Over the last couple of months I have had what seems like a never ending battle with my cats. First we discovered that my elderly girl Nelly Nel had a cancerous tumour in her nostril. We tried a course of antibiotics to rule out infection. But before we could get her seen by a specialist the tumour started protruding out of her nostril, it was very uncomfortable for her, lots of sneezing and mucus coming from the nose and eye. Unfortunately this tumour was extremely quick to progress and we had her euthanised on the 27th November. We also recently learned that our boy Ginge needs most of his teeth extracted, he was a rescue and this is most likely down to calicivirus. A virus which causes upper respiratory infections and oral disease in cats. And then my elderly boy ‘Grandpa squishy’ started losing weight, eating A LOT and having bouts of diarrhea. Yesterday’s bill I covered with the last of my savings. The vets have given him anti sickness and antibiotics. They have also prescribed him some gabapentin to sedate him enough for some bloods to be done. We suspect he has hyperthyroidism. I have covered everything up until now, with Christmas approaching, I have rinsed my savings account completely on vet bills. Now overnight our Marvin has developed a cough which sounds slightly wheezy (after choking on a potato which he stole from the kitchen counter). My worry is that he may have caused a obstruction in his airway.

I am a disabled mum on benefits due to Anorexia/POTS/fibromyalgia/BPD/CPTSD/anxiety/depression and various other ailments which unfortunately limit my ability to work.

I have exhausted all options, my vets who I have been with for over 10 years are unable to offer a payment plan, PDSA won’t re-register us until 2026 due to being at full capacity. Celia Hammond have agreed to help us with Ginge’s dental work which we have to wait until 2026 for (hopefully). We haven’t tried other local vets as the one we are with is the cheapest.