Hi! I'm Leo and I have a cat named Rex Orange County whom I received as a gift from some friends about two months ago. Rex is a super playful cat who's curious about everything and is very food motivated. On the week of May 24th he started licking his nether-regions aggressively and not for pleasure or sanitary purposes. At first I didn't think a whole lot of it until yesterday, May 30th. I noticed he spent a long amount of time in the litter box. When I checked in after him I noticed that there was just dry litter where he had been sitting for so long. He had not buried anything either as there was nothing to bury. At first I thought he was constipated, but then he started trying to pee in different places all over the house and nothing was coming out. After a restless night, he spent all morning hiding in a corner of the house, breathing heavily, and not very active. Very odd for a 5 month old kitty. He hadn't touched dinner or breakfast nor had he had any water in the 12 hours since I noticed his behavior change and he refused to go to the litter box, crying whenever I tried to get him to go. Because of this I decided a trip to the emergency clinic was warranted. They diagnosed him with feline idiopathic cystitis - a blockage of his urethra had formed. They said it could form for a number of reasons, but that he will be dealing with this for the rest of his life. They said that we caught it early which is a good thing and that they can treat it and he shouldn't have any other health complications due to it, assuming the treatment goes well. I'm not one to normally ask for help, like in any instance, but when they hit me with the $3500 bill - I was shocked. I don't have that kind of money. Like I said, I just got Rex a couple of months ago so I don't have pet insurance. They had me pay this in full. I'm creating this GoFundMe to recoup the cost of the treatment as well as associated medications and dietary changes that I will have to give Rex post-treatment. Any small amount helps! ! I wouldn't ask if I didn't have any other option. Such is the world we live in that someone is literally asked if they can afford to keep a loved one alive. Please help me keep Rex alive, healthy, and housed! I do love him dearly, even after just our short time together.