My name is Jamie, and this is my baby girl Chrissy. If you know me, then you know my kitties mean the WORLD to me. Over the past two weeks we have been through a lot together – mentally, physically, and financially. I’m praying Chrissy’s journey has a miraculous happy ending but if it doesn’t, I am at peace knowing I have done everything possible to save her life! I knew this was going to be a financial hardship and I was/am willing to take. I wasn’t going to ask for help, but I have some wonderful people in my life who have encouraged me to ask for help. So here I am with my first GoFundMe and here is Chrissy’s journey.

Let’s start with where it all began 2 years ago when Chrissy (aka Carlotta) came into my life. I recently lost a cat and was down to 1 - Pumpkins. I was working from home and knew that was about to change. Pumpkins has always had a companion and I didn’t want her to be by herself. After a lot of searching, I received a picture of Carlotta - it was love at first sight! When I went to pick her up from the rescue group, I noticed she had a playmate. It was so cute watching these 2 kittens interact. Come to find out it was her sister, Stevie. At that moment I knew I was coming home with 2 kittens instead of 1 LOL.

Chrissy Hynde (named after the badass guitarist and lead singer of the Pretenders) is the most loving and playful kitty! She spends her days chasing her sister throughout the house, she loves to sit in front of the door and catch some rays (like her mom), she loves to bring toys to bed, and she loves to cuddle and hold hands. Yes, it’s true. Every night before bed she lays right next to me and puts her paw on my face to let me know she’s ready to settle in and hold hands.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed Chrissy wasn’t acting herself. She wasn’t eating, and she was very lethargic, she literally wasn’t leaving the bed. She’s always been very petite, but she really looked like she was losing weight. I knew I needed to get her to the Vet. This was Friday afternoon. I called and made an appointment for first thing Monday morning. All weekend I was so worried about her, she seemed to be so lethargic. I was battling over whether I should take her to Care Center, but I knew it’d be super expensive (always worrying about money) and I honestly thought she could wait until Monday.

As soon as we got to the Vet, she immediately said Chrissy appeared very anemic and would need a blood transfusion (now that's scary). Upon further evaluation, the Vet also mentioned it sounded like Chrissy had a heart murmur. The Vet thought it may be due to the anemia. She said Chrissy was very sick. When I asked how much she thought this would be, she said it usually runs from $1500-$3000. I was like Holy Cow, I don’t have that kind of extra money lying around. I felt completely defeated. I took Chrissy home with antibiotics and steroids hoping and praying this would be all she needed! I was a hot mess all day trying to decide what I was going to do. I love Chrissy more than any human and I didn’t want her to die but financially, I knew I wasn’t in a situation to shell out the money it would cost to save her life.

I had a friend who kept insisting that Chrissy was too young to die, she’s not even 2! My friend kept insisting she wanted to help. I almost think she was more upset than me, lol, not really. My friend kept reminding me that we are talking about saving a life. She hated to hear that money was going to be such a factor in my decision. Finally, it clicked. She was right. I was not going to let Chrissy die. I was going to do all I could to save her life.

So, after hours of crying and deliberation I decided to take Chrissy to Grady’s Hospital Monday evening which is when our lives changed forever! The Vet at Grady’s agreed Chrissy was very sick and would need a blood transfusion. Monday night she got the transfusion and stayed overnight for observation. I went to visit her before bedtime to give her hugs and kisses!

On Tuesday morning, the Vet said the blood transfusion had saved her life, but further testing was necessary to get to the bottom of the anemia. (At this time, I was like why not, we’ve come this far, what’s a few more dollars lol.) The Vet did x-rays and saw Chrissy had fluid around her lungs and in her abdomen. The Vet, doing what they do, gave me the worst case scenarios including the “C” word. The Vet told me I needed to take Chrissy to the Oncologist. (Okay at this point my brain is totally fried with all the terminology and diagnosis’s being thrown at me.)

