Support DiNozzo's Fight for His Life

I'm Raven Oak, an author & artist who is proud to be owned by three cats: Riley & Malley, who are litter mates, and DiNozzo, which is the reason we're here. We need help with his ER vet bills as they are more than we can currently afford.

DiNozzo came to us at 4 months old as the kitten who ran out of his kennel at the shelter, crawled up my wife's body, & curled up around her neck, where he promptly fell asleep. He turns 15 years old on March 14th and this week, he (and we) needs your help to get the care he needs to live.

On Monday (2/24), we suspected something was off when DiNozzo refused food. He would drink broth and water, but nothing solid. I suspected maybe his teeth and scheduled a vet visit.

By Tuesday (2/25), he was turning his nose up at baby food and fresh tuna, something he has NEVER done in his life. Our vet took x-rays to rule out his teeth but discovered that his pancreas and kidneys were inflamed and his bladder was huge. At her urging, we rushed him to the local ER vet, where they worried he had a blockage.

The vets decided that what DiNozzo needed was to stay in the hospital for further testing. In the hospital, he would:

As I type this, it's Friday morning (2/28) and they have also found a gallop in DiNozzo's heart, meaning he has extra beats, so now he also needs an echocardiogram.

DiNozzo has survived so much, ya'll.

He came to us with Feline Herpes, which presents like an chronic upper respiratory infection, and a genetic condition that caused his legs to grow wrong. He spent a good chunk of his first year with a cast to help one leg in particular.

DiNozzo has also been on borrowed time since he was 4 years' old when he was diagnosed with severe epilepsy (aka seizures). Many would have called it but he wanted to thrive, he just needed a bit of help. Medication has kept his epilepsy in check for over a decade.

In 2021, he was diagnosed with IBD (Irritable Bowel Disease) and shortly after that, Small Cell Lymphoma of the upper intestine (aka Cancer).

For 4 years now, chemo has kept his cancer in check. The real question the ER vets are asking today is has his cancer spread to his bladder? Is that what's causing these symptoms? To find out will require more hospitalization and testing. Possibly surgery. I'll update more as we find out but for now, the bill is already $9000.

Over the years, we have spent a lot on DiNozzo's care. His medication alone costs us $650/month. However, I am disabled and in 2023, my wife was disabled by long COVID. She was laid off by her employer and until her symptoms are better controlled, she is unable to work. We're living off what little savings we have. For the first time in DiNozzo's life, we have no way to pay for these bills.

So we're hoping the power of animal lovers can help us out and help us get DiNozzo back to catting and being the little void kitty he is.

Thank you. Enjoy this little video from when DiNozzo first came into our lives, almost 15 years ago.