An agressive sarcoma forced me to make a difficult choice for my cat Coco. Thank you for reading about her cancer story. Even if you can’t donate, please share this Gofundme. I'm grateful for your interest and I believe this will make a difference!

 

I adopted Coco in 2019 during a dark, lonely time in my life. She was a 2 year old rescue from Operation Kindness, a no-kill shelter. I knew at this time in my life I wanted a companion, and saw her sweet little face online, knew that was MY cat and I was there first thing in the morning to get her the next day! I was intimidated by the prospect of owning my first cat, but my sister told me that sometimes the cat chooses the person. That’s what I needed. I went to see Coco and choosing each other is exactly what we did!

 

I've learned to love cats because of Coco. (In fact I've added 2 more to our family!) I learned they defy laws of physics and gravity. The first night I had her, she disappeared in my apartment and I was frantic, sure she had slipped outside and was lost. My sister, knowing cats, came over and discovered Coco hiding in the very highest cabinet she could find! Coco is super athletic and very playful, which makes what she's going through now even harder. But my favorite thing about her is how she sleeps at night curled against my chest and wakes me up, purring in the morning.

 

In early September, Coco was diagnosed with a malignant sarcoma on her left hind leg. I first noticed it when it was the size of a marble. When I took her to the vet, I could tell from the look on her face, before she said a word, that the news was bad. Coco’s tumor was aggressive and growing so fast that I was given two options: put her down, or amputate her leg. Amputation is a traumatic and expensive surgery, but I was told it would buy us more time together. I spent the evening in tears over these 2 terrible choices. It was especially difficult being told that the tumor was considered a "vaccine injection-site sarcoma", meaning it was an unusual reaction to, most likely, a rabies or feline leukemia shot. Knowing that things done to keep her healthy were causing this freak of a cancer broke my heart.

 

I would do anything for the ones that I love, furry and otherwise. Coco is still a very young cat and I wanted to give her every chance. We saw two vets and one oncologist, and all agreed the amputation was her best and ONLY chance of survival. Because of the cost of this surgery and the fact that I recently lost my job, some of my family members were scared that financially I was getting in over my head, but letting Coco go was simply not an option. I couldn't stand the idea of losing her, so once the doctors assured me that cats can do ok on 3 legs, my mind was made up.

 

Last week Coco had her surgery, by which time the marble-sized tumor was larger than a golf ball. Now she's limping through the house and it’s so hard to watch her stumble as she relearns to walk, eat, and use the litter box. She is healing every day. Coco is a fighter, even on three legs! However, the fight isn’t over. It's very difficult to ask for help because I've always been self-reliant, but Coco is worth more than my pride. She was there for me during one of the hardest times in my life, and it’s my turn to be there for her. Because I am between jobs, I'm able to be home, giving her all the attention and care she needs!

 

I need help paying the cost of Coco’s operation. At the moment, everything I have (and don't have) is going to surgery costs and vet visits, so truly anything right now helps! All the money donated through this Gofundme will ease the financial burden of choosing surgery for Coco and giving her a chance of surviving this. My hope is that Coco will make a full recovery (minus that one leg) and hope that the surgery got all of the cancer out of her body and we aren't looking at Chemo in the future! Thank you in advance for your help! <3