My name is Arwen Baker. My poor cat Fig has been diagnosed with blastomycosis, a fungal disease that is extremely aggressive and can attack numerous parts of the body. She has been at the emergency vet for over 48 hours, and will need to stay there for several more days.

I got my cat in 2025 on April 21st, so at this point I have not even had her for a year. She is not even two years old (her birthday is May 12 2024).

Back in January of this year, I discovered an odd lump on her belly. We took her to the vet where they examined her and prescribed a round of antibiotics. Unfortunately, the antibiotics did not help, and in fact the lump got much worse. It got larger and opened up into a lesion that was bothering Fig quite a bit, so after a few weeks, we determined surgery of the cyst was the best route, and they would send it off for biopsy.

She healed well from the surgery; they had to remove more than expected as it was “more vascular” than anticipated. They sent it off for biopsy and told me I would have results back in about 6 weeks. During the waiting period, her tummy healed, but she developed another lesion directly under her eye, that enlarged rather quickly and also opened up.

After 6 weeks, i finally got biopsy results back: they found blastomycosis was causing skin lesions. Blastomycosis is a fungal infection caused from inhalation of spores found outside in dirt. My cat is a strictly indoor cat. Blasto is also not contagious, so we were baffled by this diagnosis. It is very rare in cats. Blasto can affect all over: skin lesions, ocular issues, lumps and bumps, and most commonly it gets into the lungs, causing respiratory issues. It is extremely aggressive and develops quite quickly.

Our course of action was to proceed with a chest x-ray and a brief eye examination. The chest x-ray came back normal and showed no signs of respiratory distress. They did locate a few odd lumps and bumps in her belly.

Unfortunately, several days after the x-ray, Fig began showing signs of a UTI or some other urinary issue. They perscribed her more antibiotics and a pain med, with plans to do a urine sample after the course of antibiotics. The antibiotics did not help her urinary issues.

On April 15, Fig started showing signs of respiratory distress. She had several episodes of coughing, wheezing, and thrashing her head. I took her to the vet ASAP, and they had me go to the emergency vet an hour away.

Since then, they have found blastomycosis in her lungs, her skin, and her lymph nodes. An ultrasound revealed an extremely inflamed lymph node by her heart, along with several lumps in her belly that tested positive for blastomycosis. Upon intake, she had a fever of nearly 105° and severe respiratory distress. She had to stay overnight at the emergency vet for diagnostics and testing, and was placed in an oxygen chamber to aid her breathing. They started anti fungal treatment immediately, but unfortunately, it will get worse before it gets better. They are anticipating a severe immune response once the anti fungal medication begins affecting the blasto, which can cause extreme inflammation in the body, and cause further respiratory distress. The plan is to keep her for several more nights until she hopefully gets over the first immune response, and she will be kept in an oxygen chamber, given steroids, anti fungal meds via IV, and gabapentin to treat her stress. Thus far, she has shown little signs of improvement, but the best thing for her is to keep her in a medical environment in the case that she has a severe immune response, as that can push her over the edge considering her current bad state.

This treatment is extremely expensive, but I don’t know what else to do. She is the first cat I have been able to call my own. She has not lived enough life. She’s not even two years old. I cannot afford this treatment without draining my own bank account, and even still it won’t be enough. I have already spent over $2,000, and that is not even including her stay over the weekend, the medication, or the further testing, or the minimum 6 months of medication and treatment.

I truly hate to ask people for money, but I want to do whatever I can to ensure sweet Figgy has more life. She is so strong, and is truly the most precious thing to me. She deserves to live a full life without pain, and this treatment will hopefully lead to a healthier life.

We are anticipating medical bills to exceed $4,000. Please, if you want to help, I would be forever grateful. She needs this treatment, and deserves to be a happy healthy kitty watching the birds and squirrels out the window.