Support Mochi's Recovery and Bright Future

When the beautiful, rambunctious Mochi came to my house, she pair bonded immediately with my existing boy kitty Kupo. He stared at her adoringly around corners, and admired her adventurous spirit. They now lay together and groom daily, and with the black spot on her side next to him, they look like a yin-yang together.

One day, Mochi began to aspirate in our living room, and we rushed her to the emergency vet. We waited 10 hours in the snowy parking lot due to then-COVID protocols; they called and told us her X-rays revealed megaesophagus, a condition rare in cats but common in dogs which inflames the esophagus and makes it difficult for animals to swallow their food on their own. From that moment, she was put on anti-nausea medication, a special diet of single-protein food and various medication assistance for her GI tract, tested for myasthenia gravis and numerous other conditions, and held for fifteen minutes after each timed meal to absorb her food. This was hard to schedule, but we loved her so much and arranged our WFH schedules around it. After our businesses returned to the office, we made arrangements to work around that too.

Eventually, her internist diagnosed her with severe IBD, and suspects small cell lymphoma but her weight is so low that he won't attempt a biopsy. Her body hadn't absorbed her nutrients well and she dropped to a tiny 3.6 lbs and became anemic, prompting a transfusion in January of this year. They put her on chlorambucil, a chemotherapy medication which may help her absorb her nutrients but is an immunosuppressant. Of course, all of this has been insanely costly and the bills have piled up. However, the combination of the hydrolyzed diet she was switched to and the chlorambucil has worked well, and brought her up to 4.85 lbs just this week! (She was always a small cat, and only 5-6lbs when all of this started.) She's looked plumper and perky lately, and lays grooming joyfully with her companion Kupo.

This morning, normally ravenous Mochi wouldn't come out from under the bed for breakfast. Her ears were down, her eyes slitted, her nose runny, her breathing a rapid pant. We took her to the vet and found she has pneumonia. They are advising keeping her for three days and that it will cost $3,800-$6,000. Unfortunately, all the insane costs thus far have us stretched incredibly thin, and I don't know how we will make this work. But I can't imagine Kupo living life without her.

Anything you can give to help Mochi continue to live her long, happy life with Kupo would be greatly appreciated. We'll use the funds to pay for her immediate hospital bills (oxygen tank, ultrasound, transfusion if necessary) and anything left over for her long term care, including her meds.

In case you are curious of how the current bills break down, here is her current estimate - we already know at this point unfortunately she will be there for at least two days so we will likely be closer to the middle or high point of this estimate, and already have to put down $5,000 to get her any treatment at all:

We appreciate your support, and Mochi does too.