In 2012, my sister gave our mom, Terrie, a tiny kitten named Itty Bitty. For over a decade, Itty has been more than a pet - she's been my mom's constant companion and emotional support through serious health complications.

In 2020, my sister passed away. Itty became even more precious to my mom - she's not just a companion, she's a living link to her daughter. She's family.

Everything changed in the past few days. Mom brought Itty out to the back porch for fresh air and noticed something wrong - pink staining on her belly where she kept licking. When Mom looked closer, she found a growth that had ruptured and was bleeding.

She rushed Itty to the vet immediately. The diagnosis: cancer.

The vet informed her that they could remove the growth and give Itty a few more good years with my mom. But the surgery cost was $1,100. She was able to secure emergency funding through a pet care lender, and the operation continued where more growths were discovered.

The vet decided it was best to remove the entire breast gland on her right side, as well as another growth under her chin. Itty was sent home and has been making a slow and painful recovery, however my mother is now in a state of financial crisis as a result of this unexpected emergency.

My mother lives on an extremely fixed income in subsidized housing. She is financially responsible, however she must carefully maintain her budget to account for rent, utilities, car insurance, food and household necessities, and of course pet supplies.

Though she was able to get assistance through a financial lender for pet care, my mother's finances have been extremely impacted. She was forced to use her rent money, as well as her utility funds to cover the cost of the examination, plus the first payment to the pet care financers, as well as the cost of medical supplies for Itty's recovery.

What we're raising is to pay off the lender, plus recover the rent and utility bills that have gone unpaid as a result of this emergency...

• $1,100 for the cancer removal surgery

• $200 to replace the rent money she had to spend

• $100 to recover critical funds reserved for utilities that were used for medications and recovery supplies

Itty Bitty has been there for my mom through everything - including the loss of my sister. Now we're asking for help to recover losses accumulated from giving them a few more years together.

Thank you for caring about a 13-year-old cat and the woman who loves her.