Ito, My Heart and Lifeline: Help Save the Cat Who Saved Me

Yesterday morning (11/18), I woke up to something that almost made my heart stop—puddles of blood, throw-up, and poop everywhere. This isn’t normal for Ito, and I knew something was wrong. I rushed him to the vet, where they ran blood tests and found he had a low white blood cell count, meaning his body was fighting something off. I couldn’t afford X-rays, but they told me if he didn’t improve by today, I’d need to bring him back.

This morning, Ito still hadn’t bounced back. He was restless, didn’t want to eat, and couldn’t settle down enough to sleep. Then I noticed his nose was white as paper, and I panicked. A cat’s nose is a big indicator of how they’re doing internally, and seeing it that pale scared me. I rushed him back to the vet, and now I’m sitting here in the waiting room, crying because I can’t lose him.

Ito has been my life partner since he was 10 weeks old. My ex and I adopted him from the Humane Society seven years ago, and we’ve been through everything together—road trips across Florida, multiple moves, and all the highs and lows of life. He’s been there for me in my darkest moments and some of my happiest memories. He’s my constant, my heart, and I know we have so much more life to share.

Yesterday’s vet visit was $400, and I don’t know what today will bring yet, but I’ll update this as I go. Anything helps, even just sharing this or sending us good energy. Thank you for being here for us—Ito means the world to me.

Update as of 11/19 after vet visit:

First of all, thank you so much to everyone who has supported us so far—it means the world to me and Ito.

Today’s vet visit gave us some answers but also left us with more questions. The vet ran specific blood work to check for heart issues, and thankfully, that came back clear. They gave him subcutaneous fluids to help with his dehydration and did X-rays as well.

The X-rays didn’t show any masses, which was a relief, but they did reveal that one of his kidneys is smaller than it should be. This could be a sign of an infection in his kidneys. They still don’t know for sure what’s going on, but Ito was prescribed antibiotics to treat the possible infection. I was told to watch him very closely because if he stops eating, drinking, peeing, or pooping normally, it could lead to renal failure.

I have to bring him back next week to check his progress. Today’s vet bill was $500, and with the gas for trips back and forth to Newberry over the last two days, things are adding up quickly.

I’ll keep updating as we learn more, but for now, I’m just grateful for all the love and support we’ve received. If you can donate or share Ito’s story, it would mean everything to us. Thank you for being here for us.

Funds will be used to cover all vet bills for Ito and gas for the trip (it's 16 miles one way)

Updates will be shared on instagram as well @pilswithap