Back in December, I had to rush Bowie to the ER. He was convulsing and unresponsive. I didn't know at the time, but he was having a seizure which was then followed by a string of seizures; he was in critical condition for almost a week. Dating back to when I first got him in October, he exhibited behavior that worried me; he was erratic and disoriented, he hid in his litter box, drooled excessively, and became aggressive when I tried to comfort him. We went to several vets, but I was always told there was nothing wrong with him. It got progressively worse leading up to the seizure that landed him in the ER. It was a terrifying ordeal, but I finally found out what was wrong with him. Bowie was born with a liver shunt; it's a birth defect that was causing his health issues. It's very rare in cats, so I lucked out that 1 of the 3 vets that were tending to him at the emergency clinic listened to me and knew about this condition; he saved Bowie’s life.

Bowie was finally able to come home, on Christmas Eve no less, after having been diagnosed with hepatic encephalopathy (damage to the brain caused by liver issues) due to his shunt. His liver is unable to do its job of filtering out naturally occurring waste products from his blood before they circulate to his brain, which causes damage to his brain cells that manifest as seizures at first, but can progress to a coma, and death. These waste products are from the breakdown of food so this happens after every meal, which is why living with this shunt is so dangerous for his health and why he urgently needs surgery to correct it.

Unfortunately, the medications he’s on aren’t working. In the last few weeks, his health has been declining; he's having kidney issues which may cause long-term damage; he's having seizures again and fits of erratic behavior with physical signs that he's in pain. It breaks my heart that he’s been through so much already; he’s not even a year old. I just want to give him a chance at a healthy and full life. I have been trying to make this happen on my own, but I am worried that the more time that passes, the more likely this is to do permanent damage to his health, or worse. I wouldn’t be asking for help if it wasn’t an emergency. If you are able to, please consider donating so that I can get Bowie the surgery he desperately needs before his condition worsens. Thank you!