Hey, this is my first time doing anything like this. This is about my cat, Mark, or Marky, or Marcus, or Marquis (I just call him whatever in the moment and spell it how I feel like). He’s had a rough time, since when we found him he was living as a stray, when my mom’s friend started feeding him at her house. I wasn’t sure about getting a new cat at the time, but as soon as we saw each other it just clicked and we’re best friends now.

He follows me everywhere around the house, constantly demanding attention, and calls for me for hours whenever I have to leave the house. He’s beautiful, he never scratches except by accident, and he’s very smart and affectionate.

The issue we’re dealing with now is that he has a Diaphragmatic Lesion, meaning the barrier that normally separates his lower organs and his torso is damaged, which means his intestines and stomach have all travelled up into his chest and are interfering with his heart and breathing. The vet said it’s most commonly a result of being kicked by a human or being attacked by a larger animal.

Thankfully we caught it when we did, and the surgery to correct it has a very high chance of success, where the rest of his life won’t be impacted… the issue is that our family is in a precarious financial situation at the moment and even if we did manage to cover the surgery, it would put all of us in an even stricter and potentially critical position.

We’d appreciate any support people could offer in this time, and all the money is going towards caring for Marc. If we somehow reach our goal it would mean a lot, and if somehow we pass over the goal that extra money will be set aside in a separate account and all go into caring for Markie. He means a lot to me, and I know he deserves better than we can give him. I’m just happy I got to meet him, but the only thing I think I’d regret would be if he suffered or died, because I couldn’t give him that care that he needs. We just lost our dog, and my mom is set on making sure Mark gets his surgery, but I can’t help worrying about the future if I can’t properly care for my cat after this.

If you’ve read the whole way through this, then thank you. Whether you donate or not, thank you for listening to my story.

Update: We brought Mark into the vet and when they took him in for surgery, they found out his diaphragm was still intact, but the chest was full of fluid.

After draining the fluid, they found lumps on his heart and in his chest that may be tumours. The vet has taken some samples for testing that could confirm whether it’s cancer or some fungal or bacterial infection. Cancer seems the most likely, and if it’s the case there’s not much we can do apart from making him comfortable for the time he has left. The other options however give us options for treatment or even curing him, so I’m holding out hope.

The costs are a bit lower than expected, but are still too high for us to comfortably cover. So I’ve adjusted the goal and will continue to update this page as we learn more.

Update 2: It hurts to share, but unfortunately we had to put Markie down. The lab results confirmed the cancer diagnosis, and he was at a stage where breathing was challenging and he was in constant pain. We gave him the best final week that we could in all this, lots of love, treats, and comfort.

Thanks everyone who has donated, and with the medical costs hopefully others will be willing to support us. It doesn't change our goals, or how much we will need to get through this, and I don't know what I can promise if we somehow reach past our goal anymore... maybe I'll just set that aside for the next pet we get at some future date. With your help we gave Mark a happier ending than he could have hoped for as a stray.