Save Link: A Beloved Cat's Fight for Life

Hi family, friends, and folks. We're hoping to raise money for our beloved cat Link, who is currently in the hospital with a life-threatening condition. What was initially supposed to be a much more manageable $4,000 vet bill has quickly turned into a shocking $12,000. This total amount does not even include any of the future treatments that we had hoped to consider. This is also coming at a time when, like many others, we have been hit with financial uncertainty due to a variety of external and personal issues, so we appreciate every single penny.

Link is the snuggliest, funniest, softest little cat you could ever meet. She quacks like a duck instead of meowing, loves string and soft blankets, and at 10 years old still acts like a kitten. Link was initially found abandoned in a parking lot as a kitten with her littermates, where she was then adopted as a barn cat. The issue was, she was far too friendly to remain a barn cat. She would constantly try to run inside the house, she was always looking for someone to pet her, and she was always looking for a lap to snuggle up into. When Link met my partner, it was love at first sight, and we quickly adopted her and her sister into our home. My partner and I don't have kids, so Link and her sister are loved as though they're our children. She is the light of our life, and we would do anything for her. She has seen us through so much, and she has been a crucial part of our support system.

On the morning of Thursday, April 3rd, she was not her typical self - she didn't shout hello at me when I came downstairs, wasn't interested in pets, and was hiding under a chair. I noticed she had labored breathing, so I brought her into the ER. They took her back right away and told me her chest cavity was filled with fluid, leaving little room for her lungs to expand and making it hard for her to breathe.

To save her life, they put tubes in her chest to drain the fluid and allow her to breathe more easily. Based on what they saw initially, the vets thought she could be suffering from something called pyothorax. Pyothorax can be treated with antibiotics, and the prognosis is good for recovering patients, so we were hopeful. Throughout her stay at the hospital, she has been improving so quickly and staying so strong. The vets keep saying she's recovering quicker than they imagined, and our baby girl would likely be able to come home a day earlier than expected.

However, when we got the final results back from the tests, we received bad news. Rather than the treatable pyothorax, they diagnosed her with something called chylothorax, which is a very rare condition that only 1 in 100,000 pets get. It's a much more complicated road to recovery, and can only be treated if the underlying condition is managed. If an underlying condition is found and treated, she can continue to live a happy life. However, if we can't find or treat the underlying condition, the fluid will come back, and she will struggle to breathe once again. She would need further testing (including a CT scan and echocardiogram) to identify possible causes.

With these complications, what was initially a $4,000 bill has quickly turned into a $12,000 bill. This doesn't include any future surgeries, treatments, or potential euthanasia costs. She is worth every single penny and more, but we recently found ourselves in a difficult financial situation, and soon we won't have anything more to give. Link has a lot of life left in her; she's made that clear based on her strong recovery and in the way she perks up every time we visit her. We want to make sure we do everything we can to make her comfortable and bring her home. With this, we ask for your support to help us bring her home. Any type of support will help, and all funds will go directly towards her medical bills.

Thank you❤️