attention. ( we have been going thru a heat wave here as well). if hes not back to normal on monday im calling some vets, ill find some that take payment arrangements, if none will then ill go to mine and at least see whats wrong. if they tell me its going to be another operation theres no way even my family would put up for that. a few years ago he was at the animal hospital for 2 weeks after an operation and it costed about 1500, then this year he wasnt feeling good so i took him to my vet, they did every test under the sun, including xrays at 80 bucks a piece. it turned out it wasnt anything urinary and they just gave him a shot of medicine and sent him home with pills....400 dollars for that one. and if i cant find a vet that doesnt do payment plans, then ill give mine a postdated check.....if the money isnt there when they cash it....well ill deal with that then. i mean if he did need another operation, its sad but he is 13, i would prob have to have him put down. its very sad tho, i got this cat when i was 18, and in my very 1st apartment, he was a little tiny kitten, he's been with me through it all.

thank you all on here for being so understanding.

[AngelinaCatHub]

OK, my Mom before her death, became the proverbial neighborhood “Cat Lady” with 63 cats and more thrown over the fence or born due to spaying prices. It was a contributing factor in her COPD as well as smoking all her life. However she knew what medicines a cat can take safely. Now I can’t ask her, but Google cat meds and Google the signs your cat is showing. You may be able to purchase without prescription at a Farm store, inject able or pill type of antibiotics. Be real carful though a cat cannot take everything we can take. Are you able to give a shot? It is easy and I had to do this twice a day for years with our only ever Terrier dog who had diabetes. A cat’s temperature is way above a human’s. Read what it should be and take its temp. Yes, there is only one place you can do that so have it held down. Other than that, prayer works. ‘Hub

[bk4sky]

i think he might be constipated...i googled that and it said to try and mix a teaspoon of olive oil in his food but when i do that he wont eat it....i noticed him trying to poo in the litter box yesterday and he was straining bad, but hes been peeing fine. im going to do more researching this weekend.