Argyle's medical bills

Hello all, it's been a rough couple months and I really didn't want to do this but its reached a point where I am unable to cover his expenses on my own anymore.

My name is CJ and this fundraiser is for my cat Argyle. I can't describe to you how import and special he is to me. My animals are my children..I would do anything for them and it pains me so much to see him going through this. He has been with me through everything. He had just gotten out of hip surgery when I broke my ankle so we were both laid up in bed together. He smooshed his cone head against my face while we slept. He's been with me through a break up and moving back home. He's put up with everything life has thrown at us and he's been my best bud along the way. I swear he looks up at me like he's in love. I can't imagine what life would be like without him.

It all started when he was having issues with urinating outside the litterbox. While concerning, this was not the first time I've dealt with it. All his life he has had reoccurring urinary issues despite my best efforts. So once I caught him in the act and confirmed it was indeed him, we were off to the vet to get him fixed up.

I'm so grateful for my vet, they have done everything they could to help but his case just got too complicated too fast. They treated him like you normally would for urinary problems. Switched him over to royal canin urinary food, gave him pain meds and anti inflammatory. He didn't have an infection so antibiotics weren't necessary. But this is where it all went wrong..

He started to throw up the new food. My first thought was Oops because I forgot to slowly transition him to the new food. I figured it was just my fault and he would be fine if I put him back on his old food and started over..but it wasn't fine. He kept throwing up despite being on his old food. There were a few days in between where he managed to keep food down but it just got worse and worse. We had to stop his medication just in case that was causing issues. We tried 3 different medications as well as a nausea med and nothing seemed to help the vomiting. We tried the wet food version of the vet food, the dry, and his old food, wet and dry.

Somehow his urinary issues resolved, however his vomiting did not. At this point it had been a few weeks of this and he started to refuse food. The vomiting got worse despite not eating. It appeared to be just water and stomach acid. It turned into projectile vomiting every day multiple times. He had lost 3lbs and now I can feel every bone in his body. My poor boy.. My vet was doing everything they could think of but it was time to take him to a specialist for answers.

That's when we went into the emergency vet. They suspected he had a blockage so prepared him for surgery. Unfortunately there was no blockage but his guts did look inflamed and irritated. Biopsies were taken and sent off to figure out what exactly is going on. Now he has a huge incision on his entire abdomen.

At this point he really started to decline..not only was he still dealing with the problems he came in with but now add an invasive surgery on top of it. The surgery bill was about $6,200. The ER thought he was well enough to come home so we picked him up.

The next 2 days were a living hell. Argyle refused any and all food I offered him. Not even tuna! I was keeping up with his 4 medications and updating the vet every day sometimes twice about how he wasn't eating. He was just laying there, staring at the ground, visibly uncomfortable.

The first night home we did see that same sort of vomiting which was concerning. The 2nd day he did not vomit so the ER didn't think he needed to come in just yet. The 3rd morning the vet called to check on him and as I was speaking to them I noticed a brown fluid on his face and nose. It appeared to be coming out of his nose and he was just sitting there with it all over. They asked how his breathing was and I did notice it sounded gurgled and shallow. So now I'm freaking out and rush him back to the ER.

They immediately get him back into hospital as it was obvious he needed it. After discussing with the doctor, it was decided that he needed to stay for a few days. He had so much fluid building up in his guts that it was backing up into his esophagus and coming out of his nose.

His GI tract was simply not moving, meaning all the pain meds and other meds he was getting at home were doing nothing, just sitting in his gut. My poor kitty must have been in so much pain. They got him all hooked up on equipment to get the fluid out and treating him through injections and IV instead of oral medication. This bill was $3,580. They sent us home to wait it out.

The next morning I got an update saying he looked like an entirely different cat. He had improved significantly! He was eating for them and just much more comfortable. His GI fluid was still substantial though meaning his tract still wasn't working like it should be. They said he likely just needed more time.

Day 2 of his hospital stay they told me he wasn't doing as good. He started to lose his appetite again and his GI fluid was still not moving, though he did have gut sounds. About 2 hours later they called back to say his breathing got concerning so they took an xray and found his lungs full of fluid. They rushed him into oxygen and informed me that this could be a symptom of heart failure so they needed to proceed with caution. He is being treated with steroids for his guts but its a dangerous game if the heart is struggling so now treatment will have to be slowed. They ended the call saying they are worried about him. That was 10am today.

I was distraught. I started to get really worried that this was it..he wasn't going to get any better and I wouldn't get my boy back..I cried for 3 hours before I finally fell back asleep (we work 3rd shift)

I woke up to another call around 5pm where they told me he had improved. He seemed much more comfortable and was eating again. His GI fluid had also decreased. They also got the biopsies back and, HORRAY no cancer! He has lymphocytic plasmacythic enteritis. Which is a form of inflammatory bowel disease. It's chronic so they suspect it's been going on for some time. Unfortunately that means he will likely need long term treatment.

However it gets difficult to treat if he has heart disease. So the last I heard, they are monitoring him on oxygen and hoping they can wean him off that by the morning. Tomorrow they are going to take a look at his heart to see if it looks like heart failure or not. That is going to help us figure out a treatment plan. But because they had to put him on oxygen and add more tests in, the bill was raised another $2,200.

We don't know if he will be able to come home tomorrow or not. It depends how he is doing and if he is off oxygen and eating on his own. I've nearly drained my savings..but I won't give up on him...I can't.

Please if you would consider helping my kitty out I would be eternally grateful. I am trying my best to gather more funds from work but its just too much and it keeps getting higher. I'm losing sleep wondering if he will survive this so it makes working incredibly hard as well. Despite that I am now working overtime and taking on more work that ,frankly, I shouldn't be.

I'm reaching out for help...please.