Help Bam Bam, a 15-year-old boy with kidney problems

Dear kind and compassionate souls,

This sweetheart on the photos is our 15-year-old Bam Bam. He hasn’t been quite 100% lately and, even though his appetite is fine, he’s lost a lot of weight, started losing hair above both his eyes, drinks extensive amounts of water, however his pee amount is very little… So, since he was due for his vaccinations anyway, I took him to our local veterinarian free clinic (free only for vaccination shots, though) in hope that they will at least give me some free opinion/advice about all these changes with him.

And they did… They suspect a blocked urethra/kidney problems, which needs more diagnosis/blood work, or in other words, a visit to a veterinarian. And this is why I’m now here humbly asking for help with those expenses. I’ll do my best to make our long and complex story as short as possible.

A couple of years ago, when the expenses finally caught up with me, my 14-year-old daughter and I have lost our home due to my ex-husband not paying one single cent of the court ordered child and spousal support since the divorce in 2017. He managed to avoid it, because he went back to his native country, Belgium, where American court decisions don’t have jurisdiction unless acknowledged and recognized by a Belgian judge. Well, for that I need a Belgian lawyer to pursue it and I simply don’t have estimated $30,000 for that (no Belgian lawyer would work on a contingency, let alone pro bono, I’ve been trying to find one for over 6 years).

Fast forwarding to the present day, why are we still homeless? We’ve been unable to find something to rent for two reasons: I don’t have amount of money needed to pay in advance before renting and 99% of places do not accept pets (we have two cats), so ever since we’ve become homeless, we’ve been living between a cheap hotel and sleeping in our car when we can’t afford even a roach hotel.

But there’s one thing my daughter and I agreed upon, wholeheartedly and without a blink of an eye – we’d never give up our two boys (our cats), because they are more than just pets, they are our family who’s been with us through thick and thin, and who have been beyond comfort and emotional support for us through these challenging times, so how could we abandon them now when they are seniors and when they need us the most? Moreover, not only that they both are rescues, but they both know only us for the past 15 years, and my daughter was practically raised by them, so it would absolutely break both our hearts to have to leave them in some cold and unfamiliar shelter full of strangers... Just the thought of abandoning and losing them is unbearable and devastating…

I’ve done my best to provide for them and their care, and I have always been a fighter, but right now, with the possible kidneys problem, I’m at the end of the rope, both emotionally and financially, and I just can’t imagine watching any of our cats suffer due to lack of money for the veterinarian care. So here I am, embarrassed and humble having to ask complete strangers for help, not for anything else but only for Bam Bam’s medical expenses… At this stage, any show of kindness, any amount, big or small, would go a long way and make a major difference.

So… if you’re still with me and still reading this, thank you so much, thank you for your kindness, empathy, compassion and support during our difficult time.

Warmest wishes and even warmer thanks,

Zana