Fatima is a 13 year-old Siamese/Ragdoll mix, which makes her very fluffy and very little. Despite being a very good girl who has never done anything wrong in her entire life, she has had a very rough month.
A few weeks ago, our neighbor's apartment was bug-bombed, and all their infected furniture was moved onto their patio. Fatima got access to their patio and got the worst flea infestation I've ever seen. No OTC flea medication, shampoo or spray resolved the issue. She stopped eating her normal food, and it took a lot of coaxing for her to eat tuna.
At the vet, it was discovered that she was underweight and severely anemic (relatable queen, anemia runs in the family). At the emergency vet, she had a blood transfusion, two plasma transfusions, more flea medication, antibiotics and anxiety meds (anxiety also runs in the family). The emergency vet was so pleased with Fatima's improvements that she came home early, which kept her bill at a low $7,800.
Fatima had a follow-up appointment, where it was discovered that her anemia was even worse than before despite her improved weight, eating, and overall happy behavior. The emergency vet recommended that we put her down, or start her on a steroid treatment.
On her next follow-up, it was discovered that the steroids were already effective, and she keeps getting better and happier. It's the beginning of her recovery, but we're all very excited at how happy she is. Fatima will be happy and fiesty for years to come.
After the specialty food, 10+ prescriptions, hospital and general veterinary bills, she has incurred more than $9000 in bills. This is especially burdensome as I was recently laid off and I am still working towards fulltime employment. We are lucky enough that savings covered what CareCredit couldn't, but we now have $7500 to pay back.
