In December of 2025, my cat Addie started to act very unusual. She was lethargic, she wasn’t eating, and my once very vocal cat was barely making a sound. We took her to the vet after we noticed that her skin had begun to noticeably turn yellow, meaning she was experiencing jaundice. Her vitals were also extraordinarily alarming, but left the veterinarian perplexed. We started her on a month long treatment of medicine and syringe fed food since her appetite was near gone, while also visiting the doctor nearly every day, hoping for any chance that they could figure out what was wrong with Addie. She began to show a slight sign of her old sparkle, so I had a tiny hint of hope.

The hope was short lived.

Starting in March of 2026, Addie’s condition began to worsen rapidly. We desperately started multiple courses of treatment, as well as getting frequent ultrasounds but the vets were still stumped. By May 5th, the jaundice had returned, she wasn’t eating, and her health had taken such a turn that I admitted her to a Pet Emergency Room, with any hope that they could help her. The news was not good: they had found liquid in her stomach, potentially caused by a biliary leakage or a ruptured gallbladder. The vet had told me that there might be a chance to diagnose what was wrong if we elected for her to undergo an invasive exploratory surgery with only a hope to find the cause of her pain, with a potentially $20k cost and a 40% mortality rate included.

But before we could discuss any treatment options, Addie suffered from a debilitating seizure, and I had to make one of the most painful decisions of my life: to say goodbye and have her pain come to an end. My sweet girl gently went off to sleep. She left this world the way she lived in it: surrounded by people she loved, and being told how good of a girl she was. She was only four years old. We never got a diagnosis in the end.

Those twelve hours Addie was in the Emergency Room were some of the hardest hours in my life. I was willing to pay any price for Addie, but now I am saddled with overwhelming debt from the vet bills while I’m already scraping by financially. Any amount is so incredibly appreciated and potentially world changing as I am struggling with both the loss of my favorite little friend and the daily expenses that come with medical crises. Thank you so much.