Spooky and Cheetos Need Your Help

Hi, my name is Rochelle and I am fundraising on behalf of my sister's kittens, Spooky and Cheetos. They are both 4-months-old Devon Rex's. She adopted them as a gift to herself. My sister has only had them for a month and a half and has already experienced a lot of heartache due to their poor health conditions. Spooky was diagnosed with FIP or feline infectious peritonitis on 6/05/21, while Cheetos has been in and out of the hospital since we have received them. Cheetos' most recent diagnosis as of 6/28/21 was Suspected Laryngotracheobronchitis. This has left us emotionally devastated and financially strained. Here is our story, thank you so much for your time.

How it began

Me and my sister flew from California to Maryland to pick up Spooky and Cheetos (who was from another litter). We were so excited to finally meet these little angels and bring them home with us. We felt like it was divine timing because we are dealing with the loss of my mother. The moment we held them in our arms, we knew immediately they were so special. They had such great energy, so loving and playful. The first week, we were adjusting them to the living room, so we slept in there with them. I remember falling asleep while they were still playing and waking up with them on my stomach and chest. I once read somewhere that when a cat does this, they are healing you. I truly believe that they sensed how much pain we were in and I felt so comforted. 

Cheetos' first health scare

After a few days of them being home, Cheetos had an episode of bloody diarrhea. This was later followed by vomiting and lethargy, which alerted us to take him to the ER. Many diagnostic tests later, there were no answers to his symptoms. The breeder provided us with home remedies and advice which later helped him recover.

How Spooky was diagnosed

Once Cheetos was healthier, we soon noticed that Spooky was more sleepy than usual. We had assumed it was because his little, rambunctious brother would not let him sleep. However, things began to progress for the worse. My sister noticed that he was using his abdomen/stomach to breathe, which was a sign of respiratory distress. He also could not stay awake in her arms. This was so scary and alarming because Cheetos had a little health scare a week prior. This added more stress on top of our grieving. In the ER, they did an echocardiogram and x-ray, which found fluid in his chest wall. The swelling of the wall hindered him from being able to breathe properly. The vet drained 65 mL of fluid from his chest wall. From his bloodwork, fluid testing, and symptoms they diagnosed him with FIP. My sister was devastated as she was given the option to euthanize him or try a costly experimental treatment. We did not want to give up as Spooky was staying strong. Even though he didn't feel good, he would still want cuddles.

Cheetos' second health scare

Cheetos suddenly began making abnormal hacking noises on 6/24/21. My sister did not want to take any chances on Cheetos getting worse so she scheduled for him to visit the vet. His physical exam was normal, but my sister knew we had to investigate further. We received the test results on 6/28/21 and the vet confirmed that the bloodwork did not present any alarming values, however his chest x-rays revealed infiltrates in his upper and lower lobes. There is suspicion of laryngotracheobronchitis and we are doing a trial of antibiotics to see if this clears up the infection. 

Where we are now

It seems as though one kitten gets better, then the other one gets worse. At this time we have two kittens that have required a lot of visits to the vet due to their poor health conditions. Spooky's FIP treatment alone is expected to cost approximately $2000. Although the breeder is helping with the FIP treatments, my sister still has to pay for vet visits, blood work, X-rays, supplemental medication, and future surgeries if indicated. Now that Cheetos has gotten sick for the second time, we had to use the money saved for Spooky's treatment on Cheetos' vet fees. We are hopeful that Cheetos will recover after a round of antibiotics, however if he doesn't, he will require a surgical procedure to obtain a sample of the fluid in his lungs. 

Conclusion

We are at our wit's end with what our options may be. Hence why we're giving this fundraiser a try. The money we receive will go towards Spooky and Cheetos' recovery. We are so grateful for anything.

We want to thank you for your time, positive thoughts/prayers, and any contributions to our cause.