On Sunday, August 10th, my mother and I were heading to the airport as our mini vacay in the sunshine state was coming to an end when she received a phone call that something was wrong with Lukas. Lukas, who was her 5 year old, floofy, big and bright eyed, black cat, was crying, lethargic, and lying on the bathroom floor. Lukas would barely meow, let alone cry, or lay on the floor in the bathroom.

It was then he was immediately rushed to Garden State Veterinary Hospital. They rapidly triaged him and took him in the back for critical care. The doctor came back and said that Lukas had “tried to die” on her and was in serious condition. His heart rate had dropped dangerously low and he was extremely hypotensive (very low blood pressure). It was then they discovered he had blockages through his bladder into the urethra.

The doctor stated she was able to pass a catheter and relieve his bladder. The urine being emptied from his bladder was entirely blood tinged. Blood work was performed and his electrolytes were so high it was not readable. The doctor said his kidney function was near failure, but she was seemingly hopeful with fluids, electrolyte balancing, and the catheter, they should return to normal.

He was receiving fluids, Levophed (Norepinephrine) to help increase his blood pressure, and around the clock monitoring. We were hopeful…

By Sunday evening he was perkier, more responsive, numbers were still high, and he was still not out of the woods.

In the early hours of Monday morning, my mother received a phone call from the overnight veterinarian stating they did an X-ray of Lukas’ chest due to a slight change in his respirations. It was discovered that Lukas had a spontaneous pneumothorax (collapsed lung). We all were baffled by this, including the veterinary staff. They began him on steroids and resumed monitoring him.

Monday morning’s update was nothing short of what seemed to be a miracle! He was moving around, had the catheter removed and resumed using the liter box as usual, and his latest lab work was of normal values! He was even maintaining a normal blood pressure.

Monday evening…. My mother and I went to visit Lukas. She had seen him earlier in the day and was so happy to see her wide eyed, mushy boy acting more himself. That was not the case when he was brought to us in the exam room for our visit. He seemed off. His lethargy had increased again. He is respirations were oddly shallow and his work of breathing (effort it took to breathe) had dramatically increased. They assured me that he was okay and that it could just be residual from the pneumothorax… okay…… fine.

Late Monday night we were informed that he now was being diagnosed with underlying heart disease. Keep in mind this cat is fully vetted, 1-2x a year he has checkups, and never had heart disease been a concern or even previously detected.

He was no longer urinating again. They noticed he was beginning the early stages of Congestive Heart Failure and aggressively attempted to treat it with diuretics. Unfortunately, Lukas was still not urinating. At this point, we were back to square one.. He was struggling to breathe. He was being kept in an oxygen chamber. His oxygen saturation would drop extremely low if he was not in it for an extended period of time.

It was at this point they told that we had 2 options. 1. They could reinsert the catheter and hope that the Congestive Heart Failure will relieve itself and wait until he is stable enough for surgery to widen the urethra to prevent any further blockages, but the chances of him becoming stable enough for the procedure were slim. 2. We come and say our goodbyes on Wednesday and prevent him from suffering after allowing Tuesday to monitor for any change if he does urinate as there was initially no evidence of blockage. 

While it was an obvious choice due to not wanting him to suffer any longer, knowing medically he more than likely would not recover, we went with option 2. It was the most heartbreaking moment of my mother’s life. That boy was her shadow. He was her little man. This was so sudden and so unexpected. Nothing ever could have prepared us, or even given us a fair warning of this happening.

On Wednesday at 1203pm, Lukas crossed the Rainbow Bridge after receiving all the lovin and kisses he could physically receive.

With the sudden medical care costs and continuous care he received, the bill was jaw dropping. $8,750.00 worth of trying to save this baby. Never in a million years did I think I would be asking for assistance with paying the balance, but due to unfortunate circumstances with personal life, money is extremely tight. This woman would give her shirt off her back to help someone… I think it’s time I do something to help her as she mends her broken heart.

Thank you for reading this far down. I am grateful for anyone who is willing to help.