On June 3rd he started vomiting and his health plummeted very quickly. He stopped eating, drinking, meowing, wanted to be alone, and his eyes weren't fully open. By Friday evening on June 4th I took him to the Toronto West Emergency Hospital as I could see whatever he was suffering from was getting worse. The doctor there suspected he either has Inflammatory Bowel Disease or Intestinal Lymphoma. Unfortunately they were not equipped with an ultrasound so next day I was calling around searching for a facility that had an ultrasound and a radiologist to operate the machine. No one operated this on weekends and I called various vets and emergency hospitals around Toronto, Oakville, Mississauga, Burlington, etc (absolutely ridiculous). 

Then I found Toronto Veterinary Emergency Hospital (TVEH) in Scarborough who had an ultrasound machine on site and radiologist to operate it on weekdays.  When I took him in on Sunday, June 4th, the vet present was astonished that Tigger was still alive. She said he was extremely dehydrated and he visibly looked emaciated and that she was not going to be able to tell me exactly what was wrong with him until we did a full examination but that had to wait until Monday, June 7th. Tigger stayed the night as a critical patient and by noon the next day they were able to get some of the test results back. 


Discoveries:

1. There was a foreign object inside his small intestine which they weren't able to tell by the x-ray at all. 

2. In order to fully understand what was going on in his GI track, they wanted to open him up so they can do the biopsy. 


I was so desperate to get whatever this 'foreign object' was out and have them take the biopsy of his GI track to send to the lab to figure out what was exactly going on in his intestines and abdomen. 

Tigger's surgery went well and the foreign object happened to be a peanut so they took that out and got their sampling.  Day after the surgery, by the evening our doctor told me Tigger was awake and he was doing quite well. He was eating again and that I should be able to take him home for him to recover.

Tigger struggled all throughout the evening at home. As soon as he was out of his cat carrier, he was incredibly weak and couldn't walk straight so he would collapse on to the floor. It was so heartbreaking to watch but I tried to brave it out that this was just part of recovery after a big surgery. But things went south even more from there where he wasn't responsive to any of the food options I was putting out. 

This morning I woke up and Tigger looked even more weak. I was really concerned but had to run to work and had my sister looking after him. She kept me updated on how he was doing but he was definitely getting worse. He tried here and there to stand up but would fall on the floor again. He tried going to the kitty litter and he fell and collapsed inside the litter and wouldn't get up. I gathered my stuff as quick as possible to go home, pick him up and drop him off back at TVEH. They told me he sounded like he was in critical condition and I had to bring him back through the emergency. 

Our surgeon happened to scrub in for another doctor so he got to take a look at Tigger and he said to me over the phone, "I think he is dying..."

I don't understand how my boy was doing so well day after the surgery and was back to being so sick. He did remind me that the surgery performed wasn't necessarily a fix but was done to get the object out and do the biopsy. If we are lucky, the earliest we will have the lab result back would be this Friday to rule out if it's IBD or cancer. 

At this point I am extremely exhausted emotionally and physically. I am depleted financially but I would like to continue having Tigger in the ICU until we get the lab results back so we can figure out the next steps. Our surgeon is saying Tigger cannot go home for at least one more week but the ICU care is very expensive and I don't know what to do. The surgery was over $5,000. Tigger currently being in ICU for 12 hours is costing me $750.00 (they go by every 12 hours) to give you some perspective of the numbers I've been dealing with.

After speaking to few friends, one pointed out that if it wasn't for the money problem, what I would do or what I wished for. I would continue to keep Tigger in the intensive care so we can wait for the new blood work to come back, have the biopsy results come back. I feel embarrassed to ask you of this but I feel like this is my last shot. 

And here's the deal, anyone contributing value around $25~$50 you can either ask me one styling advice question OR get an item around the same value from the goods that I am about to sell (Hello? Have you been to my epic garage sales?)

For anyone exceeding over $500 of contribution I am willing to offer a complimentary styling service by going through your closet with you virtually and coming up with 3 staple looks. 

If you need help with interior decor, we can talk about that as well and arrange something. 

Thanks for reading this and considering it.  The last couple days has been a nightmare. I absolutely don't wish this type of event to happen to any of you. Get pet insurance!!! 

I appreciate it so much. 


Warm regards,
Jo


----------------------------

06.11.2021

I am so heartbroken to break this news that Tigger passed away late last night around 10:30PM EST. He locked eyes with me and wouldn't look at anyone else while he was getting euthanized. Through a glass window and over the phone I got to tell him over and over again how much I loved him.

We got his blood work back and unfortunately the anaesthesia has impacted his kidney so not only we were looking at inflamed bowl disease VS intestinal lymphoma now we were facing kidney disease to battle. Without the support of level 2 ICU care, we all felt he would relapse just the way he did when he got to come home late Tuesday night.

