A Florida woman says a stressful and costly veterinary emergency took an unexpectedly hilarious turn after a pharmacist at her cat’s hospital sent her a follow-up text that perfectly echoed a beloved animated movie quote.
Ashley Alleman, 31, rushed her 5-year-old cat Kuzco to an emergency veterinary hospital earlier this year when he suddenly developed a dangerously high fever.
After two nights in care, veterinarians diagnosed him with bartonella—better known as cat scratch fever—and began treatment.
But while the $4,000 bill left her reeling, it was the day-after discharge message from the hospital’s pharmacy supervisor, Dan, that shocked her for a very different reason.
Dan’s text—meant to update her on Kuzco’s antibiotic prescription—mirrored one of the most iconic lines from The Emperor’s New Groove, the Disney movie whose main character shares her cat’s name.
In the film, Kronk famously recites: “The poison. The poison for Kuzco. The poison chosen especially to kill Kuzco. Kuzco’s poison.” Dan’s message swapped “poison” for “antibiotic,” and the playful reference immediately clicked.
Alleman couldn’t stop laughing. “When I got the text I immediately shared it with friends because it made me laugh,” she told Newsweek. “Clearly he got the assignment.”
What Is Bartonella?
Bartonella is a bacterial infection transmitted mainly through fleas. Fleas carry the bacteria in their droppings, and when cats scratch, groom or bite themselves, the bacteria can enter through tiny wounds in their skin.
Symptoms include high fever, lethargy or weakness, loss of appetite, swollen lymph nodes and mouth or gum inflammation.
Mild cases often see cats recover quickly with antibiotics, but more serious cases like Kuzco’s can be life threatening. The condition has also been known to pass to humans in some cases.
After receiving the text, Alleman’s friends insisted she post the message on TikTok—where it quickly took off, gaining more than 3 million views.
In the comments, people shared their own experiences of pet name jokes with the vets.
“My cats name is Owen Wilson, our vet ends everything with ‘wow’,” shared one commenter.
Another wrote: “My cats name is diploma and when we go to the vets they call him out by going ‘looking for one smart kitty?’”
“We have Star Wars pet names our vet puts ‘May the force be with you’ on their meds,” said another viewer.
“The amount of interaction the video had blew me away,” Alleman said.
The best part? Pharmacist Dan had no idea he’d gone viral until Kuzco returned for a follow-up exam five days later.
“Pharmacist Dan made sure to stop in the exam room to tell me people were blowing up his phone over the TikTok,” Alleman said. “I hadn’t even shared the post with him, so that made me laugh.”
Despite the scare—and the hefty vet bill—Kuzco is now doing much better on antibiotics. And thanks to Dan’s spot-on movie reference, Alleman says the ordeal at least came with one perfectly timed moment of comic relief.
Cat Owner Faced With $4,000 Medical Bill-Then Vet Sends Unexpected Text
