I expect anyone who might see this fundraiser already knows me, but just in case: Hi, my name is Caitlin, and I'm fundraising to save my cat's life.

 

In January, I noticed that his right hind leg had become swollen and that he was limping-- and took him to the vet for diagnosis. They took X-Rays, and it was dismissed as a stress injury. He was prescribed pain medication and an anti-inflammatory, and I was told to bring him back if I didn't see any improvement. The swelling did go significantly down; however, this only made the two masses that had grown on his ankle more evident. My regular vet did a fine needle aspiration to collect some cells for testing but was unsuccessful. Already, I was warned that growths such as these in cats are very rarely benign and that the only treatment should that prove true would be to amputate. At this point, I considered looking into pet insurance-- but was unable to find coverage for any pre-existing symptoms.

 

 

I was referred to a specialist who performed a surgical biopsy on the site two weeks ago. The results of this came back just this past Wednesday. Unfortunately, as suspected, the growths have come back as cancerous.

 

This weekend has been full of complex and painful decision-making, but I have ultimately decided to move forward with the amputation. Esther may be old, but his personality is still as apparent as ever. He's lost none of his self-righteous attitude; none of his sass. Instead, he eats healthily, grooms perfectly well, and is surprisingly agile at seventeen. I don't feel ready to let him go, and the specialist has assured me that cats adapt very well to procedures like these. She said that his quality of life shouldn't be affected, even at his age. Rather, he's more likely to feel relief-- that his affected limb is no longer there to pain him.

 

To diagnosis alone, I have already spent almost $3k. However, the procedure has been quoted from a low cost of $4,885.69 to a high of $5,420.09. I will make it work no matter what, but I would be highly grateful to anyone with both means and desire to help. Anything donated will go toward the credit debt I've accumulated through veterinary expenses since January.

 

 

Esther has been my life partner of seventeen years; at 33, that's just over half of my life. There are no words to express what he means to me adequately. He's been with me through almost every hardship. I know there will be people who don't understand why I'd even consider spending so much on a pet-- but he is so much more than that to me. He's my number one support system.