Hi! My name is Vivian. I grew up with dogs and was always known for my love of dogs. That is, until I met Peachy (a cat!).

I was grieving the passing of my dog, who had terminal chronic kidney disease, when I came across Peachy’s profile at VOKRA. I wasn’t quite ready to bring a dog into my life again just yet, but the house felt so empty without a little furry companion. I noticed Peachy’s profile indicated she required medical needs and was hesitant as the multiple vet and ER visits from my dog were tiring and traumatic

to say the least, but reached out anyways just to inquire.

Jokes on me! I fell in love with this little rascal at first sight. I never had cats and was rather unfamiliar with how to handle them, but knew they can be shy compared to dogs. When I met Peachy at her fosters home, she was immediately curious and came up to me. She rubbed her cheeks against my hand and legs. I even gave her some treats and she ate from my hand! The fosters said she is really sweet (no kidding) but were surprised as she was normally more shy and reserved with new people.

Peachy had a litter of 5 kittens when she was surrendered to VOKRA (a local cat rescue in Vancouver). She had a difficult birth which resulted in a painful rectal prolapse (basically, her butt tube came out - not fun), requiring a purse string stitch surgery. Normally, this should resolve itself and not inhibit her day to day and was described as more of an occasional hangnail as far as her medical needs required. It broke my heart that a major reason she still didn't find her furever home was because of something so minor. I decided, if I handled a dog with CKD, I can handle a hangnail and adopted this beautiful girl back in April 2024.

This was true for the first year I had Peachy. She transitioned into our home beautifully, every day she showed us more and more of her adorable personality. She loves to play and gets zoomies every day, will scream at you until you feed her, and most importantly she loves attention and cuddles (100% certified lap cat). She had minor prolapses (0.5-1cm) which resolved on their own but things took a turn in April 2025. Peachy had a major prolapses where 3-4cm of her rectum came out after a bowel movement. She required emergency surgery where another purse stitch was done. She was fine until June 2025 where another prolapse happened despite taking daily laxatives to soften her stool and this time 4-5cm came out. The constant ER trips and surgeries were hard on her and our family.

We are now working with an internal medicine specialist at Canada West Veterinary Hospital to uncover the underlying cause for these recurring prolapse episodes, but have yet to narrow it down. As you can imagine, the constant surgeries and tests have racked up in medical bills and as I adopted her with this condition, her pet insurance considers it as a pre-existing condition and thus does not cover any gastrointestinal conditions.

So far, the two surgeries for her prolapse episodes, the doctor fees and tests, including an ultrasound, fecal exam, GI panel, multiple blood works and urine tests have totalled to be around $8000 which I paid for out of pocket. After a month long strict diet trial on a hypoallergenic single protein wet food (Rayne Kangaroo wet food) to rule out allergies, the doctor has ruled out the potential of an allergy as Peachy still strains quite a bit when passing a bowel movement. Essentially, the goal is a nice soft stool with no straining! (Peachy knows no personal space when pooping now. I literally stare at her to take note of any straining or pain).

We are now nearing the end of our options and the doctor recommended a colonoscopy which we have received an estimate for being potentially $5k to rule structural issues and finally a potential for a different surgery to stitch her colon higher up to help relieve pressure when she strains. We want to take all these preventative measures as every time she has a major prolapse, she has to be sedated which as any pet parent knows is terrifying. And every time she does a bowel movement where she strains, she is at risk of another prolapse. Not to mention it is physically and mentally exhausting for her (and us) during recovery as well.

As a lifelong pet owner, I do believe in providing the best care I can to my babies. But from being told her condition would be like a hangnail at most (to no fault of VOKRA as they and her original doctors were under the same impression, sometimes you just can’t predict health) to endless vet/ER bills totalling up to over $8k in just half a year, this has put quite a bit of financial pressure on my family.

Peachy is only 4 years old. She is the sweetest cat you will ever meet. She greets all my friends with cheek rubs and purrs. She never scratches or bites, even when you annoy her a little too much during nap time. She got this condition after being a brave mama and bringing 5 beautiful kittens into this world (who have all been adopted out into loving families now). I want to do what I can to make sure this condition isn’t what stops her from having the life she deserves - a long, happy and healthy life filled with treats and snuggles. But I am really hitting a financial wall after spending 10k on her care in less than half a year. If you are able to contribute to her care, that would mean the world to me and Peachy ❤️