Hi, my name is Annie, and I need your help getting medical care for a very special cat who came into my care last fall.

Tommy is only two years old and is deeply loved by his foster and every human he meets. His favorite activities include eating meals, eating treats, and napping on his foster's lap. He is happy as can be, and as far as we can tell, doesn't even know he's sick. We desperately want him to live the long, happy life he deserves. Here's his story:

Tommy was born in a backyard in Brooklyn, NY, and was cared for for the first two years of his life by a group of devoted neighbors. When Tommy was two years old, in September 2025, his caregivers contacted me for help getting him and their other backyard cats neutered and spayed. At the vet, we learned the difficult news that Tommy has FIV and FeLV, both chronic, immune-suppressing viruses. Because of the risk to his health, it was not safe for Tommy to keep living outdoors in his backyard home, and his caregivers were not able to keep him inside their own home. Fortunately, friends and neighbors stepped up to provide Tommy with temporary housing, and Tommy has been living safely and happily indoors while we further assess his medical needs and prognosis.

Over the past few months, I consulted with several vets on Tommy's condition. As a result of one or both immune-suppressing viruses, Tommy already has severe dental disease and a constellation of other symptoms -- including enlarged lymph nodes and a heart murmur -- that we have yet to properly identify the causes of. The diagnostics that were recommended are very expensive, and given the poor prognosis of many cats with FeLV, I was initially unsure of how much I could realistically do for Tommy.

Then, in early January, we ran one more test, and we got an incredible piece of news: Tommy's FeLV infection is regressive, not progressive. This means his body is fighting off the virus and its burden on his system is becoming less and less. It is possible that in the near future Tommy might test negative for FeLV. He still has FIV, but this disease is generally considered more manageable and less life-shortening.

This news gives us renewed hope that there is a happy future for Tommy, and we desperately want to help him reach it. The next steps are to run tests to better understand the cause of his heart murmur. If Tommy does not have structural heart disease, then we can treat his dental disease to mitigate risks of infection and keep him from experiencing increasing oral pain as he gets older.

The ultimate goal is for Tommy to be adopted. Understandably, many people are hesitant to adopt a cat with chronic health issues, given the reality of how expensive veterinary care is. My mission is to do all I can to make it possible for someone to adopt Tommy by getting him the treatments he needs now, and working closely with his vet to understand what his future care will look like.

To date, Tommy's veterinary bills have added to more than $1300, and we will need around $3000 more to carry out the next steps our vet has recommended. The diagnostics for his heart (proBNP test and potential echocardiogram) will cost up to $1000. If he qualifies for dental surgery, that is estimated to cost another $2000. These are large sums of money, but together, we can accomplish so much more than one person could individually -- and for Tommy, it's worth it. This boy is a fighter, and he has so much life left to enjoy and so much love to give. Please help us raise enough money to meet the needs of this sweet boy, so that he can keep enjoying his life and be a loving companion to someone for years to come.