My dear friends,

I come to you today in remembrance of our beloved Mr. Darcy, our Little One. Many of you know by now he had Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), which he developed very early in his life and went undetected until he was at the most advanced stage. He was just 2 years old. In November 2024, he went into congestive heart failure (CHF) and his prognosis was 2-3 months. But Mr. Darcy had more of life to live than that, and we were graced by his loving and beautiful presence for 14 months. Never once did he suffer. He was never in pain. He continued to be Mr. Darcy, the lover of life and all living creatures he encountered. His physical heart was as large as his true heart, his love-light.

Throughout the last 14 months, my husband and I, his veterinarian, and his cardiologist dedicated ourselves to his care. He was in the best possible hands, and all of us were blessed to be able to care for him on his special life journey.

One of the things I did early on was read every piece of published research on HCM and CHF. His cardiologist and I discussed them at length, and she consulted with leading veterinary cardiologists around the country. We were able to make adjustments to his medicines and try some medicines that had success in dogs and humans. All of these things we believe helped extend Little One’s life so that he could enjoy each and every day.

But there is so much more work that needs to be done in this area of veterinary medicine. HCM afflicts 15-20% of all cats at some point in their lives. Some may never develop symptoms, but many, many do. When the symptoms arrive, survival time plummets. One drug that is already in its 2nd clinical trial shows that it can stop the progression of HCM and even cause the heart to remodel itself with normal tissue. Felycin-CA1 is the most important breakthrough in feline HCM — ever. It is only being studied in cats that have not yet advanced to the symptom stage.

And so, today I’d like to announce that I am holding a fundraiser to support the ongoing research of feline HCM to honor Mr. Darcy, my Little One. ALL funds raised will go to the feline cardiology department at North Carolina State University. I hope that all of you can find it in your hearts to join us. But even if you cannot make a financial contribution, your love is just as important. Contributions will be matched up to $1,000.00. Other friends of Mr. Darcy will also provide the link to the fundraiser. I encourage you to share this fundraiser far and wide. I have 57k followers. Think how much money we could raise if everyone gave just one dollar!

Little One’s legacy is to help those who don’t yet need it but will someday. Won’t you be a part of that legacy?