Help Persica - She's Passed but the bills haven't

Please scroll down to the the update that Josh posted today (April 3).

Hi, I am Gloria's Mother-in-law & Josh’s Mom.

I am often told that I ramble on, but I feel that the background of

any story is usually helpful if not needed to understand the story

fully. This is a 4–5-minute read.

I am reaching out to you (and to anyone you may want to share this

with) to help Josh and Gloria with their ongoing Vet bills and emotional struggles. Let me explain.

Josh and Gloria were married on Feb 22, 2022. As covid and covid rules were still in effect and to help with Gloria’s anxiety, they decided to have an intimate ceremony at their home. Gloria is smart,

beautiful (inside and out), has a loving heart and makes my son so

very happy. She is much loved. I love her like she is my very own; the

daughter I never had.

When covid started, Gloria began working from home. Josh was at work all day, so this left Gloria alone. This isolation left her anxious

and exacerbated her struggles with her mental health. To help

alleviate these feelings it was suggested by her doctor that having a

pet may help her state of mind. Josh and Gloria welcomed Persica into their home. Persica is a beautiful little ragdoll Kitty with beautiful

blue eyes. Gloria and Persica became inseparable. Persica seemed to know exactly when Gloria needed her and would come sit with her, on her, on her laptop…it did not matter where Gloria was, Persica was always nearby. She has a way of calming Gloria and bringing her back to level. As they do not have any children, their kitty, to them, is

their little four-legged child.

Gloria is currently recovering from scoliosis surgery. She had a 65⁰

curve in her back. Besides this causing her back pain, it also gave

her issues and pain in her hips and internal organs. She had been on

a surgery waiting list for almost 10 years and had been in pain for

the entirety of that time. She had her surgery Dec 5, 2023. After more than a year of recovery, and with Persica constantly by her side, she is doing better. She still finds her hips painful, and she is without

feeling in her back. She has been, and is currently on medication for

pain, mental health issues along with anxiety and depression.

Over the last 5 years, and with Persica home to help Gloria take fewer medications and has had a calming effect on her. She has been nothing short of a blessing for Gloria.

Last week, Persica was not her usual self. She stopped eating,

drinking and was very lethargic. Josh and Gloria brought her to their

Vet. The Vet found her to be very dehydrated and spent 7 hours on an

electrolyte IV. She had an infection that the Vet did not find but was

sent home.

Josh & Gloria took her to a different Vet. They ran multiple tests.

Blood was drawn. She was anemic with her cell count (pcv) at 8%.

Ideally it would be between 25% & 45%. She tested positive for Feline Infectious Peritonitis. She was given fluids and medication. At this second Vet, Gloria and Josh were allowed to stay with Persica and were taking turns napping on the couch and snuggling with her. As she was not improving it was determined that she was in desperate need of an emergency blood transfusion. Their Vet did not have the “kit” needed to do this procedure, so Josh and Gloria rushed her to Pembina Emergency Vet hospital where they had the capability of doing this. The search for a donor cat with blood type B began. After a few hours a donor was located, and the transfusion was done. Later that morning her pcv climbed to 17% and by evening it was at 22%. She was looking so much better. The transfusion and medication were working. She has a feeding tube and is still on IV fluids. Yesterday her pcv numbers started to decline again so they are again looking for another cat with type B blood for a potential second transfusion. She is on different meds now that the Vet thinks may help. I must emphasise that although Persica is undoubtably not feeling herself, she is not in pain.

The multiple Vet bills have currently reached over $8,000 with more to come. I cannot stress enough the good that Persica does for Gloria.

Persica is only 5 and should have many more years left in her. If you

can help and donate to help offset the Vet costs, it would be so very

grateful.

A Special Thank You!

Thank you so much to the person who brought her cat in at 2am to help save Persica. She would have not made it through the night without this gift. A big shout out to all the furry blood donors. It truly is a gift of life.