Please Help Ollie, My Son's Beloved Support Cat

Hello, I'm writing this as a mother who is desperately trying to save my special needs/autistic son’s cat, Ollie. Ollie is his emotional support pet and best friend. I've never had to ask for assistance before, but I’ve exhausted all other options, like care credit and credit cards, while my son used all his birthday and holiday money to help as well. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I didn't try to do everything to save my son the heartbreak of having to put Ollie to sleep due to my financial situation (the result of a work-related injury that requires spinal surgery… but this is not about me) and Ollie doesn’t have the luxury of time to wait.

I’m working with Banfield, who discounts services and medications he needs, and I’ve been waiting for responses from grants for which I’ve applied. Despite all of this, Ollie still needs money for insulin, supplies, and tests to get his diabetes under control.

Please, if you are able to help financially, or by simply sharing the post to spread the word, we appreciate your generosity and are forever grateful for your kindness to my son and his best friend, Ollie.

Ollie’s full story below:

*sorry for any repetition*

In December 2023, we found a cat living outside under a hotel stairwell in West Palm Beach. Due to his incredibly friendly behavior, we thought he was a missing pet & took him home in hopes of reuniting him with his owner. We took him to local shelter in St. Lucie County who said he was microchiped to a rescue organization out of Palm Beach County. The shelter contacted that rescue, who said he was a community cat and asked us to put him back outdoors where we found him. The local shelter agreed they'd take him in and asked if we could care for him until they had more room after the holidays. We kept him safe while waiting for their call. During those few weeks, my special needs son developed a strong bond with this cat so we told them we were going to keep him. 

My son named his new cat Ollie and we set him up on a wellness plan with Banfield Pet Hospital. We then had his previous records transferred from the rescue organization in West Palm to our vet. We discovered that Ollie was actually an owner surrender and the rescue neutered him and placed him outside as a community cat. Poor Ollie had no clue how to be an outdoor cat after living his first year indoors. During those next few months, it was discovered that Ollie had some medical issues (double ear infections, hookworms, roundworms, anemia, high liver enzymes, asthma, etc) some of which were likely caused from living outdoors. My son used all his money he had saved his entire life from previous birthdays and holidays to help Ollie overcome those unexpected medical challenges. This grew their bond even more as my son is also medically complex and they had this in common. It was such a beautifully kind, loving & selfless gesture on his behalf to want to help this cat get well.

Unfortunately, this leads to our current situation. On April 18th, Ollie was diagnosed with diabetes which meant we had to taper him from a steroid he was on for his asthma. On April 28th (Ollie's 3rd birthday), we returned for a checkup with Banfield. They ran a few tests and determined that he had a serious life-threatening condition called diabetic ketoacidosis as well as a UTI. They suggested that I take him to an emergency vet to be admitted. Unfortunately, that was not an option financially as I've been out of work for a year due to a work injury I sustained and I'm awaiting 4 surgeries. Banfield immediately put Ollie on IV fluids & electrolytes. They have been wonderful in doing what they can on an outpatient basis to help save Ollie's life. He was going in daily for testing, IV fluids, electrolytes, insulin, and spot glucose tests to help stabilize him. They've been patient in educating me on what he needs, how much food to feed him, teaching me how to check his blood sugar at home once the monitor was delivered, training to administer insulin injections, etc. Aside from the charges that were just accrued during the visits on April 18th & April 28-30th, he will need more testing on May 19th to check his levels again (urinalysis, fructosamine, bloodwork, etc). There is a good chance that he can fully recover from diabetes now that the steroid has been tapered. He just needs some time for his body to adjust. 

The reality is my son has exhausted all of his savings for Ollie's previous care and I'm just not in a position to help while on a fixed income until my medical recovery is over. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I didn't try to do everything to save my son the heartbreak of having to put his cat to sleep due to my unfortunate financial situation. One good thing is due to having the wellness plan with Banfield, we are not charged an office visit fee when he comes in. It also discounts services and medications he needs. I've done my best to be as frugal as possible throughout this crisis. I've looked into grants and foundations to help but many of them have very specific criteria, such as, if the pet is being treated at Banfield or VCA, we have to apply for their foundation first and be denied to be able to apply for the others. My hands are tied until applications are reviewed and then I'll have to keep doing the same for each of the others in hopes we get approved (if they even have funding available to help). Ollie doesn't have that kind of time. He needs immediate help. If you are in a position to help financially, or by simply sharing the post to spread the word, we appreciate your generosity and are forever grateful for your kindness. Thank you for helping Ollie in his time of need.