Hi. My name is Linda and I am single and a mom to two Siberian cats, Moxie and Lilly. They are my world and I cannot imagine my life without them.

In the last 7 years, my life just blew up. I lost my business that I sunk all my life’s savings into, along with money I had borrowed. Just about two years into it, my landlord, who had a dry cleaning business next to my unit, was ordered to shut down due to cancer-causing contamination leakage from his dry cleaning business. As a result, the environmental department also shut me down. The landlord was cleaning up my unit and I was told I should be able to get back to business in about 4 months. Except just when I was about to get cleared to resume work, the landlord pulled the plug on that, saying he decided to sell the building and feels he will get a better offer if he didn’t have a tenant. Mind you, I still had a lease with him. Long story short, even with a lawyer, I still lost everything and he got away with screwing me over as he is friends with the mayor. I invested $224K in that space. I had to borrow more money to move into a different location. I have been trying to pay off my debt since then.

As part of my coping, I got my two cats who helped me through some really dark times. Times when I wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. They are my children and my emotional support animals. Two years ago, I was involved in a car accident that really messed up my back and I have not been able to work as much as I used to. I spent whatever money I had managed to save again just keeping up with my bills and paying rent for the current space which still has an active lease. Business has been really slow for me in this location and I am also unable to work as much as I used to. I have depleted all my savings trying to pay the difference with my bills.

All that was and is still rough, but what is really depressing more is that I am not sure I will be able to keep my babies if I cannot afford feeding them and taking care of them. I can’t imagine my life without them and I am not sure I want to either. Every time I look at them, I cry and am so worried. I am on the verge of losing everything. I probably could handle losing everything so long as I can keep my cats and keep giving them the life I have given them. I am facing bankruptcy and I am just a couple of months from not being able to pay my rent. I will deal with everything one day at a time but the one thing that will kill me is if I can’t keep my cats. I am not sure I can survive more losses and this will be my biggest as they are my world and the only reason I have to get up anymore.

I am here to ask for help so that I can still be able to afford and keep my cats. Sadly, I am unable to break my lease. The penalty for that is I will have to pay the landlord 6 months' worth of rent. I can barely make rent now, at least for two more months. After that, I have no idea what will happen and I guess I will have to face it at some point. I cannot face losing my cats. I am asking if anyone can help. No matter how much, how little you can help with. I have to try all I can to keep my babies even if it means lowering my head and shamefully extending my hand and asking for help. Things were better and I am hopeful that this situation is temporary and I will be able to rise from this. My babies are my strength. Help me keep them, please.