Hi, my name is Kassandra. I met Garfield at my mom's backyard in Long Beach California; I was working on some anime decals outside, working with Resin to try creating some keychains to make a little more money.

I had an empty box next to me and I suddenly saw Mimi (my mom's recent rescue indoor/outdoor cat) come in with a orange tabby in tow. The orange tabby was Garfield, he saw the box and helped himself to it. At first, I thought it was so cute and endearing, then I started noticing cuts around his ears, both of his ears were jagged as if he'd been on too many cat fights. I knew he was a survivor because he wouldn't let me pet him but took the food and water I gave him.

I got him inside the house but he quickly became restless and wanted to go back outside. He ran out and I didn't see him for a while even though I went outside looking for him. Then, amidst the heaviest rainfall California had seen, I finally saw him again. He came back for food/water and one of the neighbors who was also giving him food and water and had set out a box outside her apartment for him, she told me that she couldn't take him in because they already had another cat.

I was so scared to grab him but she helped me put him into my backpack carrier I had previous bought to try to get him. It was a very stressful ride but I drove him from my mom's house in Long Beach to Orange County, where my apartment is.

The first thing I did was make an appointment for a check up and flea/heartworm medication. I suspected he had ear mites because he kept scratching and licking at them, they started smelling weird but luckily the appointment came quickly. What I learned was that they had to put anesthesia to even work on him because he was so stressed and aggressive. He scratched the vet on her arm and apparently was fighting the anesthesia as well.

We got him neutered and finally when the test results came in, I was devastated to learn he has FIV. I maxed out my credit cards taking him to the vet during all these procedures but they warned me to give him a break because anesthesia and the stress of being at the vet could cause him to go in shock and overheat to death.

Fast forward about 5 months and after continuously giving him Revolution flea/mite treatment he was doing better. Then suddenly he started peeing outside his litter box and the pee smelled so much like chemicals. I did a quick google search and learned it could be a serious indication of medical problems. Low and behold, Garfield was diagnosed with Diabetes on top of his FIV. Diabetes makes him more prone to infections and FIV has his immune system attacking itself. The odds seems stacked against him. I was sooo nervous to give him insulin injection but I had to learn. More vet bills piled up, I even got a Care Credit card for him and that is now close to being maxed out. VetCo did not have the insulin nor the prescription food so I had to look else where.

I bought his glucose diet wet/dry food from Chewy ($109) and his insulin from Costco (luckily they had the generic which was half the price of the brand name - $150). I started him on 1 unit of insulin for 2 weeks after which I recently took him for a check up to see how he was reacting to this type of insulin. While he did gain 1 pound, his fructosamine levels were higher than we want so she had me increase his insulin to 2 units morning and afternoon. I also have to bring him in to check his levels every 3 weeks until we find they stabilize. I paid north of $200 to get his bloodwork and send it to the lab, fortunately the vet found a fructose reading machine in-house and will save me about half the price. I also paid for Vital Care ($25/month) so I can take him as many visits as I need without that $75 visit charge every single time.

Friends, I am asking for help; something I hate to do because we all have our struggles and we all work hard to get food on the table. I definitely bit off more than I can chew by taking in Garfield when I had personally just moved out but I wouldn't have it any other way, I will never let him go alone again. If you find it in your heart to help us through this journey; Garfield and I would be so grateful. Please know, this was not a easy thing to ask but I am doing this for my sweet potato-pie: Garfield. Thank you for taking the time to read my rant, I wish you all the best!