Help Sam cat get urgent medical care

This is an emergency fundraiser for Sam cat, my beloved butterball. Right now he's been admitted for supportive care and observation overnight. The cause of his sudden health turn is unknown at the moment but I hope to have more answers soon and the vets and I can get it safely dealt with.

His symptoms are explained below with a content warning for cat distress. I’m asking for your help with Sam’s medical expenses: yesterday he got an emergency visit, x-rays, pain relief, blood work, medication, soft prescription food, and take-home meds, which came to around $450 USD. As of now he got an emergency visit, has been admitted, given medication, and may need more x-rays and an ultrasound tomorrow -- though hopefully not, but also hopefully not anything more. It's possible that he has an obstruction, that he swallowed something that is stuck or problematic. For cat nerds: his blood work doesn't indicate pancreas issue or anything similar. He's otherwise a really healthy, albeit round, sweet and gentle fellow.

I don’t yet know the total costs. I've made this fundraiser in hopes of making the goal to cover his overnight stay and supportive care tonight, and possibly more medication. I'm pretty upset right now so it's hard to know what to set the fundraising goal for. I have a Patreon and the company has had some kind of technical problem with some payouts, so right now my income from that is two weeks late. It's a "perfect storm" of terrible.

We are all struggling right now with life and uncertainty, and Sam, Max and I appreciate anything you're able to contribute. Even just supportive words and thoughts of cat strength. Sharing this helps a lot, too.

Who is Sam? He's a pandemic rescue. During shelter in place in the SF Bay Area, unethical people were selling pets online -- and Sam came up in an ad that looked suspicious. I masked up and drove to what turned out to be a kennel where cats were being bred and sold online. Sam was being kept in a metal cage on a concrete floor, and his legs were atrophied from that, plus he had other problems from neglect and possibly abuse, and I wasn't leaving without him. I gave the kennel $40 and told Sam I got him now, and from now on.

He was fast friends with my tabby cat Max. Soon with the right diet, movement, and care Sam was able to run and jump again, and learned that he loved gardens and bugs. When I came to Aotearoa to write a book, Sam and Max came with me, both enjoying farm life in the Waikato at first and now soaking up the belly-warming sun rays and window seat birdwatching in Wellington. They're both really happy here. Sam's veterinary team here in Wellington truly adore him (the whole office knows him), they love hugging him (and vice-versa), and spoil him when he's feeling good.

CW for cat distress describing his symptoms below.

Yesterday Sam began vomiting violently in the morning, in a way I'd never seen a cat do it, and he couldn't keep any food down. By the afternoon he hadn't used the litterbox, his tummy was sensitive (in a cat the normally loves belly rubs), and he still wouldn't eat. His vet said to bring him in right away. They did blood work and found nothing unusual, found that he experienced pain when his abdomen was touched, and did x-rays. They didn't see anything that stood out on the x-rays and gave me instructions for overnight monitoring.

Overnight he still wouldn't eat and I hand-syringed him a paste the vet gave me. In the morning he wanted to eat but didn't, and by the afternoon he still wouldn't eat. When I watched him try to use the litterbox and couldn't, I called and rushed him back to the vet. They're taking care of him tonight (he's on fluids, pain meds, a critical care vet was coming in). I believe they're also doing a kitty enema? I didn't get those details. In the morning I hope he's been able to pass something and eat; if not more x-rays, ultrasound.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and spend your attention here with Sam, Max, and I. Max knows something's up and he's staying close to me. We appreciate your eyes and thoughts. Thank you for being here.

* I declined all GoFundMe options to "enhance" this post with AI.