Kino's Emergency Recovery Fund

Hi! This is Fox and Matt. We adopted our cat Kino thirteen years ago when he was a kitten, and he's been the light of our life. He has a big personality, a massive build and a surly demeanor that intimidates some of our friends and thrills others.

(Kino as a not-so-tiny kitten in 2010)

In the past year, Kino began losing weight, which we thought was a good thing - we'd just put him on a healthier diet and it seemed like it was finally making a difference. In December we noticed that he seemed to be in pain and overgrooming, so we took him for his first Vet ER visit, where no clear cause could be determined.

(Kino using the office chair just as the manufacturer intended)

(Kino harnessing the therapeutic power of the Photobooth app)

This past weekend Kino's health rapidly declined. He began vomiting many times a day, had no interest in water or food, and could barely walk. We took him to the Burrard Animal Hospital + Emergency where he was promptly diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, with some concerning complications including a heart murmur and high levels of bilirubin. He spent three days at the vet, where they were able to treat his pain and dehydration and give him an ultrasound to rule out cancer, and any other causes.

(We were both so happy to reunite with Kino, after two days at the emergency vet)

The vet believes that Kino has a good chance of recovery, as many cats with hyperthyroidism have heart and liver issues that resolve when their disease is treated. We'll know more about his prognosis in the coming months, as we start him on medicine and follow up with blood tests and ultrasounds.

We've created this GoFundMe to help cover the expenses of Kino's three-day vet visit, so we can get in a better place to support Kino's continued medical needs. Right now we're in a precarious financial position - Fox lost their job in July 2022 and was unable to work for six months, due to a severe autoimmune disease relapse that had them in and out of the hospital. Fox is currently working at an internship making $17/hr until this upcoming April. Matt is working full-time and paying for the majority of the household bills, but there's very little wiggle room for us outside of rent, utilities, food and very large student loan payments.

We know that Kino is a very special guy that has touched the hearts of many people, whether you know him as the maniac cat dragging his wheeled litter box around like a Mad Max villain, or as the outlaw who jumps up on our kitchen table and tries to disconnect all of our microphones while we're recording our D&D podcast. The lucky souls who have met Kino in real life are always left with a sense of awe as if gazing at the unofficial eighth wonder of the world.

Kino is a part of our family and has been with us through the entirety of our relationship together - for thirteen years. It was never a question for us whether or not we'd do everything we could to get him treated at the vet, no matter what the cost. Having him back at home now we're grateful that we can now start the process to get him back on the road to good health.

If you can contribute to help cover Kino's vet bill it will help us immensely - we put everything on credit and are unable to make any more than the monthly minimum, so the interest will be piling up soon. If you can't contribute please consider sharing this campaign with your network. We sincerely appreciate the help, and I promise to post lots of Kino update videos in the months to come.

With love and appreciation,

Sarah Fox and Matt Klassen

--> Copy of the vet bill

Full amount: