Salem is only two and is now unfortunately in heart failure.

We found Salem outside on the ground when he was 3 weeks old. He was a furry black little blob splayed out on the driveway waiting for the inevitable when we stepped in and took him inside. He was severely malnourished and had obviously been abandoned by his mother for a reason.

At just a year old, Salem got quite sick with an upper and lower respiratory infection. He was constantly coughing and wheezing. I knew something was wrong when I noticed he had a fever. The next day, we immediately rushed him to the vet and, lo and behold, the first thing the vet heard was a grade 4 heart murmur. We had figured the infection and the heart issue were separate, but we were completely wrong.

Six months rolled by, and Salem now has a grade 5 heart murmur. The vets said we really need to take him to a cardiologist. I told them it’s tricky because I cannot afford the $1k visit, so we agreed that I’d watch Salem closely and make sure he was acting normal. Slowly but surely, Salem started showing signs of pain through anger towards his brothers and sisters. We had put him on a plethora of meds, hoping it would help, and we sent out a blood test to check his pro-BNP level.

Today, we got the result back and on a scale of urgency, it’s a 7. His pro-BNP levels were at 670! For a basis, a normal cat his age and stature is >100.

We need to help Salem at least get 1 visit to the cardiologist. I’ve worked so hard to nurture this baby back to health and I don’t think his fight ends here. So please, if you could spare even a dollar towards his bills, it would help so much.