Fight to Keep Luch Alive

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If you know Luch, you know she is the sweetest, most enthusiastic, and most loving three-year-old cat. Permanently tiny, she was likely the runt of the litter when she arrived, and yet she's always been a fighter. As just a few months old, she somehow survived a week outdoors on her own before she came to permanently live with me. Soon she and I were inseparable, I'd walk around the house with her perched on my shoulder. She was my yoga assistant, my best coworker, and my most enthusiastic fan. We've lived in three different homes together and yet without fail when I walk through the door, she is ready, running, to throw herself onto the carpet for pets and tummy rubs.

That is, until recently.

Luch stopped being interested in her food, stopped playing, and stopped doing all those annoying naughty things (like trying to chew the end of my cell phone charger) that I now wish more than anything to catch her doing again. My initial vet visits were optimistic, and she even seemed to be improving. But her test results told a different story.

Luch's bilirubin levels nearly doubled in two days, close to 7, and the skin around her ears and eyes began to turn yellow. Signs of liver failure. Signs that her little body was giving up.

Thursday night, at 11:00 PM I made the call to take her to the ACES emergency care, where she will be held overnight in an attempt to stabilize her, run an ultrasound, and potentially a liver biopsy, which will hopefully give us the information we need to save her life.

I could really use your support.

The pet fees including diagnostics, clinic visits, and transportation currently total an estimated $21,728.96 not including treatment.

Here is a breakdown of costs for transparency:

Running Estimated Total = $21,728.96

I have taken out the maximum credit and applied for a special Care Card which will temporarily cover up to $4,600 of the costs and will need to be paid back, but it won't be enough. I am a full-time student from a low-income background and am transitioning between jobs.

The funds will be used to pay current vet bills and pay for any additional treatment, and in the worst-case scenario, end-of-life care.

If you prefer, you can now make a donation directly to the ACES Veterinary Hospital by calling [phone redacted] and mentioning it is for Sarah Cronin & Luch.

If the money raised surpasses what is needed, I will pledge the remaining towards a scholarship fund for the vet clinic in Guatemala where she was rescued to help lower-income pet owners pay for emergency medical procedures.

Luch is just three years old, young enough, we hope to make a comeback. I should have more years with her, I thought angrily today, but I also know that these last three years have been so much sweeter with her in them. And, when faced with the reality that she might not survive this, I also want to hold gratitude for all the time we had.

The least I can do is try to give my baby a fighting chance.

Please contribute if you can. Please share if you feel moved to do so. If you have a prayer, or thought, send it our way.

We thank you.