Hello! My name is Steffanie. I'm a lass living in the Cleveland area and I enjoy many hobbies, such as gaming, various crafts, and reading. I am also an animal lover, like many of you reading this. I apologize for the length of what I'm about to write, but I would really like to convey precisely why this is so important to me.

On July 8, 2012 my life changed forever when I came home from my shift at GameStop that night- a sweet kitty cat strolled up my driveway just as I was getting out of my car and insisted on saying hello. Me being who I am as a person, I instantly plopped down on the ground to pet this cat and take a picture to send to my coworker and upload to Instagram. There were always stray cats in the area I grew up and many times they would go about their merry way after saying hi and maybe finding some kibble left out, but this one had no intentions of leaving.

Over the next couple of years this cat- now affectionately named 'Meow'- continued to show up at my house. She would spend a lot of time with me sitting on the porch steps or under the leaves of our plants, and would even walk right by my side up and down the street! Her presence was so persistent that my mother put together a little bed and shelter on our porch to keep her safe and warm during summer storms and cold winters. We spent so much time together and my family and I always ensured she was fed and cared for; she clearly decided we were her people, after all. (Some of my friends may even recall the time I was accused of stealing this cat- on a comment on a Cleveland Scene article of all things!)

All of this said, there wasn't a single doubt that she was coming with me when I moved into my first apartment in 2014. Meow and I have been together ever since and to this day I will call her my kitty soulmate.

My life changed forever once again on the morning of July 23, 2024, and this time not in a good way.

Some backstory: Somewhere in our time together Meow was diagnosed with asthma. I don't think any of us ever really consider pets being able to be asthmatic until we're being faced with it! We've managed her asthma well throughout the years with use of oral steroids. While these are effective and safer than a long-lasting shot, they are not without their risk of side effects and future complications.

On July 18 I took Meow to our regular vet for a consult on why she was going outside the litter box. This was a fairly basic visit and on the overall she was fine- her vitals were good, and the doctor even said her lungs sounded fairly good all things considered. The poor girl did have to get poked a bit more than she'd care for- we re-upped her rabies vaccine, and she was given an ear ointment to treat for some yeast that was present in her ears. We paid, we went home, we relaxed. The next day right before bedtime I noticed her breathing just a wee bit heavier than usual. I kept an eye on her but initially figured this was just due to her asthma flaring up a bit. That wasn't uncommon, after all.

The very early morning of July 20 I woke up to use the restroom and found Meow laying next to me having a much worse time breathing: loud, open mouth, all the signs of "bad." After observing for about 15 minutes to ensure it wasn't just the end of an asthma attack I rushed off with her to our local emergency vet. They were able to bring her back down a little bit, but she was still sounding a bit rough. On July 22 I was blessed to have wandered into our regular vet at just the right moment to score a same-day appointment. They reviewed the report from the ER vet, rechecked all her vitals, and took an x-ray. My poor girl was fussy and they could only get the one view, but it did show her lungs were incredibly inflamed. They administered an antibiotic shot just in case of pneumonia and sent the x-ray off to be reviewed by a radiologist for a more experienced opinion.

That leads us back to the morning of the 23rd. I had just woken up to my phone ringing and saw it was the vet clinic calling. They had heard back from the radiologist and unfortunately it was the news I was very much dreading: my cat was showing signs of heart failure, with a bit of an enlarged heart and fluid building up. "Devastating" does not even begin to express how I felt- my best friend and the love of my life was potentially facing the end of her life and I sure as hell was not ready to handle this. Our vet, Dr. Nicki, was willing to squeeze us in and see us the next day to attempt diuretic therapy to try and flush some of the fluid that was stressing her organs. I am very happy to say that Meow responded very well to this and is currently SO much more comfortable, but this is only a band-aid and does not solve the issue we are now faced with.

All of that brings us to the present, and the reason I am reaching out for help. Meow and I have a rough road ahead of us to try and help her, and to make her quality of life as good as possible for however much time I have left with her. In the four vet visits we have had this week I have spent just barely under $1,000. The treatment plan that I have decided on with our vet is going to run me around $800 to start. I have maxed out my CareCredit and I've my own existing debt and living expenses that make this impossible to continue doing by myself, and though I positively hate asking for this sort of help, my pride means nothing to me compared to what Meow does.

If you have read this far, thank you so much for your time and your consideration. I acknowledge many things: that you are potentially struggling just as much if not more than I am, that you may have friends with medical or housing issues needing help as well, that I may just sound like a well-written crazy cat lady and investing so much money into a cat might sound insane. All of those are valid. If you are not in a position to fiscally assist I completely understand, and all I ask is that you consider sharing this so more eyes may land on it.

Anyone that has known me for a chunk of time, be it a year or eight, know that Meow is so incredibly special to me. I hope that I have expressed our unique and once-in-a-lifetime bond well enough to those who do not know us. All funds raised through this campaign will be used to fund her ongoing treatment and to help pay the visits we have had this week. Thank you. ♥