He played such a big role in my life and brought me so much joy and love. The emptiness of my house without him... the pain... I cannot bare. While I am in full grieving mode, I am now in the midst of arranging his cremation.

I am incredibly grateful to those who have reached out throughout this week checking up on his condition and my condition and contributing to his enormous medical bill. Some say I've spent too much but I was willing to do everything I can to save him. I am deeply touched and in awe of the generosity you have shared with me and I will remember this forever.

If you have contributed in the next coming days I will be reaching out for your mailing addresses so I can send you something.

Thank you so much.

The tears that's streaming down my face is a happy cry and not a sad cry. Well it's a mix of both... I am truly heartbroken but feeling super thankful to all of you. Thank you.


Best wishes,
Jo, lucky Tigger's mom


--------------------------
P.S. My biggest takeaway from this experience is the following:

1. Get pet insurance (I've been recommended Trupanion a few times) if not, set a side some money every cheque by creating a savings account just for medical for pets if you don't want to give your money to an insurance company.

2. When your home vet recommends you to do testing on your animal (i.e. ultrasound which can cost around $700) because they are unsure, do not underestimate them and do it. My biggest regret is not investing in this further while Tigger had enough muscles to tap into his energy reserve if he needed for after surgery. Tigger was a very vocal and energetic cat so it was very deceiving.

3. When your cat has diarrhea multiple times, this is a bad sign. Take your cat to the vet. Run tests. I stuck to doing various food trial and errors and deeply regretting this choice.  I should have done my research earlier that bengals are more prone to Inflamed Bowel Disease. If you can catch this earlier, IBD seems to be manageable with steroid treatment and diet but talk to your home vet. Pure bred cats just seem to be more prone to IBD so please consider this before you invite them into your life. 

4. Try and take your animal during weekdays as the vet and emergency hospital hours are extremely fickle. We had to pass an entire weekend to have access to ultrasound and a radiologist to operate it. Absolutely ridiculous and I am planning on writing a formal complaint to the veterinary board. 

5. Vets and Animal Emergency Hospitals have to be more transparent with their pricing. While I was under high emotional stress, the financial part of things each time was an added layer of distress. This I will also address with the board. If you happen to have a contact there, please pass it along to me.  

6. I don't recommend going to the Toronto West Emergency Hospital unless it's for an acute case. It is significantly small there with 3-4 hour wait time. They are not well equipped with machines. I wish I went to the Scarborough Emergency Hospital from the beginning. However! People do say and I did have one of the doctors admit, the Scarborough Emergency Hospital does charge a higher price than other places. This I really had to weigh it out. I really didn't like the idea of keep transferring Tigger from one place to another because of a freaking lack of machines and technicians there to operate. 

7. I highly recommend Dr. Jason Donohoe at the Scarborough Emergency Hospital but avoid Dr. Kimberly Turnquest at all cost. She is very abrasive, demanding, insensitive, passive, aggressive and condescending.  She does not know how to handle her work stress or life stress at all and tries to rush you. Tigger was first seen by her when he was admitted into the emergency and she was quick to judge that I should euthanize him. I basically waited for her shift to end so it's a different doctor that euthanized Tigger. Thank goodness the universe has connected Tigger and I with Dr. Jason Donohoe who is compassionate, respectful and caring, you can really hear it in his voice. He is a total professional and I'm thankful Tigger was seen by him majority of the time during my one week nightmare. Thank you Dr. Jason Donohoe, if you ever happen to catch this on the interweb. As for Dr. Michael Ethier, I feel like he is right in between Dr. Donohoe and Dr. Turnquest. He was doing well at the beginning of the conversation but I heard a lot of frustration in his voice towards the end of my conversation with him but I think he really wanted me to see the clear picture that Tigger's recovery was like 5-10% chance and with that I had a crazy uphill battle with potential IBD or lymphoma and kidney disease. In a way, I think he was really just trying to be real with me. But he did give me the schpiel that they can't be doing their work for free and they have bills to pay and 150 staff to pay. This was extremely unnecessary to mention.  I as the customer had to reassure him that I was thankful and grateful that they exist. Oh and I have something to say about Dr. Leung as well. I had a very similar attitude-y conversation with her like Dr. Turnquest. Part of me I think she was really trying to help me make sense of the reality but when she talks to you, she sound like she really lacks of compassion. I thought maybe she was very confident about what she was saying but it came across very abrasive and she made me feel like Tigger was just another cat. I understand they are in a line of work that is highly stressful so perhaps their management can do a better job at helping them access wellness/ mental health opportunities??