Hi, I'm Kristina, and this is Damiano.

Those of you who know me know that 2025 was a very rough year for me. The final blow was losing my beloved Squish cat in October. His death was sudden, unexpected, and extremely traumatic. He'd been with me for eleven years, through the roughest parts of my life. I'm not sure I'd even be here if it hadn't been for him. So losing him was absolutely devastating, and I wondered how I'd cope without him, and especially how I'd get used to sleeping without him curled up on my hip every night.

I hadn't even begun to think about getting another cat when Damiano found me. No cat could replace Squish, but Damiano decided to pick up where Squish left off, including sleeping on me. He absolutely understands his assignment, and I already owe him so much even though I've only had him a few months.

I'd noticed a couple of weeks ago that he didn't seem to be able to see as well as he used to, so I made a vet appointment. His eyes were hazy, pupils dilated, and by the time we got to the appointment blood had begun to pool in his eyes.

We tested him for FIV and leukemia, and those tests came back negative, which is good! But that also means that we still don't know what's going on with his eyes, so we're going to need to keep running tests, and once we know what's going on it's going to require treatment.

I'm doing the best I can for him, but this is going to be an expensive journey, and I'm only just managing to get by. So I'm asking for help because he's just a kitten with his whole life ahead of him, and I owe him everything.