Hi, my name is Staisha and i’m 18 years old and currently finishing my last year of high school. I live with my little sister who is 14 and my single mom. In November, 2023, my little sister adopted a kitten and named him pepper. We had just lost our dog that we’d had since childhood, and thought her having a little buddy would help her with her grieving process.

In the morning of Friday, February 21st, pepper threw up multiple times and wasn’t acting like himself. My mom took him to the vet where they did an x-ray and found a blockage. He was incredibly constipated, and because of that they were unable to determine if the blockage was poop, or a foreign object. In the hopes that him pooping would help clear the blockage by having him poop, they gave him 2 enemas and we took him home. We waited for him to have a bowel movement, which he did but he still wouldn’t eat, drink or move much.

The next morning, Saturday the 22nd, he still wasn’t eating, or acting like himself. He wasn’t his normal, playful self and he was hiding from us. We took him back to the vet where did another x-ray and ultrasound and found his stomach was incredibly swollen and filled with fluid. They determined the best option would be a surgery and after some blood work, they began the surgery to remove what they thought was one blockage.

The surgery ended up being much more extensive than they thought, he had 2 blockages, one very large and one less serious blockage. As well as 8 inches of his intestine being dead, having to be removed.

We picked him up in the afternoon on Sunday. He had a fever from his body fighting off the infection, and he had dislodged his I.V causing fluid to pump into his arm instead of his vein, causing his arm and shoulder to swell up. Regardless, the vets were hopeful he would perk up and we were happy to be able to take him home with us. The first night when decently smoothly, but in the morning of Monday the 24th, he still would not eat, drink or go to the bathroom. We attempted to give him his morning meds but he regurgitated them, causing fluid to also come out of his nose. His fever had also gone back up. Because of this, we had to take him back to the vet so he was able to properly be given his medication to manage his pain and stress as well as his antibiotics and anti-inflammatory’s, and have his fever managed and monitored.

The last thing i wanted to do was create a go fund me, but the bills are piling up one after another. I work 2 jobs, as well as trying to finish high school and my moms a single mother who works full time. The unexpected second blockage that they found once they started the surgery, as well as the issues with his intestines caused it to end up being more pricey than we anticipated. I’m so grateful to live in this wonderful community on the sunshine coast and would appreciate any help, even if it’s just sharing the go fund me!

We love our cats and to us, they are a part of the family. We have two kittys other than pepper, who he loves cuddling and playing with. Pepper is just over a year old and we miss having him home with us like crazy. We are hopeful we’ll be able to bring pepper home, healthy to his siblings and our family soon, and i thank you for your time you took to read this⭐️

(I included a photo of his vet bill from the surgery stay, the total cost of all of his stays amounted up to more, however we’re just hoping to cover any amount of the surgery that we can)