Hello my name is Danny. My family cat of 9 years (Niko) recently got really sick without warning. My mother noticed he was hiding for a majority of the day and wouldn’t eat at all. Not long after she noticed he started leaving trails of diarrhea with blood. Everyone in my family has been having a tough time with finances so whatever he was going through, we knew we might not be able to afford the care he needed. Despite that i took him to the vet. We got him through x-rays, bloodwork, fecal tests, a couple different meds for appetite and nausea. This already ran me up about 1.5k. Luckily i was able to take a loan out for a payment plan. Tests came back normal oddly enough, but none of the meds were working.

The next day i took him back. His condition worsened. His body temperature dropped about 4 degrees below his normal temperature. The doctor force fed him some food and replenished his fluids through IV. He switched Niko to a different medication for an appetite stimulant. They charged me an additional $100 for the follow up.

The next day came and there was no sign of improvement. Niko barely energy to move. He would occasionally walk to drink his water while still leaving diarrhea in his path. Once he made it to the water, he would attempt to drink for a little but and would give up while staring at it. I called the vet and they told me to come in immediately.

Every time i would get the carrier for Niko, he would voluntarily walk in. This time i brought him close to it and when i set him down, his body would go limp and just lay in front of it. I’d have never seen him so low on energy. At this point I was trying to stay strong and kept being optimistic.

When i brought him in, i was told the same thing. Body temperature was still low and now his breathing had become heavier. That’s when the doctor noticed yellow skin around his ears. I was told Niko had Jaundice. His liver was failing. No matter what we did from here on out, Niko would not eat. They recommended me to take Niko to an actual hospital. This time they didn’t charge me for the visit. As soon as i stepped out and got back in my car i started bawling my eyes out. Knowing how serious of a condition Niko was in and the weight of the realization that there not might be anything i could do for him with my own power hit me like a truck. Not to mention this was also during a snowstorm that happened during the night. I had to drive from New Carrolton to Annapolis while trying to maintain my composure behind the wheel. This proved to be incredibly difficult with the heavy snow and slippery roads, but despite that i knew i had to try everything no matter what.

Once i got to the hospital, i handed niko to a nurse, filled out paperwork and about two hours later, one of the nurses told me that Niko’s heart was failing. His bpm was around 100 which is very low for a cat in an unfamiliar environment, and his breathing had become strenuous and he needed assistance from an oxygen chamber. I was told that there wasn’t much they could do at the hospital I was at and I was given two options.

1. I could get a referral to a cardiologist.

Right off the bat, i knew this option wasn’t going to happen. Billing would be in the 10s of thousands AT LEAST. My entire family couldn’t pool that money together. Even if we could, there’s no guarantee Niko could be saved. This left me with my second option.

2. It was time to let Niko go.

When the doctor suggested that to me, I didn’t know what to say besides “ok.” I already knew deep down Niko’s time was up. I had to fill out more paperwork. Hospital bills and cremation services went over 700. There was no payment plan options this time. I have no savings and had to use the money i set aside for rent and bills. Luckily i had an option to put down 100 to but his body on corpse so i only spent about 400 that night. Then the time came where I had a few minutes with Niko before we went ahead with the euthanasia. I pet him and he rested his chin on my hand. He was always affectionate and well behaved. I hadn’t cried for anything this hard in my life. Once I was ready to proceed, I let the doctor know and I stood by Niko’s side at the end. They injected him with the first anesthesia. About 5 seconds in, he noticed he felt different. He got up, turned around and he lost consciousness. It was as if he didn’t want me to see his face in his last moments. Second injection, his heart stopped and was pronounced dead.

The whole weekend felt felt like cruel joke. During the month, many close friends had their cats get sick out of no where. Fortunately for them, they quickly bounced back after about two days. The timing was weird, like some sort of cat flu broke out. I thought it was just Niko’s turn to deal with it, but he was the odd one out. It didn’t feel fair. I was stuck with a bill i can’t afford on top of what i’m already in debt with. I didn’t get home until 4 in the morning and i knocked out on my bed. Mentally exhausted. Eyelids red from dried tears. I woke up with a numb feeling, I felt like nothing mattered to me anymore. I overslept and went into work an hour late. When my boss asked me about it, i could tell he sensed something was off about me. I work for about 3 hours until it was break time. Once i was done eating, I still had time before my break was up. It was then where i had time to think about the last 10 hours. It hadn’t even been that long since i watched Niko die. I started thinking about how i could never feel the pain of his paws digging into my stomach when he wanted to make biscuits. I could never feel the warmth of his body when he turned into a loaf of bread. I could never hear him pestering me while watching TV. I kept thinking about how many things i’ll never get to experience again because Niko is gone. At this point i broke down at my desk. My boss found me and told me to take the day off. Once again i was wailing in the car. When i got home, my roommates were there and helped me settle down by hearing stories about Niko. It was thanks to them i was able to process my emotions and recollect myself. I was alone for the whole weekend trying to do what i could for Niko. It was then where i felt like i could finally take a break.

As of now i’m still grieving and taking steps to ease the pain, though my finances have taken a massive hit due to the circumstances. I still owe over 1.5k in bills after everything. Unfortunately it’s putting me behind on other bills like rent, credit card bills, car payments and such.

I don’t like asking for help but right now my income is limited due to slow season. i’ve tried looking for part time work and door dashing to make up for it but i’m not having any luck. If i could get rid of this one loan, it would take off a decent weight of my shoulders.