Saffie’s Story

Saffron is famously the costliest spice in the world.

In 2011, my late partner and I adopted a tiny calico rescue kitten. We named her Saffron for her coloration, and also because she became priceless to us overnight. Saffie and my partner shared a special father-daughter bond that always made me smile. Since his passing, Saffie has remained a cherished connection to those memories and to the life we shared together.

Through every subsequent stage of my life, she has been a steady source of comfort, companionship, and unconditional love. That is why, when she became critically ill, I did everything I could to help her.

A Sudden Health Crisis

In April, Saffie reached her fifteenth birthday without ever experiencing a serious health problem in her life. She even passed a senior physical with glowing reviews. But a month later she developed a respiratory infection and profuse weeping from one eye. Sudden anisocoria (I’d never heard of it either, it means one pupil gets enormous and freezes like that) made me fear a stroke had happened, so it was off to the vet.

The eye became unstuck on its own and meds cleared up the URI; but then an opportunistic urinary infection set in, causing her clear distress. Another vet trip, more tests, more meds, and lots of TLC addressed the problem. The urinary symptoms retreated — then came back with a sudden vengeance and became a life-threatening emergency.

The Emergency/Recovery See-Saw

By the evening of July 8, Saffie was lethargic and unable to urinate at all. To preempt kidney damage, I rushed her to a 24-hour animal hospital, where she was eventually catheterized. A long, frightening night followed. Thankfully, she responded well to the various intensive treatments. The emergency clinic did a culture, which (unlike the previous time) came back clean of infection, meaning we still do not know what is causing the issue to persist.

Now the symptoms are back. She will need another vet visit sometime this week.

Why I’m Asking for Help

The difficult reality is that ten weeks of intermittent examinations, diagnostic tests, medications, prescription food, and hospitalization have taken a serious toll on my finances. I had to open a new line of credit to get the crisis under control and must address the financial impact it is having on my life.

Any contribution, of any size, will be received with deep gratitude. Your support will help offset the veterinary debt accumulated from May to the present, and make it possible to get a firm diagnosis and treat this thing once and for all.

Thank You

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for helping me keep this sweet little lady by my side. She really is pretty great, you know.

❤️ Saffron and Fionnghuala