Please help me save my baby Basil

Dear friends, this is the first time I am asking for such help in my life, and I would never do it if I wasn’t absolutely devastated and helpless and didn’t try to ask for help as a last resort. Some of you may know that for the last 25 years my parents and I have been rescuing and helping stray cats and dogs. Even now my parents in Ukraine are taking care of about 40 cats and dogs and therefore cannot help me. I have already spent over $8000 on my cat’s testing and treatment and exhausted my little savings and my credit card. I had to cancel the long-awaited appointment for my cat’s abdominal ultrasound and consultation with an internal medicine specialist because altogether it costs $800, and I can’t pay for it anymore. I had to save a few hundred remaining available on my credit card to pay for the upcoming blood test and doctor’s appointment. Every blood test that we need to do once or twice a week is $225, and a doctor’s visit - $125-150.

My husband and my cat Basil (Bazik) are the only family I have in Canada. Bazik has been my dearest companion and my most affectionate furry baby. He is very intelligent and unique. We used to go for walks together, many people in the area know us because my cat was like a dog, following me everywhere without a leash, we used to go to a park near a school, he loved the children's playground, sliding down the slides, running up and sliding down again, we played with fallen leaves and snowballs. He treats me as his mama, and we are extremely attached to each other.

 

Bazil suddenly developed extreme anemia. One day I knew he was sick. The blood test result showed his red blood cells level at 6%. Cats usually die when it drops under 15%. The only little hope we had was a blood transfusion. The amount of money was crazy (never in my life could I imagine such prices for veterinary services), but money becomes nothing compared to the life of your loved ones. After the first blood transfusion, there was an improvement but not for long, and I was given an option to do another one to give my cat’s system more time. The first suspected diagnosis was mycoplasmosis (bacteria that acts like a parasite in the blood, causing anemia), as leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) were negative. After a week, the test result came negative. The second suspicion was autoimmune hemolytic anemia, which is a malfunction of the immune system when it starts destroying its own red blood cells. Another strong suspicion expressed in FB pet groups was FIP (feline coronavirus). This week I got PCR test results for FIP, FIV and FeLV - all negative! Although one doctor told me that FIP may not always be detected in blood but in lymph glands.

Basil received two weeks of treatment for autoimmune hemolytic anemia, suppressing his immune system. First, the results were very inspiring, his body was regenerating many new RBC. But then they started getting worse, with red blood cells going down again and white blood cells and lymphocytes suddenly going up. That’s when I decided to try another approach suggested by a vet in Toronto: instead of suppressing his immune system, I got different recommended products to support his immune system.

I have consulted with vets in Quebec, Toronto, Ukraine and Russia…different opinions, suspicions, recommendations…But my cat’s diagnosis remains unknown and his condition is gradually getting worse. But he is still fighting for his life!

At this point, the main goal is to get the abdominal ultrasound done and consult with an internal medicine specialist. Liver, lymph glands and spinal biopsy have been strongly recommended.

If still, it is FIV (which is 100% lethal), as has been suspected by two vets, although Basil hasn’t shown the typical signs of it and the blood test showed a negative result, there are injections considered to be very effective, but they have to be continued for 3 months on a daily basis, and each injection would be around $70.

I thought I would manage financially, but I can’t. (my husband is working in Quebec and studying in Toronto, going back and forth, and also has a big personal and a credit card loan).

Yet, I still have hope that I can help my little Basil. I always believe in fighting to the end!

Life is very unpredictable and can put us in unimaginable situations.

 

I deeply thank each and every one of you for your support!