Help Butterscotch Fight for His Life
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- I adopted my cat Butterscotch 3years ago when he was 2 years old, which would make him 5 now. I remember when my mom told me that she would let me get a cat I had been begging her for at least two years and I was so excited. I drove to the pet store right away to buy a litter box and toys. For days I perused every adoption and shelter website but I wasn’t feeling like I’d found my cat yet until I saw Butterscotch on Humane Society Naples.
- The next day I was at the Humane Society with my friend tagging along with me. The attendant showed us to every room where we saw cats and kittens of every size, age and color and spent time with them each. Despite how sweet and cute they all were I was still not feeling quite right, I showed her the listing for Butterscotch wondering where he was and she said “Oh! Forgot one more room” or something of the sort. When we walked in she showed us he was curled up in a little wooden wall hung cove taking a nap(as pictured above). He looked sleepy but slinked right out for some attention anyways yawning and stretching all the while. I was surprised to see he was a Polydactyl(extra toes)
- as he stepped out I laughed since I had always been fond of the funny look of thier feet. I felt like I knew right away that I was taking him home but we entertained for good measure and played with him for a while in the small room.
- He was headbutting our hands and purring and rolling around and chasing the toy we had for him.So he was home. He was my emotional support animal through my CPTSD and anxiety when I’ve had trouble making friends, dealing with my family and romantic relationships . Butterscotch is the most loving cat I have ever met. Sometimes I felt like he was truly an angel. I had always grown up with cats but I had never felt so completely loved by an animal until I found him.
- He is also super silly
- Sometimes I say to people that he must’ve been a person in his past life. He would follow me around like a dog and greet me right when I came home, hoping to jump in my lap and make some bread. He was very playful in the beginning in the past year or two he seemed to have mellowed out and I figured it was because he was more adult since the vets said he was fine .Now I know otherwise and feel guilty. He’s always been a skinny thing, he was 7.34 lbs when I adopted him and I’ve always worried that he’s too skinny but vets have reassured me. From the beginning he would have small bouts of having and decreased appetite but he would always eat eventually, he would also sound congested sometimes but the vets didn’t seem concerned and said he was healthy.
- For the past month, I have been to 7 vet appointments, they took X-rays and bloodwork. Each time I would go I would get a different answer and no treatment other than appetite stimulants. Troubleshooting what's going on with him as he had stopped eating completely and sounded VERY congested. He was also acting super lethargic and all he wanted to do was hide, I had never seen him like this.
- Now he will only eat through a syringe with an appetite stimulant that was prescribed to us. The vets said it could be everything under the sun from pancreatitis, FIP, sinusitis to dental problems, but those were ruled out. They prescribed us different foods and antibiotics, anti-nausea meds, and painkillers, as well as given him fluids multiple times due to him being so dehydrated. I have also started nebulizing him to see if that helps. We also worried about him getting liver lipidosis, which is what happens to cats when they are starving and it can be fatal. I took him to the emergency vet again today as he seems to be not any better, maybe even worse, and was worried I would not be able to get him what he needed over the holidays. As he has been for the past month, he sounds incredibly congested and is mouth breathing. During his exam, his nose started bleeding. I was told due to the other treatments not working, they are certain that he has some sort of tumor in his nasal/sinus cavity or possibly an immune disorder, that Butterscotch would need a Rhinoscopy and CT scan on his head. The vet said that if they found something, it would need surgery and even then possibly chemotherapy if it was cancer.
- I have had problems getting my care credit card shipped in the mail and customer service I have it figured out now but my limit will not be enough and I have already spent almost 3k out of pocket mostly for non answers up to this point. This is completely overwhelming and mentally straining me
- Ive been told multiple times by these vets to prepare for the worst and be ready to euthanize if he has cancer but I’m not ready to give up on him. He’s only 5 and he didn’t give up on me. I’ve never had to make a decision like this before and I almost feel like no matter what I do I am going to feel guilty.
- I don't know what to think of all this as when you adopt your first pet as an adult on your own you look forward to spending a decade or more with them, not only 3 years.
- Any questions can be submitted to my Instagram: @Crussstine or Email: [email redacted]
- Any contribution is appreciated Thank you.
Organizer
Christine Roe
Organizer
Bonita Springs, FL