Help Us Provide Charlie With End of Life Care

Please help my mom provide end of life care, including palliative treatment, and when it’s time, compassionate euthanasia and cremation services for our beloved family cat, Charlie.

About 11 years ago, I happened upon an online plea for kittens facing euthanasia. In a photo attached to the ad was a picture of Charlie, just ounces big, curled up next to his mama. I showed my mom the ad and that same hour, equipped with only a laundry basket, some towels and the vague idea that we’d been recently discussing adopting kittens, we headed to rescue Charlie and his sister, Quinn.

When we arrived to meet the kittens, there were just 4 left awaiting rescue. 2 had been non-specifically claimed, and so our 2 were for us to “pick”. Although, when Quinn ran to my mom and Charlie climbed right onto my lap, it was clear that they had picked us to take them home.

Charlie and Quinn turned 11 this July. In those 11 years with us, they have supported my mom, brother and I all individually during hardships, but also as a family, with the greatest extent of emotional comfort that only a pet’s love can provide. While Quinny is the spunky, playful runt of their litter, Charlie is the big love bug. When he lays on you, his purrs resonate deep in your chest. When my mom and I grieved together following the news of his terminal diagnosis, we agreed that those deeply felt, healing purrs, his blinking “I love you” gaze and his profound capacity for affection and comfort will be what we will miss most.

While I named Charlie and consider him ~my~ cat, he has always lived with my mom. When my brother and I made my mom an empty nester, she joked that Charlie and Quinn were our replacements. But really, they were never treated with any less love or care than my brother and I received in her home, so it’s as if they were never any less than my mom’s other children, anyway. Anyone who really knows my mom can attest to how much she loves our cats. This grief will hit my mom the hardest, and I feel that the least I can do is make sure that she doesn’t need to worry about financial barriers during his end of life care. As many are familiar, financial security has never been something my family has had the comfort of knowing. My mom raised us as a single mom starting over from scratch, and I know it will be a great burden for her to not be able to provide the care we want Charlie to have as we let him go.

Because Charlie’s terminal diagnosis of lymphoma came after a sudden and rapid health decline, this news was sudden and unexpected, with symptoms appearing only recently. While my mom did enroll him in a pet insurance plan recently, unfortunately, his end of life care will not be covered by the policy.

I am raising funds to provide Charlie with the palliative medical care needed to keep him comfortable in his final days, including vet exams to check for disease progression/complications and a prescription diet to be gentle on his stomach so that he can continue to enjoy his meals for as long as he can. Donated funds will also cover the cost of his recent diagnostic vet visit.

Then, when he tells us it is almost his time, we will choose to let him pass painlessly and comfortably in our arms. We would like to opt for in-home euthanasia if we are able to obtain the funds, as, like most cats, Charlie is only at peace in his home. Then, I am hoping to gift my mom with the comfort and solace of cremation and a memorial package (ink paw prints, urn).

Leftover funds, if any, will be saved for future vet care for Charlie’s surviving sister, Quinn, who is at high risk for Charlie’s condition due to their genetic predisposition.

Thank you for reading & hug your pets tight for us today.