Help Leo Get Chemo and Live His Best Life
Donation protected
I recently was notified of a post on Reddit offering an old cat up for adoption due to the owner's circumstances changing due to the pandemic. Knowing Reddit might not be the safest place to offer up a live animal, I reached out and agreed to take the cat, Leo. He is a gentle giant with an adorable melancholy face who likes to sleep on my pillow with his paws on my head. He was estimated to be 10 years old on the original adoption forms, but my guess is he's older.
About a week after getting Leo, in a truly 2020 turn of events, my cat Oliver broke his leg and I had to have his leg amputated for around $6000, which I took out a Care Credit card to pay for.
Now in December I noticed Leo was looking lethargic so I brought him to the vet thinking it would be a matter of giving him some supplements or special food to feel better. In this next over-the-top 2020 development, it turns out out it is late stage lymphoma, and he has a huge tumor in his abdomen that somehow the shelter didn't pick up in his intake exam before he was adopted, and as a result he has extreme anemia and an enlarged heart. Anyone who knows about my experience with previous rescue cats from Japan knows I don't agree with putting to sleep an animal who still has some quality of life as soon as you receive the diagnosis without trying anything to help. However, with Oliver's accident happening just 2 months before, and since I don't want to get slammed with Care Credit's insane interest rate once the 6 month grace period is up, I am financially pretty boned and would like to ask for the help of friends and family who can contribute.
Leo's biopsy is being sent to a lab to figure out what specific kind of cancer it is, and from there we have to decide whether to start chemo, try some kind of surgery, or do palliative care until his quality of life drops and he has to be put to sleep. $3000 is a conservative estimate of what any treatment could cost here in Seattle. Leo is a good boy who only got rescued off the streets at an old age, and I'd like to give him a fairly painless home life for the last few months. Any help anyone can provide would be much appreciated!
About a week after getting Leo, in a truly 2020 turn of events, my cat Oliver broke his leg and I had to have his leg amputated for around $6000, which I took out a Care Credit card to pay for.
Now in December I noticed Leo was looking lethargic so I brought him to the vet thinking it would be a matter of giving him some supplements or special food to feel better. In this next over-the-top 2020 development, it turns out out it is late stage lymphoma, and he has a huge tumor in his abdomen that somehow the shelter didn't pick up in his intake exam before he was adopted, and as a result he has extreme anemia and an enlarged heart. Anyone who knows about my experience with previous rescue cats from Japan knows I don't agree with putting to sleep an animal who still has some quality of life as soon as you receive the diagnosis without trying anything to help. However, with Oliver's accident happening just 2 months before, and since I don't want to get slammed with Care Credit's insane interest rate once the 6 month grace period is up, I am financially pretty boned and would like to ask for the help of friends and family who can contribute.
Leo's biopsy is being sent to a lab to figure out what specific kind of cancer it is, and from there we have to decide whether to start chemo, try some kind of surgery, or do palliative care until his quality of life drops and he has to be put to sleep. $3000 is a conservative estimate of what any treatment could cost here in Seattle. Leo is a good boy who only got rescued off the streets at an old age, and I'd like to give him a fairly painless home life for the last few months. Any help anyone can provide would be much appreciated!
Organizer
Lauren Wells
Organizer
Seattle, WA