Saving Simba - the Royal Battle!

Meet Simba, The Royal King! 

Simba is my beautiful little chinchilla Persian cat with the most loving, beautiful spirit. He has spent the last 14 and a half years brightening up our lives. This little Libra boy has really brought meaning to the elegance and gentleness of the name he wears happily... with sometimes the nickname of "Kingy" too! 

This handsome boy is incredibly gentle, super social, and loves to explore! In fact, not only does he keep his front yard and garden in tip top shape, but he also goes out to restaurants and hangs out with us on our lap and on the table... without being cooped up in his carrier - he's just mellow, happy to meet new friends, and share the joy for life that he has everyday with everyone around him! 

My sweet boy helped his 94 year old grandmother with her own medical battles and also helped me while I was studying for my grueling licensing exam - that's when he earned the nickname "Professor Fluffy!" 

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens... 

It's always easy to know what Simba loves - he's *SO* expressive!  A few of Simba's favorite things include his catnip grass, hanging out in his favorite window, Michael Buble, his bed full of special treasures, and this one mouse toy from his best feline buddy, LaLa!

In fact, Simba has been a huge comfort and loving companion for 17 year old LaLa while she fights chronic kidney disease <3  

The mouse thieving incident was a really touching story! LaLa had gotten a mouse on a stick toy for her birthday... Kingy saw this toy and swiftly jumped up off his daddy's lap to steal it away from LaLa and took off running into his bedroom to actually bury it under his bed of treasures! He looked up at me with such a proud and happy face that the mouse toy became his on the spot!

We've had to get many "refills" of it since that day because he's loved it so much that he's "hunted" it over and over again - each time, you can see how happily he plays - it's almost like he's got a giant ear-to-ear smile!

The Battle with the Big C Begins

Earlier this month, my precious little guy went in to the vet during a heat wave because he was breathing funny - shallow, labored breathing. He was sent home with some blood work and cautions about the heatwave... when I looked at his labs, I saw that he had some stuff that was out of the normal range. I had also noticed that he had lost weight and had been eating grass and throwing up. I called the vet back and asked about the numbers that were alarming and mentioned that he had been eating less and noticeably much less active. We decided to do an ultrasound to see what was happening in his fluffy little body.

Unlucky 13

On Friday the 13th, we went in for the ultrasounds. My poor little guy has some serious stuff going on, more than we even imagined! 

The ultrasounds showed that he has a mass in front of his heart as well as all over his intestines and in his liver. His kidneys also have started to decline and there is fluid in his chest. The vet said that this is lymphoma and that we need to follow up with an oncologist. 

We were shattered. I can't imagine a day without that sweet face and beautiful eyes to get through. I've shared so many special moments with him and he's brought so much love to us every single day for nearly 15 years. I can't imagine him going through something so horrifying! 

Royal Aid in the Great Battle Against Lymphoma! 

Sharing as much love and joy and comfort with him as he goes through this battle is the only option. 

This morning, we saw the oncologist. To help our beautiful Simba, we need to get a much closer look at what's happening in his sweet little body by testing the masses and fluids. From there, we will know exactly what course of chemotherapy will help my little fluffy baby and, most importantly, help him feel much better and much more comfortable! 

Funds will be used to go through the medical procedures Simba needs to keep feeling good for as long as possible!

+ Diagnostic testing for my precious guy, which will be tomorrow - I've taken a loan from a kind, loving friend!

+ Chemotherapy so that Kingy Simba can keep feeling more and more like himself as he keeps battle for as long as he can!

+ Therapeutic food to keep Simba eating so that he can build his strength and get his little body back on track to the resilience it needs in the biggest battle of his life! 

+ Raised food dishes and heated beds with blankets to help our precious Kingy stay comfortable while he adjusts to the changes in his body! Perhaps another mouse "refill" so that he can be motivated to get his strength back for the "hunt" on those tougher chemo days!

Gratitude <3 

Our beautiful little guy means so much to all of us. He has a beautiful little brother, Lucky, who, as mischievous as he is, looks up to Simba. Simba has also brought so much love, comfort, and joy to every single person he has met - he is a kind little soul with a heart of gold and just a bundle of love.

It would mean the world to us to have any loving gifts to help him on this biggest, most grueling battle of his life to keep him feeling as good as possible for as long as possible. He is one of the kindest creatures any of us have ever met and his loving heart deserves the best tenderness and treatment we can give him for as long as he is willing to fight. Simba is, after all, a royal King! 

In fact, to share our gratitude immediately, each of your gifts will get a specialized paw print batch of cookies home baked by me - I have to warn you, though! Fights have broken out over my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies ... so you get the option of oatmeal chocolate chip or vanilla pumpkin (in honor of Simba's birthday month, October!).

Thank you for your kindness and generosity in helping to make the end of Simba's life better - he really is just the most beautiful, kindhearted little guy. Not to mention a handsome boy <3