Last Updated: 24/11/2025

Hi everyone - my name is Georgina Howlett, and I'm the proud, adoring owner of a special cat called Lexi.

Lexi came to me in 2021 after I adopted her from her previous owner during the COVID-19 pandemic. In her previous home, she had been facing bullying and aggression from another cat, and was no longer happy there.

When taking her in, I was told she was around seven years old and had been found as a stray kitten. She had only ever been an indoor cat, and as such had not been taken to the vet very often. Thus, the first thing I did was register her with a vet and get her up-to-date with her vaccinations, as well as have her put through a full health check. At that time, she seemed perfectly healthy, but there was no guarantee of no underlying health conditions due to a lack of medical history. Due to this, I couldn't accurately fill in quotes for insurance and insurers wouldn't provide me with estimates, so I decided to set money aside instead in case of emergency for her.

Fast forward to March 2024, and I felt a lump near one of Lexi's nipples while stroking her belly one day. Ever the pessimist, I took her to the vets within weeks, and they agreed that this lump felt abnormal and should be surgically removed. I used my emergency funds to pay for this surgery, and thankfully, it was deemed a success. The lump was tested and identified as a benign cyst, and I was very relieved and glad that it wasn't cancerous. I thought that was the end of Lexi's troubles... but sadly, she has a talent for troublemaking!

By the middle of 2024, I had felt another two lumps rising under Lexi's belly fur - one again on a nipple, and the other nearby to one but on the other side. Again, I opted to surgically remove these and used a large portion of the redundancy payout I'd received from my past employer to fund it. I was lucky to have entered employment again by this time, and opted to use my money for her surgery over anything for myself.

These two lumps were then tested, and sadly, both came back as malignant cancerous tumours. Formally, Lexi's diagnosis is of intraductal papillary mammary carcinomas, which I have been told is a rarer type of mammary cancer in cats that usually affects older female cats.

Due to the complexity of the tumours and how they grow, I was referred to a specialist veterinary care centre - AURA, in Guildford - to investigate next steps for treatment.

So far, Lexi has undergone:

I have been extremely fortunate to have a supportive network around me who have continuously supported be both emotionally and financially where they could. I never could have afforded the many complex and life-saving / extending treatments for Lexi without this aid.

The goal amount for this fundraiser remains set at £7500. £3500 of this was used towards Lexi's first mastectomy surgery, with the funds raised since having gone towards the second half of the surgery. In total, her care has now cost in excess of £15,000 - the majority of this I am repaying myself. Any additional donations received to this fundraiser will help with this, and to afford Lexi's ongoing palladia treatment.

At this stage of Lexi's treatment journey, I am no longer actively requesting donations. However, if you would like to contribute or help to repay the debts her treatment has incurred, I am of course incredibly grateful for any additional support received.

As ever, I will, of course, supply as many photos of Lexi loving life and being herself as possible.

Here's the classic to tug on your heartstrings:

And a more recent one of her with her new catnip-filled corn and doughnut toys:

Thank you,

Georgina Howlett and Lexi