Help Margles Get The Medical Care She Needs

Updates at the bottom.

Hello! My name is Jay and I recently adopted Margles back in the beginning of July. This senior girlie was found wandering around downtown Tacoma in really horrible condition. When she was found, she was severely underweight, dehydrated, and seemed to be ill - it was very clear that someone had dumped her, or maybe everything went wrong and she ended up alone long enough to deteriorate on the street. My homie MJ fostered her for a while until I was able to adopt her!

Despite her condition, she is one of the most affectionate and trusting cats I've met in a long time, and after bringing her home she loved hopping into bed with me in the morning and licking my face to wake me up to feed her. She also absolutely loves getting brushed/groomed. She has quickly become good buddies with Tommy as well (our other senior kitty) who had been showing signs of wanting a companion before we got her.

This past month has been a lot of back and forth to the emergency vet clinic and our primary vet clinic as we've tried to figure out what's going on with her. She has been having bloody vaginal discharge, been unable to get comfortable, urinating inappropriately, vomiting daily, has had a steadily declining appetite, and could never seem to get enough water. We treated her for a UTI, however her symptoms returned as soon as her course of antibiotics finished.

However, we finally were able to figure out what's going on with her!! She has a severe urinary tract infection with two different types of bacteria that require a longer course of special antibiotics. Miss Margles was also diagnosed with kidney disease, pancreatitis, low potassium, and high phosphate. She is also severely underweight at 4.5lbs (but has been steadily gaining weight since coming to us). Thankfully, all of these conditions are easily manageable through treatment, medication, and supplements, and Meegles should be able to recover and live out her golden years in comfort with Tommy after we get her balanced out.

Although, as someone who is currently working paycheck to paycheck at minimum wage, the bills are quickly becoming more than I can handle.

With appointments averaging around $650, recurring medications about half of that, starting a specialized diet, and the costs of supplements + daily fluid therapy (and of course urine + vomit cleaning spray...) I've reached a point where I've decided to seek out financial support in mutual aid. I am very hopeful that she will make a recovery from her current condition, but I fear that if these bills become too much I will have to move towards a palliative care approach. I have veterinary assistant experience and work in the animal care field, and am confident with giving her specialized care in my daily routine. If it comes down to it, palliative care would keep her comfortable until it's her time. But since her condition can be managed quite easily with frequent vet visits and treatment, I'm gonna try to pay for it for as long as I can afford.

I am currently giving her 4 medications a day + 2 supplements, and subcutaneous fluid therapy once or twice daily. She is also getting monthly Solensia injections for her severe arthritis due to having very low muscle/fat content. Due to the sedative effects of some of these medications, Margles is experiencing extreme muscle weakness and needs assistance getting to the litterbox in time, grooming herself after eating or peeing/pooping, and will only eat via spoon feeding for now. Its quickly become a labor of love, and I know that Margles would be better off remaining in my care as she rides out her golden years.

Any financial support for her medical needs to ensure that she gets to remain in my care and receive treatment for as long as possible would be greatly appreciated! Even like $5 goes a long way. The goal amount is just a fraction of what I've paid so far, but it will help me keep my head above the water again with rent and utilities and groceries. I will return to working at a vet clinic soon (I am currently working with zoo animals) and should hopefully get some discounts for her lifelong fluid therapy, arthritis injections, kidney disease management, and senior wellness exams in the future, so this is just to help me through the next few months. Times are rough for us all right now, if you aren't able to donate please boost if you can!

Thanks for taking the time to read ‍⬛ I will post updates as they come

- Jay

Update 08/09: Margles has been doing well so far on her meds! She is able to eat most of her food by spoon and is grooming herself more. She has an appointment tomorrow for her second Solensia injection (for arthritis). Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far, it means the world :)

Update 08/12/24 -

Her meds still seem to be helping her symptoms, but unfortunately she has barely eaten for the past 4 days. She has only been taking small bites of food and is quickly losing weight, she was 4.2 pounds at her most recent vet visit. I bought a prescription food that's supposed to be high calorie and enticing for inappetent cats, and while she does eat it more enthusiastically, she stops after a few bites. I really don't know what to do at this point. If she loses any more weight she will have to be hospitalized, and I can't even afford the treatments I've paid for so far. If she continues losing weight I am strongly considering her quality of life. It breaks my heart because she is such good buddies with Tommy and her health other than inappetence seems to be improving, and she just recently got her second Solensia injection. But I can't even afford to buy groceries anymore, and I can't justify spending any more money on treatments. The cost of a euthanasia is insane as well, and I'm just very full of emotions right now. If you are able to donate please do, if you cannot please share!!

Update 8/25: after a couple hard weeks, Margles seems to be doing a lot better now. She still has symptoms of a bladder infection after her antibiotics, so we're running a few tests again, but she has began eating again and with daily subcutaneous fluids, her supplements, and a lot of support, she's now stable again and is hopefully on the mend. I'm really glad we didn't have to say goodbye to her yet :) Any donations will directly be funding her life saving treatments

Final update, 9/06: I am devastated to post this update. We had to say goodbye to Margles on Wednesday 9/04/24 :( She took a really quick turn for the worse, and stopped eating anything for several days, became bowel incontinent, and was unable to stay on her feet for very long, crashing as soon as she got to her desired location. She seemed really uncomfortable. I made an appointment at the vet and it seemed like her body was failing, she was an old girl. They suspect it's some kind of intestinal cancer that we weren't able to detect, but it quickly became too late to do anything about. I made the heartbreaking but necessary decision to euthanize her so she wouldn't suffer much longer, and could go out peacefully. I gave her a really beautiful last night and day, and we did all of her favorite things together. We cuddled, I brushed her fur and groomed her all over, offered her her absolute favorite treats (she refused, but she seemed to like that they were there), and took her outside to sunbathe on the deck and hang out in the grass. A little wish seed landed on her head in the grass :). I had her say goodbye to Tommy our other cat, and when she was all cozy in her carrier with her favorite bed, I opened the front fully and we walked to her appointment. We went through the park and took a scenic route so she could look at and sniff everything. The vet team knew her and was also very upset to see her go, I'm so happy she got to go out knowing just how loved she was by all. Everyone always said what a sweet girl she was, and it's so so true. I'm really devastated about it, but I'm glad she's not in pain anymore. Its such a miracle that she was able to come to us and know a comfortable, loving home, and be able to die a comfortable death. Thank you all for your support along the way, the financial help has ensured that I was able to prioritize her care every step of the way without being as stressed about my bank account. I'm going to close this gofundme soon, but if anyone would like to donate to help with posthumous fees, my venmo is @snarboypays and my cash app is $cowboycock. Thank you all for caring so much about Margles, I hope that her body and soul are at peace and she knows love, family, food, water, and happiness in her soul's next journey ❤️. Rest in peace my sweet baby girl, I'm so blessed to have known you ❤️