Sammy was born an outdoor kitty at the end of last fall; he was the runt of his litter. Unfortunately, he was abandoned by his mom, so I did my best to make sure he was able to eat, but it was a difficult time to do that with cold temperatures just starting to hit. He was only a few weeks old when the first frost hit, and we were lucky enough to get him inside, but he was only a few minutes away from not making it.

Somehow, I got him in front of a heater in time, and he just barely made it. I bottle-fed him from there, and he slowly got better. Anyone that knows him knew he was the smallest kitten they’d ever seen. But he grew to be bigger, and I’ve been so proud of his progress.

Because of all this, Sammy is very susceptible to health problems and doesn’t heal well on his own. About a week ago, Sammy got an abscess on his leg that I tried to care for at home, but unfortunately, it became infected during the weekend while my vet was closed. He ended up getting worse quickly, and when I got home Sunday night, he was breathing very heavily and rapidly.

I ended up having to take him to MSU and spent about 6 hours there while they drained fluid from his chest and gave him IV antibiotics. His heart rate and breathing were abnormal, and he had a very high temp. They put him in an oxygen chamber, and I made the tough decision to take him home against their recommendations with oral antibiotics.

He’s been feeling better but has a high chance of the fluid returning as they couldn’t get all of the thicker pus out. Breathing is still labored, but if he can fight for the next 12 hours, he has a better chance. Right now, I’m just waiting to see how he reacts before I take him to my vet.

The best solution would be way out of range for me financially, and my best option I can afford is one more chest tap, but that’ll be it.

I’ve been struggling so much lately that I already can’t afford that, and I have no other options.

It’s been such a long year, and I haven’t been good at updating people, but between Sammy’s health, my business, and the other obligations I have, it’s been overwhelming. I have essentially been doing 3x the work I have been paid for to accelerate my business, and it’s all starting to catch up with me.

His bills are already high, and I still have more to do. Surgery would be above $5,000, but at the very least, I could get another chest tap done if he declines again.

Sammy has been my best friend since he was a baby, and I want to make sure he can get the care he needs. I hope you can help out in any way you can by donating or sharing this.