One year, for my birthday, my sister gave me this coffee cup…It was true.

My little Elvis was a friend like no other. He was a full time job, but he was no work at all.

It was in May 2025 that he began to have some physical problems. We took him to the vet right away.

Dr. Bradberry ordered:

Catalyst Chem 17
CBC w/Diff.
t4/SDMA Catalyst Test
Electrolyte test
Urinalysis-Sedivus/UA/Bact Confirmation
Fluids
Cerenia
Pepcid
Gabapentin
and a prescription for a new special cat food.

She found nothing wrong with his heart, kidneys, or liver and she was very specific about his kidneys and liver. After that visit, Elvis stopped vomiting and seemed to be okay until July. We went back for another cerenia injection and fluids.

Right after Labor Day he began showing signs of swelling in his abdomen. This time we saw Dr. Thoma. She ordered the Catalyst Chem 17 again and afterwards gave us the bad news. His liver was failing. She asked me if I would consider euthanasia, to which I shook my head. Never would I give up so easily on my beloved baby cat. I asked if there was anything I could do to save him. So she drained the fluid in his abdomen and wrote 3 prescriptions:

Furosemide liquid (2x daily for fluid retention)
S-Adenosyl Methionine liquid (2x daily for liver support)
and Mirataz ointment (1x daily in the ear for increased appetite).

We went through several different brands of food to find something Elvis would eat. His interest would pique and then fall away leaving me to start over. Eventually I would spoon feed him.

There would be 2 more visits to Dr. Thoma because of fluid buildup. Then Elvis began to refuse his medicine. I would roll him up like a burrito and if I managed to get the medicine in him, he would eliminate it as soon as I put him down on the floor.

After much urging from my daughters, I finally made an appointment with San Jose-Beauclerc Animal Clinic and took Elvis to see Dr. Holly on November 26th. Amanda came along. The vet requested Elvis’ records from his previous appointments and ordered more tests. Dr. Holly advised me that Elvis had possibly one of these three conditions: Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), GI Lymphoma, or Liver Cancer. She said we could make him comfortable, but it would only give us [maybe] a few weeks with him. She prescribed Prednisolone (2x daily). I’m not sure why but was a lot easier for him to keep down. Probably because it didn’t smell like old meat.

We spent the rest of his days doing whatever Elvis wanted to do, which was sitting out on the patio

or being in my arms

…sometimes all night long.

On Monday following his last appointment I noticed blood in his litter box. I called Dr. Holly. When she returned to the office she called back and let me know what I already knew.

Elvis passed away while we were sitting in our spot on the sofa.

It was Sunday December 7 around 5:45 PM. LB and I will never forget that day.

The reason I’m putting this in writing is to remind myself that I did everything that I could to save my sweet little cat.