"I can't afford to take care of you."

This is every pet parent's worst nightmare, and you can help ensure it won't be ours.

Fireclaw was taken to the emergency vet on Friday, May 22nd 2020 because he was rapidly losing weight and had difficulty breathing. He’s had some issues with breathing and sneezing for the last few weeks. Our family vet did many regular tests, but everything came back negative.

“I’m frustrated,” our vet told us. “Bloodwork came back decent, nothing alarming. Aerobic culture from his nose swab came back negative. Fungal culture came back negative.”

“He’s sneezing snot all over the place, he breathes funny, and he’s not eating much. Something is wrong.” I said, almost yelling. It’s not the vet’s fault, they’ve been wonderful.

“I’m going to refer Fireclaw to a specialist hospital an hour away.”

We set up an appointment with the specialist hospital for a week out. Then the appetite stimulants stopped working. We drove him back to our vet. That’s when they said, “I think he needs an ER. They can bypass the regular appointment waiting period.”

So now he’s in an ICU. We drove him to the hospital an hour away, and he was so miserable in the car ride that he started panting. “We’ll come get you soon, buddy, I promise. You know I’m good on that,” as I tried to not cry in front of him.

First thing they did was to put him in an oxygen cage so that he could breathe better. Then they got to work while we waited in the parking lot. After four hours, they called with an update – there’s a big fluid buildup in his lungs and they’d aspirated (removed) it. He’s recovering from anesthesia, but they wanted to keep him at least overnight for observation, and he needs the oxygen cage to breathe comfortably.

Over the rest of the day, update calls came in as the ER team worked on Fireclaw. That day, May 22, is right up there on the list of shittiest day of my entire life. They did chest x-rays and found a mass in his lungs. They aspirated a sample of that and sent it off to the lab to get a definitive diagnosis. They also did an ultrasound on his abdomen and found a mass there too. By yesterday, I was so emotionally spent by bad news after bad news. About the only good news is that his heart is doing fine, so there’s little to no risk of congenital heart failure.

Since it’s Memorial Day weekend, they don’t expect to get the lab results back until Tuesday/Wednesday, so Fireclaw is now just in his oxygen cage until then. The masses? They told me we’ll have to wait for the lab results to provide a definitive diagnosis, but I think we all know what those are by now. What has little Fireclaw ever do to deserve this other than being a very good boy?

This is him in his oxygen cage. They started him on a course of steroids, which hopefully makes him feel better.




The estimate for this visit is between $4,722 and $8,632. This doesn’t cover the treatment plan that he’ll need afterwards when they know for sure what the diagnosis is.

 






We can’t afford the whole thing. It wasn’t something that we even thought about for the last two days. All I told the vet was “please just do everything you can for our little baby”. But we can see our biggest fear coming true; that we will have to choose between our baby, and papers printed with the faces of ex-presidents and founding fathers.

Please help us get Fireclaw the care he needs. Please consider donating and/or sharing our story so that Fireclaw knows how much he is loved and wanted.

Any excess donations beyond the cost of this visit will be put towards the treatment costs once we know what that would be.





Fireclaw's story:

Hi everyone! I am Fireclaw, and I'm 7 years old. When I was younger, I was bounced from home to home. I am shy and fearful, so loud noises and people scare me. I think that is why no one wanted to be with me for long. My last home didn’t want me after 8 months, because the family kids wanted to play rough with me and pick me up all the time, and I sometimes get sneezy.

They dropped me off at the shelter. The shelter people were nice, but I didn’t feel very safe there. I met other kitties, and they mostly kept away from me although we didn’t get into fights or anything like that. I mostly hid in the corner when people are in the room, but if not, I liked to watch people go by through a window.

I was there for 6 months. Most people didn’t really want a kitty who’s scared and didn’t want to be pet or played with. I made friends with some staff and volunteer at the shelter, and I liked them, but I still would rather be in a corner away.

Then I met my daddy. At first, I hid from him too. But my daddy kept visiting me every day for two weeks, and I got used to what daddy smells like. Daddy smells like old bread. I went home with Daddy, and I got to meet my big brother, and I got to meet my mommy too. Mommy smells nice.

Daddy said I became a talker. Said people were surprised when they hear that I am a talker. Of course I’m a talker. I like to talk to my humans. I just don’t talk when I’m not happy. My mommy and daddy were very patient with me. They know just how to rub my belly till I flop on my side.

I hope mommy and daddy come to get me soon. I don’t like this place.



5/24 EDIT: Added emergency veterinarian information for verification.

Oakland Veterinary Referral Services
1400 Telegraph Rd
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302
248.334.6877

5/25 EDIT: Final invoice for diagnostic, stabilization and supportive care at the ER: