Support for Amelia with Paloma’s vet emergency
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Hi everyone,
My name is amelia, I’m a grad student, artist, and counseling astrologer based in Toronto.
I have a bonded pair of cats who I’ve had since they were kittens. They’re three years old and their names are Paloma and Pierrot. I got these cats in late 2020, after a difficult mourning period from having lost a kitten. Sibylline (who I think of as their big sister) came into my life at 3 months old, died in 2019 at 7 months old of FIP, a fatal disease that only recently has started to have treatment options. Getting these cats was a big step for me after having watched Sibylline die in my arms the year before.
Having gone through young pet illness and loss in the recent past means I am well acquainted with the immense pain and the financial cost it incurs. This is why I was so terrified when a week ago Paloma started to refuse food and water, and quickly progressed to being very lethargic, puking several times a day, and not eating or drinking at all. By Saturday she could barely stand and winced from pain.
My partner and I brought her to the vet twice over the weekend where blood tests and x-rays were run. Everything came back normal and she was given appetite stimulants, fluid, and anti-nausea pills, but her condition wasn’t improving. After having to resort to force-feeding her, we finally discovered the problem when she had a bowel movement. Paloma ate a clump of thread that had gotten wound up in her internal organs. We brought her to the emergency clinic who determined that the thread looped around her tongue like an anchor and was running through her entire digestive tract. It balled in her stomach and wound around a section of her intestine. The surgeon described it as being like a snare wire on her organs.
My experience with Sibylline means that I will now do anything I can to bring Paloma home, for me and for her brother Pierrot.
At time of writing Paloma is out of surgery and recovering at the emergency veterinary clinic. The prognosis is thankfully very good, but the potential cost is not. In addition to the $3,400 I’ve already spent in initial fees, I’m being quoted at another $6,129.
This amount of money is out of my reach. I’ve been struggling with long covid and related complications for the past 14 months, which have prevented me from being able to work full-time. Money is already tight. I’ve been able to front the money for surgery through an emergency loan but I do not have the funds to repay it alone. I’m hoping I can lean on my community in this moment to help me bring my cat home and prevent a financial disaster.
Thank you for your energy and support,
amelia
My name is amelia, I’m a grad student, artist, and counseling astrologer based in Toronto.
I have a bonded pair of cats who I’ve had since they were kittens. They’re three years old and their names are Paloma and Pierrot. I got these cats in late 2020, after a difficult mourning period from having lost a kitten. Sibylline (who I think of as their big sister) came into my life at 3 months old, died in 2019 at 7 months old of FIP, a fatal disease that only recently has started to have treatment options. Getting these cats was a big step for me after having watched Sibylline die in my arms the year before.
Having gone through young pet illness and loss in the recent past means I am well acquainted with the immense pain and the financial cost it incurs. This is why I was so terrified when a week ago Paloma started to refuse food and water, and quickly progressed to being very lethargic, puking several times a day, and not eating or drinking at all. By Saturday she could barely stand and winced from pain.
My partner and I brought her to the vet twice over the weekend where blood tests and x-rays were run. Everything came back normal and she was given appetite stimulants, fluid, and anti-nausea pills, but her condition wasn’t improving. After having to resort to force-feeding her, we finally discovered the problem when she had a bowel movement. Paloma ate a clump of thread that had gotten wound up in her internal organs. We brought her to the emergency clinic who determined that the thread looped around her tongue like an anchor and was running through her entire digestive tract. It balled in her stomach and wound around a section of her intestine. The surgeon described it as being like a snare wire on her organs.
My experience with Sibylline means that I will now do anything I can to bring Paloma home, for me and for her brother Pierrot.
At time of writing Paloma is out of surgery and recovering at the emergency veterinary clinic. The prognosis is thankfully very good, but the potential cost is not. In addition to the $3,400 I’ve already spent in initial fees, I’m being quoted at another $6,129.
This amount of money is out of my reach. I’ve been struggling with long covid and related complications for the past 14 months, which have prevented me from being able to work full-time. Money is already tight. I’ve been able to front the money for surgery through an emergency loan but I do not have the funds to repay it alone. I’m hoping I can lean on my community in this moment to help me bring my cat home and prevent a financial disaster.
Thank you for your energy and support,
amelia
Organizer
Amelia Ehrhardt
Organizer
York, ON