Alice turned 18 on March 31st 2026. She's a grey and brown striped tabby with the most beautiful, ancient, knowing kitty face, decorated conveniently with a white spot as a 3rd eye mark — and she's been my companion for her entire life.
Every move. Every spring, summer, fall and winter. Every quiet 2am when the rest of the world is asleep. Eighteen years, she's seen me through into my adulthood.
My name is Jenni. My partner Shade and I live in WA State and for the last year and a half we've been fighting to stay housed while building our indie game studio from scratch. It's been the hardest stretch of our lives. Alice has been there for all of it — steady, warm, utterly unbothered by anything she can't personally eat or sleep on.
She has two conditions common in senior cats: Chronic Kidney Disease and hyperthyroidism. The hyperthyroidism is a recurrence — she had radioactive iodine treatment in 2019, funded through a community fundraiser just like this one, and it bought her seven more years. Both conditions are manageable. She is not totally in crisis, but I'm preparing for her comfort here in the long run and final days, but hopefully months. She still purrs loud enough to shake the room. She still keeps my spot warm and gets to it before I do.
Managing her conditions properly requires veterinary care that costs more than we can cover right now. I'm asking for help.
WHAT YOUR DONATION WILL HELP COVER
Every dollar goes directly to Alice's care. I've broken the costs into tiers so you can see exactly what each level of support can help provide — because if I can only raise part of this, I want to cover the most important things first.
TIER 1 — The Exam & Senior Bloodwork: $399
This is the floor. The most important thing Alice needs is a complete diagnostic picture. On May 19, 2026 I received a response and price quote from our vet, Dr. Boone at University Place Veterinary Hospital in Tacoma for a full senior workup.
- Physical exam — Dr. Boone, DVM: $99.00
- Idexx Senior Profile (CBC, chemistry, electrolytes, T4, urinalysis): $300.00
- Tier 1 total: $399.00
These are the numbers that tell us everything & will give us an updated profile of her current kidney values, thyroid level, & full blood picture. Without them, I'm guessing at the most effective next steps for her senior comfort and care, with them, I know exactly what she needs and the Dr will update her prescriptions and train me in giving her fluids etc.
TIER 2 — Add the Thyroid Panel: $669 total
Alice's hyperthyroidism is managed with methimazole, but there's a real risk the medication over-suppresses her thyroid — a condition that can silently accelerate kidney decline. The only way to catch it early is to measure TSH, which isn't in the standard panel. Dr. Boone added the Thyroid Panel 6 (TSH + fT4).
- Exam + Senior Profile (Tier 1): $399.00
- Idexx Thyroid Panel 6 — TSH + fT4: $270.00
- Tier 2 total: $669.00
If I can only raise one tier, it's Tier 1. If I can raise two, the TSH panel is the next most important piece of info I will be able to use in her treatment plan.
TIER 3 — The Full Visit + Home Care Supplies: $887.49 total
At the same visit, Dr. Boone said she'd be able to send Alice home with everything needed to begin her home care routine immediately.
- Exam + Senior Profile + Thyroid Panel (Tiers 1 & 2): $669.00
- Blood pressure — initial measurement: $69.00
- Sub-Q fluids 1L + IV line + needles (to give at home): $40.50
- Phos-Bind Powder 200g (phosphorus binder for CKD): $69.00
- Vitamin B12 1000mcg/ml injectable: $32.67
- Tax: $7.32
- Tier 3 total — full visit: $887.49
The sub-Q fluids are the cornerstone of CKD home care — they support kidney function between vet visits. The Phos-Bind and B12 are both calibrated from the lab results. The visit already happened. The invoice is outstanding.
TIER 4 — End-of-Life, at Home: $650–800
I started planning this in January 2025 — not because it was imminent, but because I refuse to let Alice's last moments be in a traumatic emergency room.
I found The Good Life for Pets, an at-home euthanasia service in Tacoma, and got a direct quote. When the time comes, their doctor comes to us. Alice will be in her own space — her favorite chair, her heating pad, the people she loves. A sedative first, then the final injection. The doctor stays the entire time.
Pricing quoted directly by The Good Life for Pets (January 2025):
- Home euthanasia, Monday–Friday: $400
- Home euthanasia, weekends & holidays: $450
- Communal cremation (ashes scattered in Puget Sound): $75–$150
Alice is stable. This is not an emergency. But when that day does come, I want to meet it with a plan — not scrambling, not forced into a clinic at 2am because we couldn't afford the home option.
THE FULL PICTURE
- Tier 1 — Exam + senior bloodwork (essential baseline): $399
- Tier 2 — + Thyroid panel with TSH: $669
- Tier 3 — + Same-day home care supplies (full visit): $887.49
- Tier 4 — + End-of-life at home: $1,500 goal
Anything beyond the vet invoice goes toward end-of-life. Anything beyond that covers ongoing home care: fluid bags, B12 refills, supplements.
WHY I'M ASKING
We have not been in a position to absorb a $900 vet bill. The housing instability of the last 18 months has taken everything we have. Alice has earned the best end-of-life plan possible — and her vet is clear that consistent care now directly shapes her quality of life and the time she has left.
I'm not asking for anything free. I'm asking for help closing a gap while I close a harder one. Every dollar goes to Alice. I'll post updates as we proceed with the vet visit, and for when her lab results arrive, when the sub-Q routine begins, and month by month for as long as she's with us — the same transparency I kept in 2019 when this community helped fund her I-131 treatment.
She got better after that. She had seven more good years.
I'm hoping you'll help us give her the best possible ending to this beautiful (my most favorite) chapter here in life together.
ALICE'S STORY
2008 — Born in Santa Paula, CA, I met kitty the day she was born along with her 3 siblings. She joined me weeks later in San Francisco where I moved to learn circus arts. I was fully committed to her from the beginning, even when she was a tiny little kitten.
2019 — Hyperthyroidism diagnosed at Value Pet Clinic Tacoma. Community fundraiser funds I-131 radioactive iodine treatment at Feline Hyperthyroid Treatment Center, Shoreline WA. Treatment successful.
2021 — Peak weight: 15.66 lbs. Healthy, thriving senior cat.
2024 — Hyperthyroidism returns. CKD diagnosed alongside it. Urgent UTI visit October 2024. Methimazole and prescription kidney diet (Hill's K/D) started, with Gabepentin and anti-nausea meds as needed.
March 31, 2026 — Turns 18.
May 19, 2026 — Full senior panel price quote with Dr. Boone. This fund launched.
UPDATES I'LL POST
- Lab results from the May 19 visit, as soon as they're in
- Sub-Q fluid routine — how it's going and how she's tolerating it
- Monthly weight and quality-of-life check-ins
- When end-of-life care is needed, and how every dollar was used
You will always know where your contribution went.
Thank you for reading this. Thank you for knowing what it means to have a companion for 18 years. Thank you for your well wishes, thoughts and consideration.
— Jenni (& Shade, & Alice)
FREE SENIOR CAT CARE TRACKER
Caring for Alice pushed us to build something we wish had existed sooner: a free, open-source senior cat health tracker. Daily logs, weekly weight tracking, monthly quality-of-life scoring, medication management, and end-of-life planning — all based on what we actually use for Alice.
Free. No strings. If it helps your senior cat, that's the whole point.
github.com/jenninexus/senior-pet-care
Organizer
