I’m Ella and I’m setting up this fundraiser on behalf of my mother and our cats Scrawny and Tibsy. Tibsy (the white calico) is our little princess of the family, everyone who meets her always comments on how soft her fur is. She’s very loving, always up for a cuddle and will not sit still at all especially if she’s being given attention! She’s a very vocal cat and always talks to us when anyone goes near her. Scrawny our ginger boy is Tibsy’s younger brother and is such a funny character, he’s so friendly and goes up to strangers in the street for strokes. He loves the outdoors, eating grass constantly and always goes outside to explore even in the rain! The silly little boy also scared the life out of my family in 2023 - we thought he had a chest infection or asthma so we took him to the vets, and three days later after a sneezing fit my mum pulled a huge 4inch blade of grass out of his nose!!!!!!

Unfortunately we’ve had quite a lot of bad luck these past 8 months or so, Tibsy and Scrawny’s mother our cat Molly had to be euthanised in November at 16 and a half years old due to end stage kidney disease, which is sadly very common in elderly cats. Less than two months later, Tibsy and Scrawny’s dad - our cat Splodge, suddenly started having breathing issues one night in January and then the next day we had to put him to sleep due to fluid on his heart and lungs. He was 15 and a half years old, and had no health issues at all up until the day before he died - he had heart failure. These losses very close together took us by surprise both emotionally and financially, our cats are all elderly so these health issues are all cropping up at the same time. Tibsy has just turned 14 years old, and Scrawny will be 14 in October. In the end of January we took Tibsy to the vets after we noticed continued weight loss. She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, which can be “managed” with medication for the rest of her life. However it’s pretty trial and error treatment wise, so we have to do repeat blood tests and adjustments to her medication until it’s doing what it’s supposed to according to the vets. Tibsy is very jumpy and has to be sedated every single time before a blood test, but she’s a good as gold taking her tablets twice a day. A couple months later, Scrawny has started loosing weight and it’s become very noticeable - to the point where we took him to the vets, but they would need to do a full blood panel to find out what’s wrong with him. It’s most likely hyperthyroidism like his sister Tibsy, or kidney disease like their mother had. After Molly and Splodge having to both be put to sleep, and then Tibsy getting sick and needing continuing treatment by the vets, we just cannot afford the costs for Scrawny’s blood test. My mum has a lot of health issues and lost her job in 2023 due to it, she’s on the waitlist for surgery. I’ve been helping financially with the vets bills this year where I can, but being disabled and chronically ill myself it’s not possible. This is pretty much a last resort setting up a fundraiser, rehoming our cats isn’t an option as they are old and ill and have been with us their whole lives, we wouldn’t want to traumatise them giving them to a shelter.

We’ve been trying to sell possessions in order to pay for their treatment - but it’s just not enough. We are trying to see if we can raise £500, so both Tibsy and Scrawny can get the blood tests they desperately need. Please if anyone could donate any amount you can, any help no matter how small all adds up and means the world to us so we can keep looking after our fur babies and they can live out the rest of their lives comfortably. Please share and support wherever you can, it is deeply appreciated.