Support Theodore's Recovery Journey

My name is Christine and my four-month-old kitten became very sick this week and has spent a few days in the hospital and will likely spend a few more.

I've been a cat mom for 6 years, starting with my adoption of a senior cat named Eleanor. She made me into a crazy cat lady, and I have fostered and TNRed numerous cats since then. She passed away in July of kidney disease.

In May, I found a group of outside cats near my house, and after one of the cats, London, died, I decided to adopt her kitten and named him Theodore.

Around Thursday, September 5th, I noticed Theodore seemed a little under the weather. Sunday evening, he started breathing with an open mouth, and his breathing became very labored.

After consulting with an online vet, I took him to Blue Pearl Conshohocken. When we arrived, they weren't taking more patients, and his symptoms had improved, so I decided to take him back home and monitor him. Later that night, his breathing got worse again, and we went to the Veterinarian Emergency Group (VEG). They immediately provided him with oxygen therapy. They examined him and took X-rays. His lungs looked fine, but there appeared to be a blockage in his throat near his nose. They determined they could not explore and operate there, so we transferred him to Penn. There was no polyp or foreign body in his throat, but his throat was simply very swollen. They gave him steroids and Benadryl and inserted a trach to bypass the swelling. He did not improve as well as they would have liked initially. They were concerned he might have the beginning stages of pneumonia and started him on antibiotics. He improved some, but has seemed to hit a wall again.

This was very unexpected. It's been an exhausting, emotional rollercoaster. I definitely plan to get pet insurance after this whole ordeal. I never anticipated being the kind of pet parent who spends $ on their pet. I was not raised to be, but here I am. His prognosis has generally been very good, which has made me more willing. At this point, I'm in so deep that I really would prefer to not give up. If you are able to help at all financially, I'd greatly appreciate it. I intend to try to find some additional ways to fundraise—some of my art, maybe sell t-shirts, but I'm figuring that out still.

I also plan to set my fundraising goal lower than the actual total cost of his hospitalizations to start. I know I find it more motivating to donate to a goal that has momentum and feels obtainable. If we reach our lower goal, I may increase it up to the entire cost. At this point, I've set it to the amount I've paid: $909.40 at VEG and $3,500 at Penn. His estimated cost at Penn has gone up as he spends more time there.

Thank you so much for your time and support of all kinds.

Christine, Theo, and Betsy