Keep Icarus Happy and Healthy

Everyone's favorite little wizard is going through a bought of rough health issues. Ren is looking to their community for help with medical bills and other expenses to keep Icarus happy and healthy!

For the past couple of years, Icarus has had stomach issues and has been treated with specialty food for gastrointestinal biome health, daily probiotics, and hairball supplements. He also has a fatty lump on his stomach that has to be checked from time to time to make sure it remains benign. So far, he has gotten along well, other than some light vomiting and litterbox accidents, but as he has gotten older, more issues have started to arise.

Icarus turned 13 this past October, and over the past few months he has started to lose weight. He has been having more vomiting fits and weekly bowel release accidents, leading the vet to believe something more has been going on with his gut.

At the end of January, Icarus went in for his annual checkup at Angell Animal Medical Center. When doing his usual labs, his blood albumen came back low and he was tested for b-12 folate, which was also found to be quite low. This means that Icarus has to take an additional daily supplement to help increase the absorption of nutrients from the food he eats, which will hopefully help him keep a healthier weight.

Icarus was also sent in for gastrointestinal scans, which found that he has inflamed bowels and lymph nodes in the GI tract. He was sedated and given further testing to determine if the inflammation was due to potential IBD (Irritable Bowel Disease) or if it could be a symptom of something bigger, potential Lymphoma (Small Cell Cancer). We waited patiently for his results only to have them come back as "reactive" but inconclusive, meaning the sample taken revealed potential for small cell lymphoma but did not confirm it or rule it out.

From here, there are a few options for treatment:

1) In addition to the b-12 supplements that I have already started him on, I will change Icarus' diet to an all-hypoallergenic one immediately. This means a swap away from his current food to a prescription dry food that is more expensive, about $100/mo, supplemented with a wet food that is $4/can (eep!). The hope here is that in 3-4 months, he will have less gut inflammation due to limiting allergens in his diet altogether. If so, he should stop vomiting, having bowel accidents, and losing weight.

**This option for treatment does not do anything to rule out a possibility of lymphoma, but will treat the current symptoms that point to potential IBD.**

2) If the hypoallergenic diet is working but he is still losing weight and has discomfort, vomiting, and accidents, he can be put on steroids for his GI tract that will cost at least $50/month in addition to his prescription dry food, wet food, b-12 supplements, and additional vet check-ups.

**This additional treatment will only help to ease further GI distress.**

3) If I want to fully rule out the possibility of lymphoma and keep Icarus as healthy as can be, he will need to have an endoscopy and biopsy to get a definitive diagnosis. The ultimate cost of this procedure would be $2000-$3000.

**If I can raise the funds for this procedure, I would like to move forward with it to ensure we have a diagnosis and know what we are treating.**

4) If it's found that he has lymphoma (fingers crossed this is not our reality), there is an option for rounds of chemotherapy in addition to the steroids to keep him more comfortable. We will cross that bridge if we come to it, so I do not have a cost breakdown for that kind of treatment at the moment.

At this time, I don't think it would be fair to put Icarus through that. As horrible as it is to think about (and write about in this moment), I would rather him have a happier, shorter life than a longer life filled with medical exams and procedures that would be stressful and scary for him. If it comes to that, I would also need help with the cost of end of life care for Icarus. Those costs would be determined at a later date.

THIS IS ALL A LOT. ICARUS IS MY BEST FRIEND AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS. NO ONE DOES. NO ONE PREPARES YOU FOR THIS KIND OF THING AND IT'S REALLY SCARY.

In addition, I have thought for a while now that Icarus would live a happier, healthier life if he had another cat in the house to befriend as he ages, no matter how much time he has left with us. If possible, I would like to get him his own kitten. My hope is that having another animal in the house, especially one that is younger and that he can "take care of" will give him a bigger sense of purpose, keep him entertained, and keep him more physically active, maintaining an overall higher state of health and wellness in his older age. Also, selfishly, I would love to have Icarus imprint his mannerisms on another cat so, if and when he leaves this mortal plane, part of him will live on within the character and personality of his sibling. If I can raise enough money to cover current vet costs, additional care, and we still have some to spare, I would love to put that toward getting Icarus a kitten to love on.

What I am looking for help with right now + money to recoup:

current total $1998.43

physical and initial rounds of testing

b-12 folate test

CBC

chemistry panel

prescription meds

sedation + monitoring

abdominal scan

aspirate test on lymph nodes

cytology fluid analysis

prescription dry + wet food for six weeks

b-12 supplements for 2 months

What I am looking for help with in the future/if we hit our initial goal:

additional $3300

endoscopy and biopsy

6 months of steroids

BONUS HELP - if we hit all our goals:

additional $550

distemper vaccine for Icarus (needed in order to live with another pet)

costs to adopt + vaccinate a new kitten to be Icarus' bestie