My name is Karen Mitchell.
Five months ago, I thought I was doing everything right.
I live in Portland with my partner Matt and our 8-year-old tabby, Lucy.
Prednisolone for the vomiting. Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein. Cerenia for the nausea. FortiFlora on everything. Lucy was diagnosed with IBD nine months ago, and I was following the vet's plan to the letter.
Or so I thought...
That's why when Lucy threw up four times in one day on a Thursday, I almost didn't panic.
It was so normal by then I nearly missed how bad it had gotten.
Lucy hadn't kept a full meal down in weeks. She'd eat a few bites, walk away, and whatever she kept down would come back up an hour later looking exactly how it went in. Undigested. Like her body didn't even try.
"She's just having a bad week," I told Matt. "The new food needs time."
But by Friday morning, Lucy was in the corner of the bathroom with her eyes half closed. When I picked her up, I could feel every bone in her spine.
I hopped in my car and went straight to the emergency vet.
The emergency vet's words hit me like a truck: Severe muscle wasting. Dangerously dehydrated. Malnourished.
"Her inflammation is consistent with IBD that's been progressing. Cats in this condition can decline very quickly," Dr. Lin said as her team started IV fluids.
Four hours and $3,800 later, Lucy was stable.
But then Dr. Lin said something that changed everything:
"This didn't happen because the steroids aren't working. It happened because the prescription food can't deliver the one nutrient her body needs to digest anything."