Help A Senior Cat With Severe IBD Get Lifesaving Treatment

Hello, thank you for taking the time to read my story.

I have a 13-year-old senior cat, The Gis (named after the large woolly mammoth muppet, Mr. Snuffleupagus). She is my soul cat, and she is the only positive thing I have going for me right now. I rescued her as a kitten when I was a teenager, from a horrible and abusive situation in which she was found in a bag in a dumpster with her deceased mother and one remaining living sibling. She had lasting brain damage and she's a very special cat. It took years of careful socializing and hand-raising to get her to be the loving, cuddly cat she is today. She is extremely skittish and afraid, she gets confused easily, but over the years she's come out of her shell. She is the only reason I made it through my teen years after the death of my father. This cat saved my life, and now it's my turn to save hers.

She has severe, life-threatening IBD. She has had it her entire life, but as she gets older, her flare-ups have become more serious and severe. This past month has been the worst yet, with unending diarrhea, vomiting, and weight loss. At the first vet visit, she weighed in at only 6.8 lbs. We have started her on steroids, an appetite stimulant, and new prescription food, but the bills are piling up and her care will be ongoing and lifelong.

My credit has been ruined by sudden financial hardship after leaving my abusive ex and student loans (I'm a nursing student), and I was denied for care credit. My mom has lung cancer and is the sole caregiver for my aunt, so she's unable to help financially at this time. The almost $600 in vet bills that I had to pay has wiped out my rent money for this upcoming month and I don't know what to do. I work in a kitchen and I DoorDash to make ends meet, but this unexpected emergency has left me in a very bad place. I'm behind on rent and utilities, and my mom lives 15 hours away so I can't even go to her for help.

The meds and $75/bag of cat food, as well as future vet visits, will be covered by my school grant money once classes start back in the fall, but until then I'm left in a very bad place with no way out. Please share this if you can, I don't have many people to help spread the word, and every click counts. Thank you for taking your time to read this, it means a lot to me.

The goal amount is to cover the 2 vet bills that I had to take out of my rent money, the fees involved here, as well as the next round of prescription food and meds that I'll have to pick up in 2 weeks. I've got it from there, and can continue covering her vet bills myself once I'm out of this little hole. Thank you so much!