Last month we celebrated a very, very special birthday. My sweet (and spicy) cat Little turned 17 this year, and I am beyond blessed to have had so many years with my best friend. Truth be told, I never imagined we would get to this birthday. Little has been on a wild ride since he was 10 years old.
In January of 2018 he had emergency (life saving) surgery for a blocked urethra from a struvite crystal (sadly common for male cats.) In December of 2018 he was first diagnosed with early stage kidney disease. In November of 2020 he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, and had to have a radioactive iodine treatment to complete cure it. In May of 2023 he had a vomit fest leading to a misdiagnosis of IBD, when in reality homie was severely constipated.
This resulted in months of steroids he did not need, and I completely overhauled his diet. I never believed he had IBD and after switching to a new vet I was affirmed in my belief.
In February of 2024 he took a trip to the ER (on my birthday) after five days without a BM. Three weeks later we were back in the ER for the same issue (we have since dialed in on this.) And most recently, in April of 2025 he had a double ear infection, but received a misdiagnosis of being BLIND…more on that in a minute.
So yeah, 17 is a big deal. Despite all the above listed ailments, overall he has lived a very healthy life. His kidney disease is chronic, but ironically this issue has been the least of our worries thus far (aside from contributing to constipation and nausea in his geriatric years.) If you have been a regular reader (or are a real life pal) you will know this cat is my world. Each day with him is a special gift I don’t take for granted.
When shit first hit the fan in 2018 there was no guarantee his emergency surgery would work. I knew we had to try despite the gargantuan price tag, and here we are seven years later. Worth every penny.
Admittedly I might be a bit too attached to my cat, and I have extreme separation anxiety after all the chaos we’ve been through lately. This makes his birthday celebrations extra special because I get to celebrate the wins. For his birthday this year he received a new floppy fish toy from Duncan, a new peacock feather from me, and various treats to snack on while us humans ate apple pie. He also donned a very special birthday boy hat, and he was a true sport about this one.
We also took a special birthday car ride, which is the same as a regular car ride, but with his party hat. He only wore it long enough for me to snap a photo, and then he lounged in the back taking in the sights as we slowwwllyy drove. After his misdiagnosis of having IBD I stopped letting him in the backyard incase the grass was aggravating his stomach.
Instead I took him in the car (sans vet carrier) to see if he would enjoy it, and the rest is history.
Although this celebration was mostly for me to have special memories, I would like to think he had a joyful time. During this day I noticed him scratching his ears and shaking his head, and I then noticed it happening each day after for about four days. I called my vet suspecting he had an ear infection, but unfortunately my vet was on vacation.
I was able to see the urgent care doctor on shift that same day, but because my cat is so incredibly spicy at the vet she was unable to handle him. He usually gets a big hit of gabapentin before we go, but I don’t think he had enough time for the drugs to kick in. This vet took him in the back room (despite me telling her I’d have better luck getting him out of his carrier if he stayed with me in the original room, but whatever) for ten minutes before finally let me come back to help.
She proceeded to tell me she did a vision test on him and that he was completely blind. Insert wtf emoji here. I knew he wasn’t blind, but I was so taken aback that I didn’t know what to say. She was about to send me home with nothing more than a quack diagnosis so I asked her if I could swab his ears for her, because I knew he wasn’t scratching his head due to detached retinas.
Sure enough, double ear infection.
The lesson here is to always be the advocate for your pet. Being a vet is HARD, I don’t deny that, but we know our pets better than anyone and I knew he had something wrong with his ears. Just to be sure, I came home that day and brought out the laser. The vet told me he likely still played with his toys because he could hear them, but I figured if he could hear light then he was a wizard.
He chased that laser like he was five years old.
Like I said, this cat has had quite the medical journey, but he is still plugging along bringing me more joy than I could ever imagine possible. Admittedly I have spent the past two years waiting for the next shoe to drop. I obsessively monitor his bathroom and eating habits, his energy levels, his mobility, and his overall demeanor. It seems just when things calm down something else happens, but I am trying my best to enjoy each day individually.
Anticipatory grief is rough. I find myself getting stuck in loops of sadness for when he is no longer with me all while he is very much still alive.
I don’t want to look back on this time and regret living too far in the future, so I will leave it at this: happy birthday to my geriatric feline, thank you for 17 amazing years thus far.
Q: Have you ever received a misdiagnoses from your vet? If you don’t have pets have you received one for yourself!? Anyone else have a bionic pet like mine who continues to survive everything thrown their way?
Blissfulbritt 