Update:

We saw the cardiologist and she was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which at best would give her 6 to 12 months to live with a lot of medical management. She had to go on and off the diuretics because it was necessary but was negatively affecting her kidneys. She was still not breathing room air but getting better and had returned to normal body temperature. She also had an unknown infection that was causing her white blood cells to skyrocket alarmingly quick to the point they were over double what is normal. She had also not eaten in almost a week. We ultimately made the gut wrenching decision to end her suffering as her quality of life was low. She was put to sleep on Tuesday, a week after she started feeling sick. She passed only a couple weeks after her 4th birthday.

From the bottom of my heart I wash by to thank everyone for the donations and kind words.

Original:

Our sweet girl is fighting for her life in intensive care. She’s only 4, and we’re doing everything we can to bring her home. Please help us keep fighting for her.

It all started this past Monday when Penelope began vomiting and couldn’t keep food down. On Tuesday, our regular vet found an elevated white blood cell count, a slight fever, and signs of infection. She was started on antibiotics, and everything else looked okay. By Wednesday, she seemed to be improving and was eating again.

By Thursday night, she started eating less, and on the Fourth of July, she barely touched her food. We planned to consult our vet on Saturday. But that morning, everything changed. Penelope was breathing rapidly and seemed in distress. We immediately took her to the vet, who gave her oxygen, took x-rays and bloodwork, and found fluid building in her lungs. They couldn’t fully diagnose the cause without further test results, but gave her a steroid shot and told us to seek emergency care if she worsened.

Just hours later, she was panting with her mouth open and making a heartbreaking squeaking sound I never want to hear again. We rushed her to the emergency vet, where they placed her in an oxygen chamber and began intensive treatment. That’s when they diagnosed her with congestive heart failure. She needed to stay at least one night to stabilize her, warm her dangerously low body temperature, reduce the fluid in her lungs, and try to understand what was happening with her heart.

By Sunday, she wasn’t improving as they had hoped. She has to stay another night, and we still don’t know how many more nights she may need, though she is showing slow progress. On top of her heart condition, she is still fighting an aggressive infection. Despite adding antibiotics, her white blood cell count is still high, and while she has started to eat a little, she still has very little appetite. We are hoping a cardiologist can give us more answers, but she may still be far from recovery, and the cost is rising quickly.

So far, her emergency care has cost us over $8,000, and there is no clear estimate of how much more it will take to save her. What we do know is that we will keep fighting for her as long as we can. We are looking to raise money to help cover the cost of her current and future overnight stays in intensive care as well as upcoming appointments with the cardiologist and any medication she will need to come home.

Penelope is not just a beloved part of our human family. She is everything to her brother Kevin. They have been tightly bonded since they met as kittens four years ago. They cuddle, play, and get into mischief together every single day. When she first came back from the vet feeling sick, Kevin cried to her and stayed by her side. Since she has been hospitalized, he has been searching for her constantly, laying on her empty carrier, crying more, and asking for extra affection from us. He hasn’t played or acted like himself since she has been gone. He misses his best friend deeply.

Despite everything Penelope is going through, she remains her sweet, gentle self. She has won over every vet she meets and still rolls over for belly rubs, even in her oxygen chamber. She is so special—the kind of soul you only meet once in a lifetime. Four years is not enough. Not for us, and not for Kevin.

If you can donate anything, no matter how small, it would mean the world to us. Your help gives Penelope the chance to keep fighting and come home to the family that loves her more than words can say. If you can’t donate, please share this. Any help is deeply appreciated.