Meet Eminem. He's My Therapy Cat (ESA).

Eminem was found on 8-Mile in Detroit as an adult. His foster thought he would be a great therapy cat for a nursing home because he had such a sweet temperament. But Eminem also had FIV, so in the end he was remitted to a cat rescue where he spent over a year in their back room. 

Then I came along. I was diagnosed in 2013 with PTSD, depression, and agoraphobia after experiencing a natural disaster while I was serving in the Peace Corps. I was assaulted, left without food and water, caught in fire and flooding, and had to walk 13km to be airlifted out. I needed someone to heal with, and that someone was Eminem.

Today, I'm happy to say I'm doing better. I have finished my graduate degree, I have a job lined up in the middle of a pandemic, and I only have flashbacks every few weeks! But me and Eminem's story isn't over. He recently had a vet check-up for some alarming stiffness and soreness. It turns out my faithful companion is older than we thought (not 8 years-old, but 12!), and he needs some teeth pulled to regain his quality-of-life. 

While I have a job lined up, the paychecks haven't actually started coming in. I'm also looking at a cross-country move for said job, and I'm in the market for a car. While I'm lucky and have some funds left over from my graduate scholarship, my budget just doesn't have a lot of room.