Cheez-It is a 5lb female orange tabby we found in October of 2024 with a small bump on her shoulder. She had been approaching everyone in our neighborhood and trying to follow them coming and going. However, everyone was saying something along the lines of either, "I don't need another cat" or "I don't want a cat." It was the first night the temperature was going to drop into the 40s, and we couldn't stand the thought of her being outside. We weren't looking to add another resident to our home, Calico Condo, but we at least had a spare bathroom to offer her in the meantime. Her size made everyone think she was a kitten until her first vet visit. Her teeth aged her at about one year old, and that shoulder bump turned out to be a BB pellet.

Cheez-It is one of the sweetest cats you'll ever meet, who loves to reach out her small pink beans to touch your cheek in greeting, despite her having been shot by someone in her past. We got her spayed and had the BB pellet removed. However, her GI health has been a roller-coaster ride ever since we found her, at one point landing us at an emergency vet, and most recently to an internal veterinary specialist as a referral by the vet who's been working closely with Cheez-It this year. Her GI issues, after 2 different ultrasounds (2 months apart), are believed to be either Irritable Bowel Disorder or Small Cell Lymphoma (cancer). Most of the vets have been ruling out the Small Cell Lymphoma due to the fact that it's typically seen in older cats and not 2-year-old cats like Cheez-It. Based on all the tests already run on her, diet changes, and the different medication cocktails she's been on, the internal veterinary specialist has recommended a surgical biopsy for an official diagnosis. The procedure is an estimated $3,000 and that doesn't include the treatment plan that would follow the diagnosis.

We want to give Cheez-It the best chance at living a long, healthy life, and the biopsy procedure is the next step to hopefully be able to grant her that.