On the 01/04/2026 our beautiful boy Lil Guy stepped on a stinging nettle during supervised outside time and what followed has been an absolute whirlwind of chaos, stress and grief.

We rushed him to the emergency vet for what we thought was an allergic reaction, but it ended up being far more sinister. Our sweet young 7 year old kittie has had undiagnosed congenital heart disease and the nettle had kickstarted catastrophic heart failure. He wasn't able to breathe, his little body wasnt getting enough oxygen and his lungs were filling with fluid. He stayed at the vet for 2 nights after being given so many different medications to try and treat what at thr time was a mystery, finally he was given a diuretic which helped and he was sent home with an asthma puffer to be taken daily for the rest of his life. $2700 later we had our boy back at home. We thought the worst was over, and he'd start to get back to normal but we were mistaken.

08/04/2026

He developed cellulitis in his arm due to the IV placement. His little hand has swollen up three times the size as usual, it was very distressing to see. We took him to the vet and we were told he would be fine after a round of antibiotics and Metacam but to expect to wait 6 weeks to find out if he'd have permanent nerve damage from the swelling. He started the antibiotics and it was approx $190. Not so bad, we thought he was on the mend after this round of antibiotics.

6pm 10/04/2026

He started having another attack, open mouth, full body breathing with his tongue out. So we rushed him back to the emergency vet at around 6pm. They told us he likely had another asthma attack and they could give him a steroid injection and we could take him home for monitoring. We agreed and after a few hours took our boy home. They waived in inpatient fee for this knowing our financial situation was tight but it was still another $250.

9:30pm 10/04/2026

We got him home and he still couldn't breathe, we panicked and within 45 minutes of getting home we rushed back to the emergency vet where he was placed on oxygen overnight.

11/04/2026

Around 6pm we received the greenlight to come and pick him up. He was eating, doing okay without oxygen and was given a mild sedative to make the car ride less stressful. He seemed himself again for an hour or so. Another overnight visit was $760. When we got home we started him on his prescription of Prednisolone, and continued dosage with his asthma puffer and the Doxycyclin. He seemed fine, stressed but hungry and seemingly happy to be home.

8:30pm 11/04/2026

He started having another attack, his lungs were filling with fluid again and he laid down on his side unable to breath. His little body was working in overdrive and he started open mouth breathing with his tongue out again. We called the vet to confirm we could give him his Ventolin inhaler as he'd already been doses earlier that day and were told we could. We gave him his inhaler at 15 minute intervals for 30 minutes and he seemed to improve for a very short period of time. Within an hour he was back to struggling to breathe, wheezing, gargling and sitting up in a ball with his tongue out. He was very distressed so at around 11pm we rushed him back to the vet yet again. He vomited up foam in my hand on the drive to the vet, and my partner and I were extremely upset. They rushed him in and the vet sat us down to discuss the high probability of heart failure and told us he would need to stay in the vet hospital until Monday 13/04/2026 so they could organise a cardiologist to come in. The date i'm writing this. We were quoted another $2700 and put down a $1000 deposit. On top of this fee we also have a $971 estimate for the echocardiogram being performed today. This fee could very well be higher depending on the results today - I will update everyone with changes.

We're both low income, with government assistance while trying desperately to get work in our chosen horticultural field - Gardening. Our start up fees for the business have gone directly towards Lil Guys emergency care, and on top of this we only just moved houses less than a month ago which has also cost us thousands of dollars in fees + we're paying $1000 more in rent than before. Now we're facing financial insecurity knowing that caring for Lil Guy will likely be a long term expense. Multiple heart medications, his asthma puffers, low sodium food (which can be upwards of $100) and continued vet visits to ensure he isnt declining will pretty much render us without any savings over the next few months.

So far the fees we're looking at paying all up including what's already been paid is close to $7000. While we don't necessarily feel the most comfortable starting a go fund me, we know that in order to support our little boy for the rest of his life we need all the help we can get. $5000 wont cover his current care in full, but it would help us immensely to have something set aside for him to go towards his medication, food and continued veterinary care.

He really is the sweetest little boy and at every vet visit he's been praised for being a handsome, lovely Lil Guy that causes them no problems or hassles at all.

A huge piece of our hearts will be missing forever if anything was to happen to him, and i've been sobbing on and off since Saturday evening so any help you can offer will mean to whole world and more to us.

Thank you for reading and sticking with me through this explaination i'll post updates as they come.

Edit: As of right now 16/04/2026 we've had some funds flow into my account and it's been used to purchase some of Lil Guys special low sodium food, a new ergonomic bowl to ensure he's eating at an angle that doesnt stress him and an accessible 2 in 1 soft mat. The rest of the funds have been put aside into a seperate account for his ongoing medical costs, such as his upcoming vet visit on Monday and medication costs. THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts

- Love from Lil Guys family