My baby is sick

I was getting ready for bed last night so I could get up early and go to work and noticed that Oscar had a wound on his hip about the side of a quarter. It was deep and leaking fluid so I called the veterinary Emergency Clinic. I got there with him about midnight. I left around 2:00 am after being told that he had an abscess that had ruptured and that I didn't have enough cash for them to treat him. They told me to wait until 6:30 am and take him to another animal clinic in town and they would work with me. So, I took Oscar back home and waited until they opened. I got there and was told that he needed to be treated and it would be $600.00 cash up front. For the second time in just a few hours, I cried and told the lady that I had just move and just started a job and all I had was $101.00 but could make payments for the rest. She turned us away. So, I went down the road to another animal clinic. They also told me it would be $500.00 to $600.00 cash up front. I cried for the 3rd time and explained my situation again. I couldn't imagine how to tell my daughter that her cat was going to die because I didn't have enough money for them to treat him. They talked me into seeing the doctor anyway. I waited for 3 hours with my cat in a carrier before Oscar was seen. After clipping some of the surrounding hair and flushing out the wound, they sent us home with flushing solution, oral antibiotics and instructions and told us to come back for a recheck in 5 days. This wasn't the ideal treatment but it was all that I had the money for.

Apparently, when Oscar got in a tiff with the neighbor cat last week, he was scratched or bitten. It healed over with bacteria in it and formed a huge abscess that ruptured last night and now the infection is trying to get out. Usually, they would put them under anesthesia and clip away dead tissue, clean it all out and keep him for a few days. That's why the cost is so much.

If the antibiotics and home flushing I am doing doesn't work, he will need surgery. It's a big risk.

I also missed half of work today. I called my instructors voice mail and left several messages from midnight last night on so she was aware of the situation but it still can't look good to have an absence in the second week of training. I took pictures in case they don't believe me and have paperwork from all 3 clinics.

This is the way I feel about it. I tried to take him to the Emergency place during the night, then I tried to take him to another place at 6:30. If either one of them would have seen us, I could have made it to work at 9:00 on time. I tried. I really did. And anyone who doesn't think it's important to have their animal treated immediately when it is a life threatening infection has a serious problem with their priorities. He needed to get on antibiotics as soon as possible. So, I'm not going to worry about it. I did the right thing. I know I did, no matter the consequences. Wish us luck and hope the medicine and flushing treatments work, because I don't know what to do if it doesn't.

If anyone has had a similar experience or a veterinary / medical background and has suggestions, I'm all ears.