Save Cecilia Fund

As anyone who has met Cecilia knows, she is the Most Good tortie. Therefore, it is Most Bad that she is sick.

Over the past couple of weeks, her energy and weight both rapidly declined. As of Friday, December 13, she stopped eating entirely. She'd lost four pounds, was a little jaundiced and her bloodwork showed damage to her liver from malnourishment. Her vet gave her fluids and prescribed an appetite stimulant and medication to protect her liver from further degeneration. ($334.13)

Her appetite didn't improve over the weekend and her jaundice worsened, prompting her return to the vet on Monday, December 16. More diagnostic bloodwork confirmed her liver was getting worse. The vet gave Cecilia another physical exam and discovered a mass the size of a golf ball in her abdomen she'd missed before. X-rays confirmed a tumor.  ($680.39)

The vet recommended palliative care, saying she could make Cecilia feel okay for a few weeks, or perhaps a month or two before she'd succumb. We were devastated. She offered to get us a referral to a veterinary oncologist, saying radiation or chemotherapy might keep her going for a few months longer, but warned us that either way, we'd just be keeping Cecilia comfortable while briefly delaying the inevitable. We opted for seeing an oncologist before we gave up hope. 

Of course, there was still the matter of Cecilia not eating. Her dainty little nose turned out to be too small for a naso-gastric feeding tube, so she had a esophagostomy tube inserted into her neck. 

We took Cecilia to a veterinary oncologist on Wednesday, December 18. He said he doesn't think the mass is a tumor after all, but couldn't do more definitive testing without risking Cecilia's life; she's too fragile. Intestinal disease and small cell lymphoma are the main suspects, but it's impossible to tell just yet. In the meantime, Cecilia was prescribed steroids which, in combination with the denasyl for her fatty liver and frequent tube feeding, should help her regain enough strength to revisit the oncologist in a few weeks. ($1326.81)

We want Cecilia to have the best quality of life we can give her for as long as possible. She is the sweetest, gentlest, most loving cat the world has ever known. She is ten years old, twirls around on command to receive treats , and tucks herself under blankets on cold mornings. Her favorite activities include watching bird videos on YouTube and washing the forearms of her human loved ones until their skin is raw. We love her so much.