RIP Ripley

Ripley was named after Ellen Ripley and very much embodied so many of the same characteristics. She was an amazing cat that interacted with and impacted so many people. For 10 wonderful years she was my best friend, always bringing joy and comfort to my life. She had no idea how much she helped me through some dark times.

Unfortunately on December 17, I noticed she wasn’t interested in eating her late night dinner, which was unusual for her. I just thought she had eaten too much earlier in the day. But it happened the next day too. She suddenly was weak and having diarrhea. I took her to the animal hospital Friday morning, where she was hospitalized all day. I picked her up at the end of the night. She underwent x-rays, multiple blood panel work ups, and received IV fluids and nutrients with round the clock monitoring. At the end of the day, we were left we only questions and no answers. Nothing in her bloodwork or X-rays, plus symptoms made sense. The doctor consulted with two other doctors to try to get answers and still nothing. Since it was Friday, they wanted me to take her home for the night, follow all aftercare instructions, call in Saturday with an update, and then plan for updated bloodwork on Monday and an appointment with an internist. I wasn’t expecting such a high vet bill, but they offered financing (with interest). Of course I’m going to pay whatever it costs to figure out what’s wrong with my pet. She was to get an appetite stimulant and then she was supposed to want to eat the recovery food.

Instead, she had no interest in eating. So I started feeding her with a syringe every hour, as round the clock I could through Sunday. On Saturday she was showing marked improvement, despite not wanting to eat. So I called and gave that update and planned to see the vet on Monday to meet with a specialist. Her prognosis was guarded, but this was giving us hope. Saturday night and into Sunday morning a different picture was painted. She was hiding. She didn’t want water. You could tell she was confused. I loaded her up and took her to a 24/7 animal ER, which was packed.

At the ER, we waiting what seemed like forever while I comforted her. I had the roof to the carrier open and was gently talking to her and petting her the entire time. I couldn’t contain my emotions but was reassuring her as best I could. Before we could be taken back, she took an extreme turn and I rushed her to a tech to run her back immediately. After a short minute, we were ushered into a run to hear what had happened.

She had been stabilized. But she would go into cardiac arrest, again, within hours at most. They don’t know why her organs are being failing. And we should be thinking about making the hard decision. I love Ripley too much not to give her a painless passing surrounded by those that loved her.

My heart has been shattered and it took several days to even be functional.

I hate to even ask for help, but this all happened so fast. Unfortunately, the bill at the 24/7 ER was also expensive and had to be put on a credit card. My love for animals will always overshadow whatever funds I have available. I just wasn’t expecting it to be this much. Between the two visits and the take home meds and special food, it was a little over $4K. I greatly appreciate any and all help. Thank you so much!