This is Kaya. I adopted her from a shelter almost 5 years ago, and she has been my partner in crime ever since. She’s been with me through some of the most monumental moments of my life, including moving states, navigating heartbreaks, getting married, and having a baby. Recently, Kaya has been having medical issues, and we have spent the last month running every diagnostic test recommended trying to find answers.

She has lost 16 lbs in the last 6 months (over 20% of her body weight) and we can’t figure out why. I would like to include the diagnostics we have had done to hopefully shed some perspective on how dedicated our veterinary team has been to us. She has had a comprehensive blood panel, a urinalysis, full abdominal ultrasound, radiographs, an endoscopy with biopsies, and a couple specialized blood tests including testing for Myasthenia Gravis and a GI panel. She also had a barium swallow study done to test her GI motility.

She’s been receiving prednisone (a steroid) and a multitude of other medications to help her feel better while we figure this out, and our next step is going to be an abdominal exploratory surgery. I’m very lucky to have worked as a Veterinary Technician for many years and because of this have had access to tons of testing done at previous work places. But, we have spent over $2500 on her diagnostics alone and with this surgery coming up, I am humbly asking for help.

We teetered on whether or not to move forward with this procedure, because it would mean tapering her off her steroids and very likely watching her get worse over the course of the next month until her surgery happens. And then, depending on what we find, it is inevitable that the veterinary cost will increase. If you’ve ever had the privilege to meet Kaya, you know what an incredibly sweet soul she is. She has the best manners and loves nothing more than to be pet. She’s my best friend. I want to be able to give her the best chance possible at overcoming whatever this illness is; but we have reached a point where we can’t do it without help.

The most difficult part of this journey has been watching her decline and not having any answers as to why. I appreciate any time you’ve taken to read this, share this, or donate. Thank you from us and from Kaya ❤️

It has been one day since I posted this and I am absolutely blown away and beyond grateful that we surpassed the halfway point of the goal in just 12 hours. I never in my wildest dreams thought we would receive so much love, support and donations. With the uncertainty of what’s to come, I went ahead and increased our goal. Anything helps, and Kaya thanks you for your support ❤️