Urgent Care for Felix's Severe Condition

6/23 @ 5:40AM

***Felix has passed on...all donations will now go toward the bill for his euthanasia and cremation..his quality of life would not have been fair if I kept testing and furthering his suffering out of my own selfishness..thank you everyone. I'm behind broken right now..but he's no longer in pain and just, free..he lived a happy, healthy and deeply loved 10 years and 1 month.***

6/22: It's been a decade since I've felt the need to do this and I hate that it's coming at the literal worst time, giving the state of the world/economy and I'm the worst at asking for help, but for Felix I'm swallowing all my pride..

I'm sorry to anyone the photos might trigger, I just wanted to be transparent in the severity of his experience cause people are advantageous online and grift others for money in every way they can with fake stories and the like and this cat is far from anything if not my FAMILY. I've had him since he was 8 weeks old, he fit in the palm of my hand, and he's never in his 10 years of life been sick, ever. Always the picture of health and here I was thinking him and I were so lucky. But I know not all good things last and today was the test of that. He's been unable to hold down food or liquids for 12 hours now, and I just left the emergency vet (MedVet in Pittsburgh to be exact) where we kept him as comfortable as possible, gave him IV fluids and IV Cerenia to keep his poor tummy as settled as possible, he'd made that massive puddle of vomit in the photos literally minutes before I got in the car and drove him like a mad-woman to the nearest place that could help him urgently on a Sunday.

My regular vet (Bridgeville Animal Hospital) is down to 1 doctor and their scheduling is incredibly overbooked so they can't see him for the time being and even still, when explaining his severe nausea and rapid weight loss, 3lbs in 6 months, they consider it better for me to do tests they simply can't do there, for example an x-ray, and possibly an ultrasound. Right now the suspicion is a GI block, and when I Google what waiting on that can do and see that it COULD take him from me I can't keep my eyes dry. Tonight is going to be a long night for me and the little guy of monitoring and hoping, and praying. I lost a cat to very similar symptoms just 3 months before I adopted Felix and the thought of going through that again kills me. Before he started feeling like this he was playful, chatty, LOVED his wet food and treats, now he's got a weak meow, won't touch any of his foods or drink but hopefully the IV fluids keep him hydrated enough for the next day or so, I see him trying to drink, but just wets his nose and walks away to lie down again, seeing him like this makes me gain a new level of respect for parents who have to watch their kids in discomfort and ill I can't even imagine what that must be like but perhaps close to this, my heart is in anguish.

The visit to MedVet today ran a total of $450 between the visit/treatment/bloodwork which wasn't even a full panel just the basic one that wouldn't show me if it's something to do with hypothyroidism/signs of cancer/etc and that's because between talks with the techs/doctor the price hikes with every breath he takes, I understand, it's an *emergency* vet. Tomorrow I have to "shop" around for a vet that does have the equipment he needs to run further tests and I'm being quoted anywhere between another $200-500 for an x-ray/visit and if it's a blockage like they suspect, it'll mean surgery which will be at least another $1k+ and in my financial situation would mean putting him down and I don't even want to hear that option..he's still got so many years ahead of him and I can't take that away from him. I was laid off on December 2024 and I've been hush about it with everyone except close loved ones because, well it was personal, but now my boy Felix is on the line and it's going to take months for me to build up my savings to be able to save him AND keep rent paid at the same time. I don't start my new job until June 30th and even then it'll be 3 weeks til my first pay and he can't wait that long.

I'm beyond embarrassed to have had to come to this but it's all for him. I don't expect nor want exorbitant donations even a single $1 will give us hope, what I aim for is to reach as many people as possible to expand and realize this goal as fast and emergently as possible so I can schedule him for what he needs because these vets don't bill to your home like a hospital would to a human, they expect payment then and there at the time of the visit..please, please please share if you can't donate, I wholeheartedly understand. I just desperately want him healthy and happy again.

[Update 6/23: The iv Cerenia didn't even last 12hrs and I was told it would last at least 24.. It's now 3am and I'm back at the emergency vet because no one else is open, I don't have a choice. They said I should bring him back..I'll likely have to raise the goal, I'm alone in the waiting area trying to keep my head together.]