Join Kara's fight for life against Autoimmune Anemia

Hi everyone, this is Kara's mommy! On 6/20, Kara was lethargic, wouldn't eat or drink much, and lost 4 pounds in a few months. I took her to our vet, and we did a full blood workup. Kara was diagnosed with anemia. We did additional blood testing to determine the cause of anemia. We hoped that it was caused by a parasite, so she started antibiotics, but unfortunately, it wasn't. A normal blood level is 25% to 45%, and Kara's was 16. Life threatening is 12%.

On 6/25, we came back for another recheck, and her levels dropped to 14%. Our amazing vet, Dr. Garrels with VCA Sheeler Road Animal Hospital, told us how hard it was going to be to fight but that she would do it if it were her pet. Studies for cats show a 25% mortality rate, so 1 in 4 cats die from this chronic disease.

It was decided that Kara needed a blood transfusion to try and save her life while the course of treatment was started. So, I took her to the emergency vet on the same day as her recheck. I had to leave her there overnight, which broke my heart and hers.

Thank God we went because her levels dropped to 11%. They told me they were able to get her levels back up to 16%, but they hoped it would go up more than that. The good news is she held the levels overnight while she was there. I picked her up and brought food for her, and she was ravenous! Yesterday, she ate SO MUCH all day and night! I have gone out and purchased hundreds of dollars in high-quality foods and toppers to entice her to eat.

On 6/27, I took her in for another blood recheck, and she is holding stable! She actually went up .5, which is so great! It means her body wants to fight and is trying to rebuild. She is eating a lot, and I will let her eat however much she wants because her body needs the energy to fight.

I have done a lot of research on this disease, called IMHA. I found a great company with a lot of information and a solid regimen of holistic medication to add to her traditional medication from her vet. It was expensive, but I'm willing to try anything! Unfortunately, she is terrible at taking medication, so giving her meds 2x a day, plus more with the new holistic meds, is causing its own form of trauma, but she will be better in the end.

In total, I have spent over $3,000 dollars since last week on diagnosis, treatment, supplements, and specialized food. I wish that were the end of it, but we must come back every few days to recheck her blood levels until she is stable. She may require another blood transfusion while the meds work. I am using my life savings which isn't a lot, and I want so badly to give her a fighting chance.

I don't typically ask for help for myself because so many more people need it than I do. I typically ask for help from other people, but I can't do this alone. I need my village and tribe to help me save her life. Please help me get the treatment that Kara needs to survive this! She is one of the best cats and has given us so much joy. She has so much more fight in her, and I know she isn't ready to give up.

If there are leftover funds when this is all said and done, I will donate those funds to Katie Kat Sims's rescue.