Pipoca, Pimenta, Piruá: These are the names of my cats. Each name is a Portuguese word meaning popcorn, pepper, and half-popped popcorn kernel, respectively. Pipoca goes by Pip, Pimenta goes by Menta, and Piruá has known many names in the past few weeks. Pip is the black cat, Menta is the gray cat, and Piruá is the orange cat. This fundraiser is for Piruá and Menta.

Piruá was found by my neighbor on the streets of downtown Chicago, the heart of the Loop. Over a few weeks, they were able to grab her off the street and take care of her. They called her Carrot and took her to an emergency vet, got her preliminary vaccines done, and tried to find a more stable home for her. At the time, they were unable to see what was going on with her eye, but it was possible she might need the eye removed. I took her in, intending to foster her, and I seem to be foster failing. One of my friends is interested in taking her and possibly naming her Pumpkin or Klubnika, so she has also been nicknamed Klooby. Regardless, we can't really afford her bills.

On July 13, I took Piruá into an urgent care clinic where I was charged $298, sent home with an antibiotic, and told that they couldn't see what was going on with her eye but to check back in a week to see if the antibiotic might help. On July 20th, I took her to Vetco to establish care; they waived the visit fee, but medications, follow up vaccines, and an eye exam were $151.97. During that visit, the vet identified that she had a tooth abscess and would need dental surgery. The Ubers to and from Vetco were $30.95, $20.65, and $20.94. I had to make a third trip to pick up additional medication while she stayed at my friend's place while I was out of town. I enrolled her in Petco Premier, which is $216, to be able to get cash back on expenses going forward, especially since she will need spay surgery and dental surgery, and at the time we had suspected she would need her eye removed. On August 6th, she was brought in for a consultation at Vetco regarding dental surgery and the possibility of removing her eye, and we were informed that she would likely not need eye surgery! They informed us that, however, it was likely that she had an intense eye infection that required her to have oral antibiotics for a month. That appointment was $164.81 due to the testing that they had to do with her eye as well as vaccines and the antibiotics that they sent me home with. They quoted me an estimate for her dental surgery between $985.65 and $986.40. Piruá also needs a spay surgery, for which we do not have a price estimate yet. She has a pre-surgery appointment on August 18th and surgery scheduled for September 3rd.

In addition to Piruá, Menta has needed dental surgery for a few years now. I got her when she was between 8 and 10 years old; her previous owners had neglected her quite severely, and she had severe dental decay. She was also brought in for a dental consultation on August 6th with Vetco. During this visit, they estimated that she would need five teeth removed, possibly more. The price quote estimate for this was between $2,339.65 and $2,676.10. She is also scheduled for a pre-surgery appointment on August 18th and surgery on September 3rd.

While I'm fortunate to have a credit card with a high credit limit, I am also someone who survives on a very low income. I am a graduate student, and I work part-time as a pharmacy technician and TA. I'm always trying to find more ways to make money, like participating in research studies, vending at art markets, or selling my clothes or items on Facebook Marketplace. Any additional funds collected beyond the costs of these vet bills will be going towards my own medical debt that I have to pay back. I currently have a pending $950 medical bill. If I receive any additional funds beyond that, I will be redistributing those funds to other QTPOC in the Chicago area who are fundraising for their own needs!! I aim to be as transparent as possible with where the money will be going and will give updates over time. I know that there are so many needs across our communities, and I am incredibly grateful if you wish to support me at this time.