Help Grumpkin, the grumpy pumpkin cat!

Grumpkin the grumpy pumpkin cat was seriously ill but fortunately he seems on the road to recovery. Yesterday I was allowed to pick him up from the clinic and the moment to hold him in my arms again was simply priceless.  He has been through so much in his life, was found in a Russian monastery as a street cat and lived in a small cage in a terrible foster home for a year before he was rescued.  Grumpkin means the world to me and I would sell my last shirt for him but I am on the verge of unemployment and all my savings have gone to the vet bills... I wish nothing more than for him to get well again but it would be an incredible relief if I would get a little support because the veterinary bills are piling up. 

Only the last days costed around 2500 euros and there even might be more bills in the future. It has been a really hard time and a rough year for me and I hope that it can only get better.

But for now, my greatest wish is that my lovely grumpy pumpkin cat gets to his old self again: 



His condition: Grumpkin was really apathetic on Easter Sunday and I instantly brought him to a clinic. First they thought it would be a FIP outbreak but then they found out that he has a hyperthyreotoxic crisis. Nobody knew if he would survive the night but he is such a fighter and he did. Monday evening I was allowed to take him home and first he was better.

I was so worried about him that I slept near him in the living room on a mattress on the floor so that he didn’t have to jump up and down my bed. At 5am in the morning on Wednesday I woke up and checked how he was and realized that he was apathetic again. He crouched and his frequency of breath was enhanced, he didn’t purr as he normally would do when I stroked him. 10 minutes later I was on the way to the clinic again. They diagnosed a very high blood pressure (200) and a very low level of potassium in the blood. They gave him an infusion and some medicine and sent me home with him. At noon he wasn’t in better shape so I brought him to the clinic again. They gave him something against the high blood pressure, against nausea and something to enhance the appetite. I brought him home and first I was really relieved because he was purring again and ate a little bit. 15 minutes later he was worse again and during the next hours he got weaker and weaker. At 6pm his frequency of breath was at least 60 (normal would be 20-30 per minute) and he wasn’t moving at all. I called the clinic and they said that it could be some liquor in the thorax or lungs and that I instantly should bring him to the clinic again. And so I did.

When I arrived everything went really quick, they took him and ran with him to the treatment room (due to corona, I wasn’t allowed to go inside). They put him in an oxygen cage and did some more x rays. But found no liquor in lungs or thorax. They gave him strong pain killers and potassium because his levels were down again. He was in terrible shape and they said that they don’t know if he would survive the night. He has such a strong will to live and he did make it.

On Thursday in the morning the vet called me and said that he was in great shape again, meowing and purring, asking for cuddles and love. I was crying out of relieve!

Then they did an ultrasound and found out that he has many many cysts on his liver and kidneys. The largest one is 8cm on the liver. There is nothing what they can do about them. But if no cysts burst he can have some more wonderful years to live.

Now he is home again and a lot better, he is eating and always hungry, non stop purring, always asking for love and affection. I will do anything that he feels good and won’t get any symptoms again.

His story: Grumpkin is around 10 years old now and has gone through a lot. He was found as a street cat in a Russian monastery, begging for food. A couple wanted to help him and brought him to a payed foster home but soon they didn’t pay anymore. He lived there in a small cage and barely got any food for one year until another organization saved him. And then he came to me to Vienna. When he arrived, he was instantly purring and didn’t stop purring for the next days. He seemed so happy to be here! My heart makes a jump each time I look at him and his weird ideosyncrasies make my heart melt. He deserves the best life he can have and I would do anything to give him that.

If you want to, you can follow his story and progress on Instagram (grumpy_pumpkin_cat) or Facebook (Grumpkin). I promise to keep you updated on his progress.

It’s not easy to ask for help and I am already so grateful for all the emotional support I got, also from the social media community. I never expected that and really appreciate it. ❤️