Save Tux: Our Family's Beloved Cat

This is our 10-year-old cat Tux. He is very sick and needs your help.

A little background; we adopted Tux and his brother Chip from the local humane society in November 2019. Tux and Chip had been abandoned in a cardboard box outside of the humane society 3 months earlier and had been waiting to be adopted since then. Chip would not eat or drink unless he was kept with Tux. They were a bonded pair, so my kids and I decided to adopt the brothers together. Tux and Chip have been very happy, thriving, and living their best lives with us since then. Tux decided that my 2 kids are his people, while his brother Chip has claimed me.

Fast forward to about 5 weeks ago, we noticed that Tux was not acting like himself, was having a little bit of trouble jumping up on the couch, and we thought he had started to lose some weight. We brought him to see the vet on October 25th. At that time, the vet did some tests, including checking for diabetes and taking some blood, but thought Tux might have a little virus or minor injury that was causing him to not feel well and lose a little bit of weight (about 3 lbs in 5 months), so we treated him conservatively. His bloodwork came back pretty much normal, and he was not diabetic, so we figured he would start to improve...which he did not.

I was out of town the week of Thanksgiving, but my son called to tell me that Tux had lost more weight, had started vomiting repeatedly several times a day, and had stopped eating. Once I returned, I made an appointment with his regular veterinarian.

I had taken him for his wellness checkup back in May, and he weighed 20 lbs 12 oz at that time. As of December 3rd, he is down to just 13 lbs 8 oz, and the vet noticed that he was a little jaundiced, so he sent us to an emergency vet for more tests. There they did an ultrasound that showed some inflammation of the stomach, liver (which was obvious due to the jaundice), and a very angry pancreas. They gave him injections of steroids, anti-inflammatory medications, vitamins, and also lots of fluids. The vet wanted to keep him, but it was very expensive, so we opted to take him home with us and give him meds there, which we have done, but nothing has changed. Even the appetite stimulant isn't working. Tux won't eat or drink. He hasn't eaten in about a week and he needs to be hospitalized now, which I cannot afford.

Please, if you can find it in your heart to donate anything to get our boy the treatment that he needs, this will give him the best chance of survival. We are all devastated by this and cannot imagine our lives without him, not to mention we don't know how Chip will respond if Tux doesn't make it. Chip still has to make sure he knows where Tux is in the house, which is evident by his cries at night looking for him.

Thank you for taking the time to read Tux's story, and donating if possible. Please share the story of our boy Tux and help us raise the money needed to give him the best possible chance for recovery.