Assist Paying Soda's End of Life Veterinary Bills

I adopted Soda Pop back on September 24. I was nervous to commit to a young animal, Soda being 2, but I decided he would be the perfect cat to keep me company for years to come.

Sunday, he threw up both of his meals, which is unusual, but was acting normal. Monday morning, he was no longer interested in his meals, which is very out of character for him. We made it to the vet; he was very constipated, so they gave him an enema and took an X-ray to check for obstructions—none found. They sent us home, and I didn't get much in the way of care instructions, what could've caused this, and no bloodwork or further imaging had been suggested. I was simply told to call them back if he didn't perk up after a day or two.

Tuesday, he did not eat or drink at all. Because of the anesthetic, I waited a day to see if he would recover. Wednesday morning was more of the same, so we went off to the emergency vet. His blood work was normal except for high white blood cell counts indicating infection. An ultrasound and X-ray later, we found some sort of mass in his upper right lung. They're giving him antibiotics and IV fluids and keeping an eye on the mass, too small to sample. His body didn't respond to the antibiotic, so they moved on to another dose, a different kind. His body still did not respond. He had to go on oxygen as he was struggling to breathe. The mass in his lung grew to the point of identifying the problem, pyothorax. Pus was filling his chest cavity between his lungs and heart.

The only treatment going forward would have involved placing tubes in his chest to drain the fluid and a surgery to remove a portion of his lung; both complicated, high-risk procedures. I made the extremely challenging choice to euthanize my baby. I couldn't put him through the pain and confusion of these procedures only for him to be likely to perish anyhow, or live with a diminished quality of life.

Soda truly brought the household together. He was as carefree as he was persistent. My lovely girl cat Lucy has not succeeded in her mission to be physically affectionate with my dog Akari after 5 years together. Soda, in just 6 months, encouraged Akari through her comfort zone to the point of cuddling with one another. He was always playing games with and grooming Lucy. It made me happy to know someone was being friendly with Lucy when I'm gone, considering Akari would rather nap.

I really hate to ask for money because I understand this is part of committing to a pet. Akari and Lucy are getting older. I'm raising money to help cover some of the expenses of Soda's care so that if anything were to happen to my girls, I could still provide the care they need. The first stop at the emergency vet immediately maxed one of my credit cards. I'm already battling about 3k in personal medical debt I've accumulated over the last year and a half due to a still unknown medical issue. I'm sure many of you can relate to the frustrations of dealing with these medical industries; it's always painful in so many ways. Any bit helps, and if you read this far, thank you so much for taking the time to do so.