Athena and Lee Duncan, their 2-year-old son Gavin and two cats moved to Whidbey Island this fall from Gulfport, Miss. Although the cross-country moved was expensive, the family was able to keep the family’s pet cats.

“We got here on the skin of our teeth,” Athena said.

Three months new to Oak Harbor, the Navy family had little money for the holidays, let alone vet bills.

Yet one week before Christmas, one of the family’s felines, Bubba, began acting strangely. By Thursday, the cat couldn’t eat or drink. He walked funny and then not at all. Bubba’s condition continued to deteriorate.

Unsure what to do, the Duncans turned to Whidbey Animals’ Improvement Foundation for help. The well-known island animal shelter couldn’t provide veterinary care for the ailing cat, but the shelter staff suggested the family consult Best Friends Veterinary Center in Oak Harbor.

On Friday, one week before Christmas, Dr. Erica Syring of Best Friends delivered news they’d been dreading. Without immediate care, Bubba’s condition would be fatal.

The cat’s bladder was blocked by crystal in his urine. Filled to capacity, the cat’s bladder was rock hard, said Dr. Syring. The urine would quickly and painfully result in kidney failure unless treated. But the procedure was expensive.

“When animals can’t urinate, it only takes about 12 hours to become deathly ill,” the vet said.

The Duncans were beside themselves. There was no way they could pay for the procedure, let alone a three-day vet stay, Athena said.

“They were getting ready to put him down for us,” she said.

The holiday spirit and little Gavin’s bond with Bubba pulled at clinic staff’s heartstrings.

While pregnant with Gavin, Athena and her husband had adopted Bubba as a 6-month-old kitten from the Gulfport Humane Society. These two have grown up together, Athena said of her son’s bond with the family cat.

“It was just too close to Christmas for a family with a little boy who really loved that cat,” Dr. Syring said of the staff’s decision to cover Bubba’s vet bill.

Syring did her best to keep costs to a minimum and the employees chipped in to cover the rest.

“It’s really a reflection of the people we have working here,” Dr. Syring said. “It’s a hard place to work when people bring in their pets and can’t afford to fix them.”

Best Friends office staff contributes to an emergency fund for just such an occasion, the vet said, although the funds are used with discretion.

“We use the funds for animals who are still relatively young and healthy and who won’t require expensive long-term treatments to stay well,” she said of the emergency fund.

“We just ask that the Duncans contribute to the fund when they are able so we can help another family,” Dr. Syring said.

The Duncans are grateful for the compassionate vets and staff at Best Friends.

“They gave us our Christmas miracle,” Duncan said. “It’s a really good reminder of what you have, and how easily it can be taken away.”