So across town we went. I get to the Oncologist and her first words were ‘it’s like you’re a frequent flyer.” (Yes, I’ve been down this road many times in the past with other kitties who have had cancer unfortunately). The Oncologist did an ultrasound and ran more blood work. Her conclusion was Chrissy has a heart disease which should be curable with medication. Her early thought was it looked like Chrissy’s red blood cells were being attacked by her own system and she wanted to see how Chrissy responded from the blood transfusion. The Oncologist suggested we stop some of Chrissy’s medications to see if the fluid disappears around the lungs and abdomen. At this point she wanted to treat the heart first and follow up the following week to run more tests to figure out the cause of the red blood cells. I left the appointment feeling so much better. The Oncologist has given me numerous more years with my kitties in the past so I was confident she’d do the same this time. She wanted me to take Chrissy back to Grady's Hospital because she still needed to be under observation from the blood transfusion. (Okay taxi driver is completely worn out at this point) I again, went to visit Chrissy before bedtime to remind her how much I love her!

The Vet called Wednesday morning and said Chrissy’s blood count was looking better and she could come home this evening. So after 2 nights in the hospital, Chrissy finally comes home. I feel like her color looked better, but she was still lethargic and not eating on her own. Everyone said to be patient because she had been through a lot and she was so sick, it would take time to recover.

In the meantime, I had several people ask me if anyone had brought up FIP. I said yes, both the Oncologist and the Vet didn’t think FIP was the diagnosis. Meanwhile Chrissy and I were plugging away with an exhausting schedule of meds 3 times a day as well as force feedings twice a day. We did this for several days. On Friday I decided Chrissy still didn’t seem to have much improvement so back to the Vet we went to check her blood count. 4 days after the blood transfusion and her numbers were beginning to lower again.

I was so devastated to think I had put her through so much this week only to hear that it wasn’t working as hoped. My mom kept pushing me to talk to her friend who has treated FIP with much success. My mom and her friend kept insisting it sounded like Chrissy has FIP which can also cause heart issues and red blood cell issues. On Saturday I spoke with the friend who explained FIP and what she could do for Chrissy. I said I would pray on this and get back to her. At this point I felt as if Chrissy was not going to make it. I spent Saturday night praying on what my next step should be. Sunday morning, I called the friend and said I was all in!

The treatment consists of medication once a day for 84 days. The first 2 weeks are injections and then it’s a powder medication I stir into her treats. The first 2 days after the treatment I noticed a big difference. Chrissy almost looked like herself again! She finally started to go to the food bowl, although not as much as I need her to so the force feeding continues. She was walking around the house again, soaking up rays in front of the door and snuggling with me! I’m praying I have my Chrissy back. This treatment is adding additional costs with medication, blood work and future ultrasounds to check on the heart. Praying we are on the road to recovery!

There’s probably so much more I forgot to mention. I literally have had so much information thrown at me over the past week and a half that I hardly know what day it is.

Update 9/1: It breaks my heart to say Chrissy did not get her miracle! To say I’m heartbroken is an understatement! The first few treatments seemed to have given her back energy which made me so hopeful! After about 4 days she again became very lethargic and still wouldn’t eat. After 6 days she wasn’t even getting off the bed. I knew her quality of life was no more. THE decision had to be made. I contacted Angel Paws, I didn’t have the heart to cause anymore stress to Chrissy by taking her to the vet where she would lay on a cold table in a room she didn’t know. After all she had been through, she deserved to be at home on the bed with me. The last two days of her life I spent every second with her! To say I’m going to miss her doesn’t even scratch the surface. There was something special about my relationship with Chrissy that I’ve never had with any other cat. I will miss our bedtime hand holding so much!!

Bottom line, your donations (small or little, every dollar matters) will help cover the costs we’ve incurred for her blood transfusion, hospital stays, oncologist visit, vet visits and end of life treatments. I know times are tough and I’m not the only one struggling to pay bills but if you feel led, I would so appreciate your help and if not, I completely understand, I just ask you to keep Chrissy in your prayers. Thank you for taking the time to read her story - I’m hoping maybe at least hearing Chrissy’s story will help someone else with their future story.