We rescued a cat earlier this year before we moved back across the country. Friendliest and most affectionate cat I've ever come across - starts purring immediately whenever you're within about five feet of him, nuzzles, comes and jumps up and hangs out in your lap, etc. I don't mind cats, but I honestly didn't want this one. That being said, the little guy's really grown on me.
He was originally from Mexico, and came here with a litany of health problems. Chronic conjunctivitis, upper respiratory issues (usually has some snot running down his nose and sneezes occasionally), and was underweight when we got him. We got him to gain weight, and all was good.
He gradually stopped eating a couple days ago - unusual because he normally eats enough for two cats
- and I woke up for work to see a suspicious stain in one of our chairs where he had been sleeping the night prior. Turns out it was vomit, which is something he's not done (to my knowledge) in the past 8 or so months we've had him. We scheduled him for a vet appointment, and the soonest they could get him in was Saturday.
He ended up throwing up in his bed and I made the decision to take him to the ER. Thank goodness I did - he was severely dehydrated, has an upper respiratory infection, and conjunctivitis, all of which are being treated. But...
The most concerning thing was that the vet called us at 3 am to tell us that they had detected a lesion on his intestine and several swollen lymph nodes in his GI tract. An ultrasound this afternoon confirmed that he has a thickening of the intestinal wall - all signs pointing to the likely fact that he has lymphoma. They are going to sedate him and draw some fluid from his lymph nodes for testing, but we're already gearing up for the worst.
We'll know more in the coming weeks, but it fucking sucks, man. Seriously, one of the absolute sweetest pets I've ever had. He's feeling a lot better, is able to eat again, and is his normal, happy, friendly and affectionate self again, so we'll be bringing him home tonight and then figuring out the next course of treatment. He's a pretty young cat, so it sucks that he's likely going to get a much shorter life than he should have.
Sorry to grave dig an old and depressing thread, but I just needed to vent a bit. Hug your fur babies close - you never know when shit's gonna go south. I know I didn't wake up yesterday morning planning to spend 3K in emergency vet bills, but here we are.
If you don't have it, pet insurance is a great investment. It won't help me pay for buddy boy's cancer-related expenses, as they don't cover pre-existing conditions, but it should come in handy as my dog starts to get older.
Fuck cancer. Thanks for reading.
