Chapter 102: The Cat Is Critically Ill

Chapter 102: Kittens in Critical Condition

Xu Moxing's earlier refusal was genuine, but he wasn't that adamant.

Because the place was a bit far from the subway station, about a ten-minute walk, and from the nearest subway station to his rental place, it would take him another twenty minutes.

Given Xu Moxing's frugal nature, he had taken a cab in the emergency earlier, but now he would definitely be reluctant to spend money on a cab and would opt for the subway.

If Su Lichen drove, given it was late and traffic wasn't heavy, it would only take about twenty minutes to get there.

But the round trip for Su Lichen would be forty minutes, and Xu Moxing felt a bit embarrassed about it. Still, since Su Lichen insisted on driving him, he didn't object.

The two sat in the car, making small talk.

"Don't worry too much about the kittens. If needed, I can switch them to a different hospital."

Although Su Lichen had never owned cats, he had a feeling that hospital wasn't trustworthy.

"Okay, I have a colleague who has cats. I'll ask her tomorrow. I also think that hospital is sketchy."

They fell silent again.

Su Lichen drove, looking calm, but his mind was spinning to find topics for conversation.

"The weather is starting to get hot. It feels like it's heating up quickly this year."

"Yeah, maybe this summer will be much hotter than last year."

These topics kept the mood from getting awkward, and since they couldn't bring up the past, they just stuck to the weather, how the food was, and the kittens.

"You can drop me off at the intersection ahead. It'll be a pain for you to turn around later."

"Okay."

Su Lichen dropped him off at the intersection. Before closing the car door, Xu Moxing said, "I'm heading back. Drive safe."

"Alright, bye."

Su Lichen kept the perfect distance—not too close to annoy Xu Moxing, nor too cold to seem distant.

The next day, Xu Moxing immediately asked Xiao Ke at work.

Xiao Ke had mentioned before that she owned a cat and had spent a lot on its medical bills.

"Are those two cats you rescued?"

"Yeah, a friend adopted them, but yesterday they were vomiting and having diarrhea."

"Then you need to take them to a vet. The main issue is that your kittens are too young. When I got my cat, it was already a year old. I don't have much experience with kittens. If it gets serious, it's better to switch hospitals. A lot of pet hospitals I've been to just push a ton of tests and keep asking for money, and sometimes they end up killing the cat anyway."

Xiao Ke recommended a veterinarian to him.

"He's an old vet. After retiring, he opened a small clinic himself. His treatment methods are no-nonsense and direct, but he'll tell you the risks and if he can't help, he'll say so. Anyway, I trust him. His prices are fair, and he's honest—no registration fees or anything.

But his clinic doesn't have a lot of diagnostic gear. If he suspects something but isn't sure, he'll send you to a hospital with the proper equipment for relevant tests. I think this saves you a ton of money."

"Okay, thank you."

Xu Moxing made a mental note, pulled out his phone, and messaged Su Lichen.

Su Lichen had also contacted him before work, giving him an update on the kittens.

—Morning, Mo. The two kittens seem okay, pretty lively. No vomiting seen. I'll check on them at lunch if I can squeeze it in.

Xu Moxing replied right away—Good morning. Got it, thanks for your help. I'll ask my coworker as soon as I get in.

Now that Xu Moxing had asked Xiao Ke and added the vet's contact, he also sent the vet's info to Su Lichen.

At noon, Su Lichen texted him.

"It's not looking good." Su Lichen's voice was raspy. "They started throwing up and having diarrhea again. Before, the tabby only threw up once and wasn't that bad. The tuxedo cat was worse. Now the tuxedo is worse, and the tabby is too. I'm taking them to that vet."

"Okay, let me know if you need anything."

Su Lichen didn't have time to text back; he was busy driving to the clinic.

The clinic was way out—it would take Su Lichen an hour to get there.

Xu Moxing couldn't nap well during his lunch break, but he figured Su Lichen probably hadn't made it yet, and even if he had, he'd be busy communicating with the vet and wouldn't have time to contact him.

There was a long line at the vet, but since the kittens were critical, they got rushed in.

The vet looked at the kittens' condition and after asking about the details, said, "I'm suspecting it's feline distemper. Both had stinky poop. Let's test for distemper first? It's 30 yuan per test—cheap."

"Test them."

After the test, they were both diagnosed with feline distemper. The little tabby was tougher, so he showed symptoms later.

Su Lichen was pretty pissed. That crappy pet hospital charged him five grand—running stomach tests, blood tests, X-rays, and every scan imaginable—without even testing for distemper.

