Bit of an emergency, but my cat randomly came back with a hole under his left arm. He does tend to go outside, so I believe it was some sort of accident, and he came back and was being normal, rolling around on his back to be cute and wanting his belly rubbed (he's been a big cat since we adopted him; he came from an abusive household and he stress eats, but his weight is maintained and he is healthy with that as vet did mention in the past hes fine). I noticed blood under his arm, then saw the hole. Of course, being a cat, he doesn't let me check, so I had to get a better look when he was resting.
He isn't in pain and is behaving very normal, but it is bothering him since he goes to try and lick the wound, but he's not crying out in pain. While he was dozing off, I got a better look at the wound, and wow, it's bad. He's going to need surgery I fear as it's deep and you can see some connective tissue I believe. About the size of my pinky finger nail, it's large for a cat even his size. I have no idea how he got it, but it's deep. That'll easily get infected and worse if untreated.
The problem I'm having, is I have absolutely no income as this area is tiny (been looking for employment here for seven years and I've been working with the state). I've not been able to take him to a vet (nearest animal hospital for emergencies is 93 miles away) since it's the weekend and I am going to see the vet tomorrow to see about an estimate. From a couple of online sites (these two specifically https://www.lemonade.com/pet/explained/cat-surgery-cost/ and https://wagwalking.com/cat/treatment/reconstructive-sur... ), I fear it's going to be a few thousand dollars and for someone with absolutely no income in a tiny town in the middle of no where, which hasn't had any new employment in over a decade, this is an impossible figure.
I don't have an exact estimate yet, but I can't let this wait. I can't have the cat with a hole in him and let him suffer. The vet here however, demands all money is paid up front, which is a shitty thing because how can someone pull up to $5k out of no where? Again no estimate yet, I'm just extremely worried and concerned about the cat. He's the best cat I've ever had, and even works as a therapy animal (though nothing official with that). He's very gentle, a bit of a bully to other cats, but he's a cuddle and snuggle monster and just loves to be pet, talked too, held, and just an adorable one (despite being afraid of humans as he tends to hide when people come around due to his abusive past). I wont let an animal suffer, but I don't want a situation of having to put him down simply because I don't have or am unable to acquire a couple of thousand dollars within days. It's wrong to keep the cat suffering, and I don't want him to suffer (he doesn't appear to be suffering, but if it continues to bleed or gets an infection or worse, yeah he will, its an open wound and it needs some treatment).
I could be panicking with pricing, but I don't want my cat having an open hold near his chest like that. I'm posting now ahead of an estimate because I really fear I'll have to beg for donations. I'm not sure how to go about it, maybe start a gofundme for him, or having to post my cashapp and make another paypal. Just concerned about all of this, very concerned for good reason.
Maybe someone reading this will have more insight than myself, but I'll post images of the wound so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about.
It's deep. Possibly connective tissue there, but it's a puncture wound. I'm surprised he doesn't seem in pain about it, but does lick around it here and there. But that'll for sure get an infection, and it'll need more than stitches I believe. Going off those websites though, it'll be thousands of dollars, and the max amount of money I have available, is $40. I don't even have anything I could sell (storage unite was robbed years back) nor do I have any credit since I never used a credit card or took out any loans (wouldn't matter anyways, no job to pay back a potential loan).
I'm at a big loss. He tends to be very good and chill outside and stays close. He's never had an incident outside either (outside of saving a baby rabbit oddly enough on Easter some years back, I have pictures of that elsewhere), so this was so sudden. I'll update this or repost with an estimate, but frankly, I'm so worried I wont be able to get that kind of funding so fast. I'm unable to travel anywhere (no vehicle) so going to an animal hospital 93 miles away is out of the question. If anyone has ideas or anything, just please say so, anything really since time is a big factor here. I've bandaged the wound of course, but obviously that wont fix things, and I am deeply troubled, concerned, and obviously, worried.
Any advice or help, anything would be appreciated. Thank you for reading.
*UPDATE* The cat is doing fine thankfully. Took him to the vet last week after some much needed donations (thank you everyone who donated as I appreciate the help and support for the cat), and I was given medicine and told to leave the wound open to allow it to drain. He had a little temperature as the wound did get infected, but that's what the medicine is for. The wound finally started to scab, and is healing. I couldn't get him to really hold still long enough to get a shot of the wound healing, but I can always save that for another update. The donations helped, but the price ended up $6 more than the estimate, which thankfully wasn't a huge number. The only issue with the cat now is, like many cats, that he doesn't like his medicine, so it's tricky to get him to take it. Again thank you all who supported the cat, I hate to think what the infection could have done to him without the vet visit.
