Two months ago I adopted my little shelter kitty, Winona! In the short time I have known her, Winona has already helped me make so much progress with my mental health struggles and she has become my best friend.

When I adopted her, the shelter was unaware that she had any health issues, therefore I was under the impression that she was healthy. After adopting her, I noticed underlying symptoms of illness, involving lots of blood (without getting into the specifics). Throughout these past couple months and many ER and vet visits later, we are still working on Winona’s diagnosis and treatment. To date, I have spent about $1,000 on her medical bills and trail treatments.

As stated, I was not aware of her condition when I adopted her, so it has been a struggle for me to keep up with her medical costs. I am a full time college student which means that I only have the availability to work part time. If any of you own pets then you know that I would do anything and pay any amount to help my Winona get the treatment she needs and get better.

Especially during the holiday season, these bills have been hitting me hard. After her last vet visit a couple days ago, the vet decided to start Winona on a prescription diet that costs $80 a bag. If her symptoms seem to improve on this diet, then she will stay on it for the rest of her life. This expensive prescription food combined with further appointments and evaluations to secure a diagnosis and proper treatment combined with what I have already invested into her care is adding up very quickly and has put me in debt.

I know it’s the holidays and everyone is scraping by, but I would appreciate any amount to help me continue to give Winona the treatment she deserves! I think it is so important to give shelter animals a second chance and a loving home! And Winona has helped me so much, getting her is still the best decision I made.

Please consider helping out a broke college student and her sick kitty! We appreciate it more than you know <3