Help Archer: The Little Kitten with a Big Heart.

Sometimes you don’t need to choose your pet, your pet chooses you.

That’s exactly what happened to me.

Three months ago I rescued Archer. He was a feral kitten living out the back of my workplace; a pub in Durham City Centre. For a few years now I have been providing food, fresh water and shelters for feral cats, they rarely show much interest in me but it feels good to help out. Archer was different. In November 2018 he appeared; a new face at the food bowl. This tiny little kitten that was so wary of humans, yet so full of curiosity towards me. Over the course of two months, unlike the other cats I feed, Archer grew attached to me and learnt to trust. I in turn, completely fell in love with him.

It didn’t take long until he was a regular on the pub decking waiting for his lunch. He began appearing when I called for him, following me inside and would let me play with him and pick him up. He was a big hit with customers and other members of staff so they were delighted for him when, not long after this, me and my boyfriend decided to take him home. (Luckily he was safe and warm on the couch when the snow hit only a week later.)

I got him registered at a vets straight away, began his vaccinations, had him spayed, microchipped and took all the necessary steps toward making him a happy little house cat. Archer adapted to life indoors almost instantly, I quickly realised that I was the lucky one for finding him, not just the other way around. I couldn’t have wished for a more affectionate, loving little kitten. He loves people, adores cuddles and is always waiting first thing on a morning to lick my face clean and start another day of play.

For a short while everything was perfect.

Unfortunately, a few days after his first vaccination, Archer had his first seizure. I was shaken but put it down to nerves and the stress of such a big move. Two weeks later he had seizures number two and three within hours of each other.

I rushed him to the vets where they did different blood tests over the course of two days; his Pro BNP bloods came back abnormal so the following week he was back in for a heart scan. This led us to discover the cause. Archer has a heart condition; an enlarged heart on the upper left hand side, something that is usually only seen in older cats with thickened heart walls – which is not the case with him. This means his heart is constantly working overtime just to pump blood around his body.

He risks fluid retention, painful blood clots and ultimately heart failure if left untreated. The vets I take him too have said that they have very little knowledge or experience in this area and have recommended his referral to a specialist. Unfortunately since all this happened during the course of his first vaccinations, I had not yet been able to have him insured. Now after already spending hundreds of pounds to get us this far, I’m looking at spending thousands that I simply don’t have.

Though heart conditions are not reversible, a specialist would be able to carry out further tests, pin point the diagnosis, discover the cause for the enlargement and ultimately put us on the right course of medication to make his condition more manageable. Without this, every day brings the torment that Archer’s next seizure may just be his last.

This is why I need your help. Archer is so brave; he loves life and takes everything in his stride. At only 7 months old any donation, no matter how small, will go towards helping him live the full life he deserves. I had no idea what was around the corner when I chose to be Archer’s forever Mum but I don’t regret it for a second. So far I’ve done everything I can for him and I won’t stop there.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this; you don’t understand how much it means to me. If you’re a cat lover or have been touched by Archer’s story at all then please, please show him some love with a little donation.

I will be eternally grateful.

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