Hi! My name is Luna, and I’m reaching out for help with an unexpected emergency vet bill for my beloved cat, Stanley.

On Thursday night (12/12), my fiancé and I noticed Stanley was coughing as if he had a hairball. We gave him some hairball medicine, but by Friday, his condition worsened. He was gagging, vomiting, and had diarrhea, and by Saturday, he refused to eat. We were frantic, trying to get him seen by a vet, but every local office was fully booked.

We took Stanley to an urgent care vet, where they did radiographs and found gas buildup in his stomach and fluid in his throat. The vet wasn’t sure what was going on, but they gave him fluids, anti-nausea meds, and a B-12 injection. They advised us to have an ultrasound, but none were available until Monday, and the cost would be $1,200. We decided to wait, hoping things would improve.

Unfortunately, Stanley’s condition worsened over the weekend. He became lethargic, kept gagging, and began vomiting every hour. We grew even more concerned when he started breathing with his mouth open — a sign that something was seriously wrong. In a panic, we rushed him to Animal Emergency, where they immediately put him on oxygen.

After an agonizing hour, the vet finally gave us an update: Stanley likely had stomatitis, a painful condition causing inflammation and ulcers in his mouth. This was affecting his ability to eat and breathe properly, and the gas in his stomach was from swallowing air due to the pain. Stanley is also FIV+, and when we rescued him, he had many rotten and missing teeth, which may have contributed to this condition. In addition to stomatitis, he was diagnosed with bronchitis and an upper respiratory infection, which are making his recovery even more difficult.

Thanks to the care Stanley received, we were able to bring him home, and he’s already started eating and resting. We are so relieved, but the vet bills have been overwhelming. Between the urgent care visits and special food/medicine we are facing nearly $1,400 in expenses. My partner and I are covering most of the costs, but due to personal health bills from my chronic conditions and disabilities, we are short on some of the funds and need a little help to cover the remainder.

Additionally, we were hit with another emergency vet bill last month for our cat Teddy that was also quite expensive, which has made it even harder to manage these new unexpected costs.

Any donation, no matter how small, would mean the world to us and Stanley. We’re so grateful for the support, and we’re so happy he’s still with us, thanks to the quick and caring actions of the vets.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story, and for any help you can give. We truly appreciate it. If the amount goes over, the remainder will go to the shelter that we got Stanley from. Proof will be posted in the event it goes over.

Below is Stanley's emergency vet bills for transparency: