My name is Kayla Shearer. I have been wanting a companion and on July 11, 2025, Kateri entered my life. I saw her walking outside in the parking lot I was sitting in. She did not have a collar and was underweight. I was expecting her to run away when I opened my car door, but to my surprise, she came right up to me and wanted to climb in my car. She jumped into my car and ended up laying on the floor and rested by my feet. I called several vet clinics within the hour of meeting her. I finally was able to find a clinic that would at least see if she was microchipped. I drove to the clinic that was roughly 20 minutes away. The clinic had a cancellation, so I was offered for Kateri to be seen by a doctor and not only checked for a microchip. The doctor completed the exam by determining her age (she is around 9 months to a year old), her weight (5 and a half pounds at the first visit), and overall physical health (the doctor said she did not feel like she had kittens any time in the recent past and noticed an open abrasion on Kateri’s nose). I am struggling financially, so I agreed to the necessary and affordable vaccinations (she was given her rabies injection and dewormer). The first 2 or 3 days after I brought her back from the clinic to my home were nothing short of perfect. She kneaded and purred every time I talked and would follow me around the house. She was also eating and hydrating more, so I was hopeful for us.

After those first 2 or 3 days, I started noticing some odd behavior from her. She was always climbing dangerously up the windows and constantly crying. I thought it was only because she was not fully adjusted with being inside yet, so I left the house to go get a harness and leash for her to get her outside more. When I was gone she had used her litter box and it was normal stool. I thought she wanted privacy and that’s why she must have been crying and climbing the windows all night. She was calmer when I got home, so we both rested after being up the night prior. I woke up a few hours later to her crying again and the same situation transpired that night.

After the second night of her nonstop crying and behaviors, I noticed a total decline in her. I contacted the vet clinic again to make an appointment after a day of no improvement. She had no appetite including hydration, very lethargic, and passing stool that was thick and only mucus. I brought her back in to the same clinic. They checked her temperature and it was a little over 105° (a normal range for cat’s temperature is 99-102 ish). They wanted to hospitalize her for at least the night. I did not have the money to do that at the moment, so I agreed to have them send out a full panel of bloodwork, administer IV fluids, was given 2 antibiotics, and take her home. The day after, July 18, 2025, I was instructed to take her temperature and collect a stool/mucus sample. As soon as I woke up that morning, I gave her antibiotics orally as directed and her rectal temperature was 103.6°. A few hours later I noticed that when she needed to go to the litter box, she crawled and could not extend her back legs fully. I took her rectal temperature again and it was back up to 105.6°. I immediately called the emergency line at the same clinic I have been taking her to. They scheduled an appointment for Kateri to be seen again. I arrived with Kateri at the clinic. They told me they did not have her bloodwork results back yet, due to it being sent out a few hours prior to this visit. They, again, offered to hospitalize her or give more fluids and some medications. I discussed my financial situation with the vet tech and voiced my concerns. We came to a decision that they will give Kateri meds and fluids and when they receive the bloodwork results they will call me and we can figure out the next steps. I waited for them to be finished with Kateri for roughly 30 minutes. When they came back in to the patient room, they said that they felt “diarrhea” in her abdomen and the ultrasound tech was in the office that day, so they decided to do an ultrasound on Kateri. They informed me that Kateri was pregnant and that her kittens were no longer alive, so she was going into septic shock and urged me to allow them to spay her immediately. I agreed to this and my grandparents were offering financial support for her procedure. They assured me they would call after the surgery was over or before they closed for the day (close was 5:00 pm). I waited until about 6:30 pm to give them a call because they never called me. I could not get through due to it being after closing hours. I planned on calling at 8:00 am the next morning when they opened, but I was worried about Kateri so I could not sleep until 5:00 am on July 19, 2025 and in turn, I overslept my alarm. I woke up at 11:00 am with no call or any type of message from the clinic about Kateri. I called and was on hold for over 15 minutes. Someone finally answers and is able to tell me that Kateri made it through the surgery and that I was able to pick her up at 1:00 pm which was an hour after close that day. I arrive to pick Kateri up. The only medication I was given to administer to Kateri during her healing process was an appetite stimulant and told me it expired in May, but it would still work. I paid $600 for the procedure with my grandparents help. They assured me they were giving her personal care, injectable medication, and more IV fluids. Not only did I not received any pain medication for Kateri, I did not receive a cone or many instructions on how to care for her or her incision. The doctor that was there informed me that there were no kittens, but viable and fertilized sacs. I asked if that was the issue and why she was having all of these issues and got an indirect answer, so I don’t know if that’s what’s wrong with her. When I get home and made sure everything was in order for her recovery process, I let her out of her carrier and she immediately jumped on my bed. She was wet, so I gently put her on the floor and went to grab a towel. When I went to apply the towel, I noticed a blood spot on my carpet. She was not bleeding from her incision itself, but it was clotted onto her side in her fur about 3 inches up to her back. They obviously did not do personal care because yes, the blood was clotted, but it was still wet and able to transfer on my carpet. They informed me that her paw was swelled due to her IV or catheter.

Later that day I am trying to encourage her to eat/drink or use the litter box. She does eventually urinate in the litter box but is still very lethargic, can barely walk, and no appetite. We make it through the night, so it is July 20, 2025. She has declined more. No longer walking by herself as the day goes on, she can’t hold her head up, does not react to any noise, does not open her eyes much, her incision is purple and more swollen, respirations around 72. She is in a lot of pain and has a very weak cry. I have been bottle feeding with a liquid meal replacer and using a dropper for water. I am not positive she is going to make it through the night, but I can’t afford another vet bill, as I am drowning in my own medical bills.

Kateri is the sweetest and most loving cat. I have been searching for a companion like her and it pains me that I can’t help her more with my financial situation. She deserves to be able to live and not just survive. I would like to take her to the vet ER as soon as possible if she makes it through the night, so she can get treatment. Thank you for reading and sharing. Anything and everything helps save Kateri.