Help Sonya Get Radioactive Iodine Therapy

Hi, my name is Kat. I adopted a cat in April 2023; I named her Sonya. She was a stray that the local shelter picked up off the street, estimated to be 10 years old. She spent four months in the shelter as her age and shyness drove people away. The shelter environment was too much for her, which was apparent through her overgrooming and underweight frame.

When I brought her home, she spent the first week hiding under my bed. She slowly came around, and it seemed like all she needed was some TLC to regain her strength and confidence but sadly things took a turn. She came to me with sensitive, gunky ears that the shelter shrugged off, telling me that they "just needed to be cleaned frequently." The vet found a severe bacterial and fungal ear infection in both ears after doing a microscope exam from her ear swabs. I dropped ~$250 on treatment, and was advised to do a full blood panel and urinalysis, as well as get her teeth cleaned when I could.

Her ear infection was fixed and I thought that the blood panel could wait for a month or so so that she could get her bearings; after all, she had been in my home for less than a month and was already at the vets twice. She had yet to even venture out of my bedroom (her safe room) in broad daylight! It became apparent that the blood panel couldn't wait after I monitored her food intake... she wasn't eating enough calories to maintain 6 lbs, let alone gain the weight she needed. Anorexia is the symptom of many systemic diseases, so I sprang for the blood work and urinalysis as soon as I could which cost me another ~$250. I thought about applying for pet insurance prior to doing the blood panel, but to enrol her in a pet insurance would require that same blood work as she is a senior. Any disease diagnosed from the blood work (and I was certain some disease would be diagnosed) wouldn't be covered and I'd be left paying for treatment and a pointless insurance.

In the event that I couldn't pay for treatment, I couldn't return her to the rescue either... After all, her ear infection was neglected for who knows how long, she was overgrooming herself from stress, she was matted, and she ate even less there. Plus, her chances at getting adopted again as a senior with a systemic disease would be dishearteningly slim... she wouldn't survive being put back up for adoption. I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing I put her through that.

Her blood work came back with alarmingly elevated thyroid and liver enzyme levels. She was diagnosed hyperthyroid on 5/27 and I started her on methimazole straight away as per the vets recommendation. Though hyperthyroidism is a common disease that tends to be very manageable, it doesn’t come without a hefty price tag. I was prepared to shoulder the costs of owning a senior cat, but I definitely wasn’t expecting to be overwhelmed like this from the get-go. Presently, I’m a full-time university student on a part-time teacher's assistant salary so my income can barely keep up right now. My ultimate goal for treatment is to get Sonya radioactive iodine therapy (i131). This therapy is the only surefire way of treating her hyperthyroidism for good but it will cost me approximately $2500 CAD, according to the vet. I don't believe this is including any blood work or vet visits that I’d need to do in conjunction with it, but we'll talk more in depth at her appointment 1 month from now to check thyroid levels after methimazole.

I don't know how long she was neglected before coming into my care. Considering she was in the shelter for four months, and who knows how long she spent as a stray, she's probably been dealing with the consequences of hyperthyroid since then. Due to this, I want to hasten her treatment as much as I can so saving up for who knows how long for the therapy isn't ideal.

I’ve never been the one to ask for help, and writing out this whole spiel was truthfully uncomfortable, but it’s just me and Sonya right now. I’m disheartened and overwhelmed. I don't expect to raise enough for the whole treatment, but any size donation would send me and Sonya over the moon! Any money received through this GoFundMe will go towards i131, bloodwork, medication, and vet visits.