TikTok paid my vet bills

In the middle of this past November, I moved into a new apartment. It was just me and my cat. No roommates. No cosigner. I had counted down the days to moving in and newfound freedom. It was supposed to be Happy and I against the world, but things don't always go as planned. Happy, my cat, died the night we moved in.

He was seven years old. Aside from the majority of his teeth being removed in the spring, he was in excellent health until all of a sudden, he rapidly wasn't. I rushed him to an emergency vet clinic during the move-in process. He went through several tests, and the vet said he would be fine.

"It's just stress."

Moving is hard on cats. Happy never handled relocating well, but he started showing symptoms the day before we moved, before I even had my belongings packed up.

The morning after we moved in, I found my boy dead on the bathroom floor.

This wasn't your average cat. I got him partially under the recommendation of the therapist I was seeing at the time. He was meant to be an emotional support animal, and I had worked with him excessively over the years to nudge me out of anxiety attacks. He lived with me in the dorms for a while when I was a Resident Assistant during my senior year of college. My followers on TikTok adored him. A part of me died when he did.

After all of that, I had almost $600 in vet bills to pay off for a cat they didn't actually help, and the bill was going up with cremation costs. The move-in expenses took up most of my savings. I was heartbroken and stressed beyond anything I could actually process.

I made a TikTok to update my followers when I was able to compose myself a bit. I had just reached 10,000 and been accepted into the Creator Fund, so I asked for them to interact. Even if it was pennies I'd be making from views, I needed everything I could get.

Before this, I had seen TikTok help people this way. I didn't ask for donations. The thought wasn't even on my mind. I made the video, I called a friend to come sit with me, and I tried to eat for the first time in over 24 hours. By the time I checked my phone three hours later, my vet bill was covered.

Over 32,000 people saw my video in that span of time. There were hundreds of likes, comments, and shares. People sent me money through Venmo and Paypal with kind comments and condolences. I never could have imagined that response.

I switched the video setting over the private in the app so no one knew could see it at that point. I could pay the original vet bill with what kind strangers had sent me, and I had a start on the cremation expense, which ended up being another $250.

As soon as I could, I posted an update explaining why I took the video down and saying my thanks. I couldn't let people continue sending me money after the expense was covered. I was helped drastically in one of my lowest moments, and I would never take advantage of that kindness.

A few people sent money after the update regardless with reminders to eat, instructions to order a pizza, or something similar. I still don't think I've said thank you enough.

After the fact, I've accepted the likely cause of death of my beloved cat was the lilies my former roommates had refused to remove from the house (lilies are extremely toxic to cats and the symptoms matched). I took some time to grieve. Now, I have a new kitten, and she is just as loved online. She hangs out on livestreams with me and occasionally gets her own video. I couldn't have gotten her if I was still paying off those vet bills, so it's nice to see that the community I've ended up with online is almost as happy to have her around as I am.