According to this current vet, the foul smell is a typical sign of feline distemper, so how could that other hospital have the nerve to charge him that much?

It wasn't the money—it was that the money was wasted, and that they'd missed the best chance to treat them.

"They're too young, and the condition has worsened. Leave them here for hospitalization. But feline distemper has a high mortality rate, especially for such small kittens. There's no guarantee they'll survive. Put down five hundred yuan as a deposit. We'll figure out the rest later."

"Alright."

Su Lichen paid promptly.

The doctor continued examining the kittens.

"Also, this tuxedo cat has a hernia. Since it's still so young, if it survives, it will need surgery when it's older. Otherwise, it's also dangerous."

If it survives... it'll have to go through more pain later, right?

Su Lichen figured it would take him another hour to get back, so he simply took the afternoon off and stayed at the clinic to accompany the kittens.

Su Lichen felt quite heavy-hearted. To be honest, although he had only been with these two cats for a few days, they were indeed very cute.

In just a few days, Su Lichen had gotten attached and didn't want to lose them.

"No matter how much it costs, I'll do my best to save you, okay? You have to fight to live. Otherwise, he will be sad too."

Su Lichen looked at the two listless kittens, feeling very down.

Around three in the afternoon, Xu Moxing, noticing that Su Lichen hadn't contacted him, couldn't help but call him.

"Hello? Mo?"

"Uh... Su Lichen, how are the kittens doing?"

Xu Moxing almost called him "A Li," but immediately realized his mistake and corrected himself.

"Distemper. They're hospitalized. They said there's no guarantee they'll survive, but they'll do their best."

Xu Moxing frowned. "Where are you? I'll come meet you after work."

"Don't come. This clinic is very remote, far from the city center. Let them get treated properly here. I left my number, and the doctor said he'll call if anything happens. I'll head back soon myself."

Xu Moxing's heart sank, but he felt helpless.

"Alright. I'll visit them this weekend."

"Yeah, we'll go together then."

Su Lichen didn't overthink it when he said that. He just thought that since both of them wanted to come, they might as well go together.

At that moment, he wasn't even thinking about pursuing Xu Moxing, and he wasn't trying to create more chances to see each other.

With the cats in this state, he was in no mood for such things.

After a brief conversation, they hung up, and Xu Moxing went back to work.

If it had been before, Xu Moxing would have been tormented, even blaming himself, feeling that he should go see the cats, that he had to go see them, to accompany them, so he could come across as a good and decent person.

Because only by going to great lengths to sacrifice himself could his kindness seem so precious.

But that was a twisted kind of self-sacrifice. He could be upset that he couldn't go be with the cats, but now he no longer forced himself to do things that might drag him down.

Those moves that made him feel good about himself, that would earn him praise and admiration from others, didn't actually help the cats in any real way.

Instead of going to accompany the kittens, he'd be better off earning more money, to better cover the ongoing treatment costs.

After work, Xu Moxing even went ahead and sent a message to Su Lichen: "You back yet?"

Su Lichen replied quickly: "I'm back. The kittens were doing okay before I left. Are you off work? Get some rest. We'll go see them together this weekend."

"Alright. See you this weekend."

That night, Xu Moxing didn't sleep well.

He lay in bed staring at the ceiling, picturing the two cats.

He took out his phone and opened the photo album.

Even though he had only spent a few days with them, Xu Moxing's album was filled with dozens of photos and videos of the cats.

Such adorable cats, how could anyone bear to abandon them?

Yesterday, he ran into a tenant from the same building and talked about the kittens.

"I picked them up from a trash can. Someone just threw them into the trash bin next to our building. They couldn't even climb out of it, and were meowing nonstop inside. I fished them out and put them at the stairwell entrance."

The tenant, who had lived here longer, told Xu Moxing, "I think someone from this building abandoned them. There's a household upstairs that keeps cats. Lately, I've been hearing their cat in heat all the time, and the owner usually plays with it—you can tell from the footsteps. But recently, there's been nothing. I suspect the adult cat might have died. That household isn't responsible with animals. Their cat goes into heat every year, yowling wildly in the middle of the night, but they never take it to be neutered."

Xu Moxing felt both frustrated and angry.

Seeing how indignant Xu Moxing was, the tenant shook his head and spoke like he'd seen it all.

"These people don't really love their cats. To them, cats are just a pastime. If they change jobs or move and it's inconvenient, they just dump them. They can always get a new one when they feel like it. There are a lot of stray cats around here, all abandoned by tenants who moved away and didn't want to take them. Stick around, and you'll see."

Xu Moxing got a real, firsthand look at the dark side of human nature.