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BY Capital & Main

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One day in 2024, Justin Laudadio found his cat, Chicken, writhing on the floor of his home in Feasterville, Pennsylvania, apparently in the midst of a seizure. Laudadio put Chicken in a carrier and raced to a veterinary hospital, preemptively grieving the whole way.

The veterinarians were able to stabilize Chicken, a brown tabby who was about 12 years old and diabetic, during a three-day hospital stay. Though he was diagnosed with acromegaly, a hormonal disorder caused by a benign pituitary gland tumor, it never became entirely clear what caused the seizure.

But one thing was very clear: Chicken’s care was going to be costly. Even before extra testing that would add thousands of dollars, the bill was $9,500. It was an eye-watering figure, but Laudadio and his wife, Airy, agreed to cover it before they even knew whether Chicken would make it.…