I am Cleo's mom. I have always been a cat lover since I remember begging for a cat when I was about 6. Mom wanted just one but they came as a pair as they were brother and sister. They lived to be 15 1/2 years old & 18 1/2 years old respectively. After the sister passed, it took time to be able to get another cat. 10 months later enter Cleo, whom I eventually named after a book I read named the same, that had a picture of an all black kitten with bright green eyes on it {I HIGHLY recommend the book as it is a true story and a short read} as Cleo is all black with bright green eyes!

Now why is Pincess (not misspelled and I'll post the back story about that later) Cleo in need of help? Last Thursday she was dropped off with a caretaker for an extended weekend. Wednesday night and Thursday morning, she was accidently given massive doses of her insulin (which is long acting) causing her to go into a diabetic coma.

When she was rushed to the Emergency Vet Hospital, her blood sugar was 6. ('Normal" is ~80-120 though Cleo is maintained at a slightly higher rate & her diabetes was under control quite well at the time this occurred). Intervention to save Cleo was started with multiple calls between the vet hospital she is currently at and her regular vet. The ER team kept wanting to focus on all of these "other problems" Cleo *might* have like a reason for her lack of fur [easy on that... LOTS of blood draws {PLEASE read the post to be tentatively titled Start of Cleo's Health Journey to find out more about why}]. Her AMAZING primary vet got the ER vet all straightened out and then she was put on her normal dexamethasone dose (they wanted to cut her dose in half because it was too high of a dose for a cat (NOT for Cleo as she is NOT your normal kitty!) ... which when an animal or human who doesn't have adrenal glands or working adrenal glands (which produce quite a few hormones) they have something called Addison's Disease and the body can't regulate the hormones. Some of these deal with stress and when the body is stressed for any reason, an Addison's patient needs EXTRA!

Friday night, she made MASSIVE improvement; out of the diabetic coma, normal temperature, no need for oxygen, blood glucose at a normal level, she was responsive to stimuli, and no observed focal seizures (which have been a direct result of the hypoglycemic crisis). I was OVER the moon happy!! The ICU vet was saying that it looked good for Cleo to go home Monday! Enter Sunday. She yo-yoed back the other way, her CO2 was high, focal seizures came back with them trying to decrease the Keppra (anti-seizure medicine she is on which comes in a LIQUID only (more on this later) and had to be put back in the O2 tent because her breathing started to become labored. They are saying that they are concerned for cerebral edema (excess fluid) and that she may have possible brain stem damage and she might not be able to walk etc. THEY DON'T KNOW CLEO! It is my FULL belief that she WILL get better (might not be 100% her normal BUT is THIS what I am praying for? YES! As I believe with my WHOLE heart, soul, and mind that God can do ANYTHING, as Luke 1:37 says "For nothing is impossible with God"

WHY do I NEED Cleo??

1) They say cats can't be service animals. She's mine. Not officially trained as cats are considered not able to be trained .... don't believe it (see 3 below). However, she officially is my emotional support animal. MANY may know MY story. If you don't, here is a SUPER short version:

1) I was born SUPER early 23-24 weeks, so I've had medical problems my whole life but not too terribly bad until ....

2) 2015 started to get sick but I didn't know it. Cleo wouldn't leave me be. It was official until 2016 when I found out that I had a rare form of leukemia which I have been fighting ever since so almost 11 years.

3) I have LOTS of medical conditions now and whenever I don't feel well or am sick or my heart is going too fast, she lays next to me or on top of me until it is over!

Cleo is my heart kitty. I know one day she will not be here anymore but NOT like THIS! Not over a mistake by a caregiver. This is breaking my heart just having to MAKE this! If you can spare anything please do! If you cannot, I understand but SHARING is FREE and will HELP just as much! Let's get this going and SAVE CLEO! She never left me when I was sick, I do not want to not be able to help her just because of finances!