Hi everyone, my name is Sofia and this is my beautiful cat Bramble. He is 14 years old (his brother/littermate is the black cat in one of the photos)

In June, I took Bramble to the vets because I was concerned about his breathing. The vet found nothing abnormal (including his heart rate which was steady) and we put it down to overexcitement (and my overly cautious cat parenting!). More recently, over the last few weeks, I started noticing this issue again, but more prominent than before. We took him to the vets asap and they discovered a gallop in his heartbeat that wasn't there before.

He got blood work done, and they all came back looking good... except for his heart. We are unsure right now what heart disease he has, or how far it has progressed, but the vet has informed us that he most definitely has a problem, and without further tests determining what the exact problem is, he is a "ticking time bomb".

Since all of Bram's other organs are functioning well, I really want to believe that whatever the problem is here (one of several heart diseases or even heart failure), that these further tests could give him a shot at many more years to come. Whatever these results, I will make it work making sure he gets the treatment he needs. it will likely be more a case of monthly medications, which are much more feasible financially.

In the meantime, after much deliberation and advice from friends, I've decided to set this fundraiser up. I reached out to various charities but unfortunately due to limited funding and bramble's age, we were unsuccessful in receiving any financial aid. Due to events that took place last year, I am unemployed and in a very difficult financial position, and I live with my mum who is not in a much better place than myself. My cats are the light of my life and I love them more than anything in this world. Even if we only raise £20, this will be worth it. I am going to try my absolute best to get together as much money as I possibly can so that we can get this testing done, but if for whatever reason it's not possible, I will refund anyone who donates, no matter how much.

The test our vet has recommended is an echocardiogram, and is estimated to cost between £680 and £750, depending on whether he needs to be sedated. I've set our goal to £1100, however, because including his blood work (which has already been done) that is how much it's all going to cost, and the initial payment has already put us in an extremely difficult situation financially. I don't expect to raise anywhere near this much, and please if you're browsing Gofundme looking for people to help, we are not people who are the most in need. We have a roof over our heads, and for now, Bramble is alive and living his day to day life. Apart from his breathing issues, he seems happy. Just if you happen to have a couple of pounds to spare and feel like contributing, I will be forever grateful.

Thank you so much for reading<333