Smokey Needs Help Battling Cancer!

Friends, this is Smokey, and he needs your help. He is an 8-year-old kitty who has been diagnosed with an aggressive sarcoma (one of three types, waiting on the stains from UPenn vet). He started chemotherapy this past Tuesday.

Smokey was abandoned on the side of I-95 in Boca Raton, FL when he was about 10 days old. My stepfather Dan took him in, bottle-fed him, and he lived with Dan until Dan's unexpected death three years ago.

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law agreed to bring Smokey and his sister Maya in, and Bob flew both of them to King of Prussia, PA where they live.

A bit over a month ago, Smokey stopped eating. He spent the weekend in the emergency vet center with a very enlarged spleen. He eventually had his spleen removed and had a biopsy. Smokey went through surgery like a champ and recovered well from it. Testing revealed the sarcoma (cancer) and that it spread to his liver. Prior to this, Smokey never had any health problems.

We had his first appointment with the vet oncologist this past Tuesday. She was great, and we all felt her to be very competent, realistic, and compassionate. She recommended a course of treatment wherein Smokey would get a chemo injection (with flash ultrasound, etc.) every three weeks.

As a family, we agreed to give it a try and see if we could get him feeling a bit better and for him to be able to enjoy a good quality of life for as long as he has left.

My mother-in-law is 90 and on a very fixed income, and my sister-in-law is going through cancer herself. The vet costs associated with providing Smokey with his cancer treatments and care are beyond what they are able to do. Bob and I and other family members have been able to scrape together what we have been able to cover expenses thus far, though further assistance is needed.

My sister-in-law will also be applying to a few charities for grants as well.

If you are able to contribute to Smokey’s care, we would be grateful. No amount is too small. And if you would please share this fundraiser on your socials, etc., it would be incredibly helpful!

Thank you for taking the time to read our story.

Kate and Bob