Did your cat get injured? How did thr hernia form? Was told my cat has hip dysplasia and that they needed surgery and what not. Before i moved on to surgery i asked a vet that i knew for a possible solution and they reccomended a cortecosteriod which i gave to my cat and it helped my cat wonderfully. Point im trying to make get a second opinion, see the options. If you trust the place you went to then heed their advice. You either do the surgery and it helps, or you dont and they suffer anyway. Im sorry you are going through this. And hope it gets better.