We need your help to save our dearest cat Mavis!
The moment we saw Mavis in the shelter we knew she was meant to be in our lives. Her confident and loving personality has brightened every aspect of our days. From her gentle meow when we walk through the door to our morning cuddles on the bed, she brings us the most profound comfort and love. Mavis is not just our pet, she is our family. On paper she may be Aryana’s baby, but she has found a family in all of us, and a friend in every person who was walked through our doorway.
Over the past few weeks, Mavis has been experiencing a range of health issues. We learned that she has a heart murmur, and after a scheduled echocardiogram at her regular vet, we brought her home and soon realized that something wasn’t quite right. For several days post-ultrasound she was hiding in strange places, not eating, and was just generally not her loving, bubbly self. We decided to bring her back to the vet to get some answers on what might be going on. The vet took some blood and the results were truly shocking. Her levels were dangerously low and most critically, she was severely anemic and would need to be rushed to the emergency room immediately.
We brought her to Schwarzman Animal Medical Center where she has been receiving the best care possible. They started by administering a blood transfusion to combat the anemia and raise her red blood cell count. They also discovered after an ultrasound and more testing that she has free flowing fluid in her abdomen as well as a series of masses and lesions on her liver. The fluid in her belly came back as a match with her blood, indicating that she may be dealing with an internal bleed. One blood transfusion was not enough so they began a second one. At the same time, they performed something called a Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) to try to get a sample of what is going on with her liver without having to perform surgery. Unfortunately the FNA could not give us enough information and we were told that the next step was a very risky major abdominal surgery. We were told that her chances of survival through the operation were limited. They were not able to remove the masses due to high risk, but got the biopsies they needed. The surgery was fact finding, but still led us to more questions than answers. We sent her all the love and support we could and were up all night, and by some miracle, she survived the surgery. Mavis defied all odds and awoke from her surgery and began her gentle recovery process. Simultaneously, she was having a third blood transfusion to continue increasing her red blood cell count. After, she was becoming more stable, gaining strength, eating on her own, and being her silly self (we were told she wanted to climb around her cage ). She was ready to come home with an arsenal of medications.
We brought Mavis home last night, but this morning we noticed that something wasn’t right. She was extremely lethargic and not interested in food at all. We were told by a doctor to rush her back to the hospital. Her anemia had come back and her red blood cell count dropped severely again. Mavis has been hospitalized again and is now receiving her fourth blood transfusion. We are swimming in a sea of unknowns and question marks as each test result is leaving doctors more and more puzzled. Her journey continues but she is a pillar of such strength and resilience.
As you can imagine, this truly feels like one never ending nightmare, but through all of it, we are trying to find hope. Hope for her recovery. Hope for her strength. Truly sending her the most profound healing energy imaginable. She needs a miracle right now but we also believe that with a community of our loved ones praying for her, she will find healing and recovery.
Hospitalization of any kind is extremely expensive but with the level of care and diagnostics that Mavis has received, her bill is upwards of $25,000 at this point and it will only grow. I (Aryana) am doing all that I can to get her the best care but I need any ounce of support you can extend to bring her home. As a college student working a part time job a bill of this size feels monstrous. I am reaching out to our community for help in any way that you can. Whether it is $5, $3, or even $0.50, anything helps! Regardless of monetary support, I ask that you keep her in your thoughts and prayers and send her any thoughts of positivity you can! Please share this to everyone and anyone you can. We will not give up on Mavis, and we hope you will help us continue the fight for answers.
All our love,
Aryana, Juliette, and Natalia