Help Us Save Finn's Best Friend, Faye

Dear Friends Old and New,

I’m not usually one to ask for help carrying the weight of my world—I never wanted mine to add to anyone else’s. But today, it’s grown a bit too heavy to bear alone. Our sweet kitty, Faye, is in emergency surgery right now, and we need support from our community to save her life and get her through recovery.

Faye’s Story

Faye, and her best friend/brother Finn, came into our lives as kittens just under a year ago, and from the moment we brought the two of them home our lives were changed for the better. I’ve often said I feel like Faye and I have known each other in every lifetime because of the immediate bond we shared. We work together, play together, plot together (she’s been known to sabotage a game of chess or two in my favor), and perhaps the best thing of all - we sleep on the same pillow every single night.

When Faye was young we found out at a routine vet check up that she was living with a rare congenital condition referred to as a PPDH (Peritoneopercardial Diaphragmic Hernia). Essentially, there’s a hole in her diaphragm (the muscle that separates her chest from her abdomen) which allows organs like her liver or intestines to move into the chest cavity putting pressure on her heart and lungs. Her vet told us that many cats can live healthy happy lives with this condition, but unfortunately our sweet girl was not one of those lucky cats.

Where We Are Now

Midday on March 11th, Faye started vomiting consistently throughout the day and by the next morning she was struggling to breathe. We rushed her to the emergency vet, where we were given two incredibly difficult options: emergency surgery to fix her condition permanently or saying goodbye to our sweet girl. We couldn’t bear the thought of losing such a special creature, so we made the decision to go forward with the surgery, but the reality is that the costs are more than we can manage. We looked into getting Faye insured as a kitten, just as we did for our dog and her brother Finn, and we were denied coverage by most major pet insurance companies due to her condition which is a huge reason we are in this tough spot.

The quote we were given for the surgery starts at the low end around $7,000 and could possibly exceed $10,000 with the most likely scenario being something in the middle. We were able to contribute around $2,500 up front toward her surgery costs to lower the amount we have to finance, - but we’re still left with a huge financial gap. Between the high cost of rent, food, bills, and medical expenses of our own, we’re simply not in a position to be able to cover the rest of the cost on our own without having to start to sell a majority of our personal belongings to cover the monthly cost of paying off her surgery.

Where We Go From Here

If you’re able to donate any amount, it would help immensely. We will be using the funds we raise to pay off the cost of her current surgical bill as well as help support her recovery and any follow up appointments she might have. We just wanted to give Faye the chance to live a healthy and happy life, as I know any of you would want for your furry family. If you can’t donate, sharing this post would be a huge help too.

We are going to do everything we can to ensure a smooth recovery for Faye, and I can’t begin to express my gratitude for even getting to this part of our story. Thank you for helping us save a once in every life time kitty.