A cat owner forced to sell Taylor Swift memorabilia to pay a £4,000 vet bill after his pet swallowed a Nerf bullet said the expense did “not matter” as his cat is his “child”.
Nikos Manesis, a 28-year-old data scientist who lives in north London, realised his cat Socrates, affectionately known as Sock, was unwell on New Year’s Eve when vomiting followed an upset stomach.
He rushed the four-year-old British tabby to the vet on the last day of the year, and his cat was referred to the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals to face emergency surgery and a hefty £2,500 deposit.
Sock underwent an exploratory laparotomy to remove the foreign object on December 31, and though the ordeal was “stressful”, Nikos was “relieved” to have his beloved pet back home the next day.
He ended up paying a total of £4,055.84 in vet bills as he did not have insurance, and to help cover the cost, Nikos created a GoFundMe campaign and sold Taylor Swift memorabilia, raising around £1,050.
The experience was a wake-up call for Nikos, who now urges other pet owners to get insurance and has become extra vigilant in keeping his home safe for cats.
Nikos told PA Real Life: “It showed me how deeply I care for Sock and the lengths I will go to, without hesitation, to look after him.
“When we were at the vets, I thought I’ll just sell everything I have, it does not matter, he comes first.
“Being away from him was very painful for me, and I’m sure for him, because my cat is my child.”
Nikos and his housemate have raised Sock and his brother Bob since they were kittens.
Sock has always been “mischievous,” which means he can often be found opening doors, climbing on surfaces, and hunting for small objects to chew on.
Over Christmas, while his housemate was away, Nikos stayed home with the cats and noticed Sock had an upset stomach.
Sock began “meowing to signal he didn’t feel right”, and as the days passed, he started vomiting.
By New Year’s Eve, his condition had not improved, and Nikos took him to the vet that morning.
He recalled: “The vets asked me what he could have possibly ingested, and it was then I realised it was probably something like a Nerf bullet.
“I didn’t know exactly what the culprit was, but he loves to swallow and chew any plastic, chewy thing he can find.”
Nerf bullets are foamy projectiles which can be fired by popular gun-like toys.
The vets suggested a scan as they were uncertain whether Sock could pass the object naturally.
At this point, the topic of pet insurance came up, which Nikos admitted he did not have as he “just hadn’t thought of it”.
The scan confirmed there was a foreign object in Sock’s stomach and he was referred to the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals.
Vets there explained the object appeared “stuck” and Sock seemed “uncomfortable”, so surgery was necessary.
“I was a mess that day – I spent the whole day at the hospital, not knowing exactly what he’d swallowed,” Nikos explained.
“And then there was the topic of money, because they needed a deposit for half of the treatment, based on their maximum estimate.”
On the spot, Nikos had to pay £2,500, and Sock was kept overnight.
“It was a horrible day that just kept getting worse,” Nikos said.
“Half of it was spent worrying about Sock’s health – I would have done anything, which is why I opted for all the exams and tests instead of just bringing him home.
“But then there was also the cost.
“I had to figure out how much I could gather quickly, and I knew I’d only have about 24 hours to sort the rest.
“It wasn’t a very good New Year’s Eve.”
Sock underwent an exploratory laparotomy, a procedure where the abdomen is opened and the organs examined.
The vets removed the foreign object, gave Sock painkillers, and kept him on opioids for pain management.
He stayed at the hospital for monitoring and was expected to remain there for a few more days.
On New Year’s Day, the vets called to say Sock was “not very happy” and was “basically refusing” to wear a cone, so they decided it would be best for him to go home later that day.
When picking Sock up, vets handed Nikos a vial with the foreign object which he instantly recognised to be the tip of a Nerf bullet.
Nikos said: “It came out of Sock in the exact same shape and colour, completely unaltered by stomach acids or anything.
“We used to keep bags of bullets in a cupboard, but Sock must have found the bag and started playing with it.”
Nikos was incredibly “happy and relieved” to finally have Sock home.
He added: “He’s the LOML (love of my life) and I couldn’t imagine him being away from me or his environment.
“He just wanted to be held and to go home. He was perfect with me, clinging to me and mostly sleeping during the first day of recovery.
“His neck was shaved, and his whole belly was exposed, so I had to get him a little jacket because he wouldn’t tolerate a cone. I wasn’t surprised – he’s very bossy by nature and quite opinionated.”
The total cost of treatment included £308.89 for the initial consultation, a £2,500 deposit at the hospital, and £1,246.95 in discharge fees.
To cover the expenses, Nikos launched a GoFundMe, raising £550 from loved ones and strangers, which he found “sweet and surprising”.
He also sold Taylor Swift memorabilia, including signed CDs and vinyl records he had collected over the years, raising another £500.
Nikos shares videos of his cat alongside Taylor Swift fan content on TikTok under the handle @socraticpawsdepartment, which he believes helped boost donations and sales.
He stayed home for the rest of the week to ensure Sock was eating and drinking and after three days, the pet was “back to his old self”.
Reflecting on the ordeal, Nikos said it reinforced how much he loves his cat.
To other pet owners, he said: “I have one word – insurance.
“If I had insurance, it would have made everything less stressful, I can’t believe I didn’t have it.”
To donate to Nikos’s GoFundMe, visit: www.gofundme.com/f/sock-recovery-fund.
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