My name is Alyssa. I am a student veterinary technician at Bridgeton Animal Hospital. I have three cats that I rescued as kittens in 2013. My youngest, Tommy (formally Thomas Charles V—named after my father and his father and so on), has had ongoing medical issues starting when he was four. He had a urethral obstruction in 2018 and had to be admitted in the middle of the night to the local emergency clinic where they put him under anesthesia to place a catheter and fix the obstruction. That set my family back about $4500. Additionally, ever since he came home, he has had to be on a prescription diet food so that he does not obstruct again. Since I have three cats that always believe their brother’s bowl has the better food, they all had to be put on the same prescription diet to make sure Tommy got what he needed. Thankfully, the diet has prevented him from re-obstructing this far.

However, on Saturday, Tommy and his two brothers went in for their annual visit and vaccines as well as routine senior bloodwork. Unfortunately, we got the results yesterday and found out that Tommy has developed hyperthyroidism in the past year and lost a substantial amount of weight. There are a few treatment options. The first would be a prescription food; however, he is already on a prescription diet for another issue, so that won’t work. The second treatment option is medication. Tommy is the type of cat that will hold a pill for thirty minutes in his mouth and let it disintegrate just to spit out the melted pill the second you look away. I started him on the medication last night, but knowing him, I know this won’t be a solution, and I will have no way of knowing how much medication actually got into him with the way he spits it out and hides the evidence. That leaves the third treatment option as the best option, which is an injection of radioactive iodine. It is a single treatment that would only need to be done once, and the problem would be fixed. It is effective in over 90% of cats, and they go on to live normal full lives without medication. The only downside is the cost. The only local hospital that does this treatment is Associated Veterinary Specialists. He would go in on a Tuesday, and they would give him the injection and then monitor him for a few days, then I would pick him up on Thursday. They estimate the price to be around $2500 plus $200 for the first consultation appointment. Unfortunately, with school, I am only able to work so many hours. Tommy has declined so much in just this past year that time is not on our side. They could schedule a consultation as early as next week, which is what I will be using the first $200 for, but that doesn’t help if we cannot pay for the treatment.

I have had Tommy since he was a few weeks old, and I found him outside my door covered in various parasites. Ever since that first night, he has slept on my shoulder. My daughter has known him her whole life and tells everyone how much she loves her brother. He’s been with me through my marriage, my divorce, the birth of my only child, my move across the country, and has been the reason (along with his brothers) I went back to school and found a career I love. I hope he will be there with me through graduation and many more life experiences. I have never asked for help before like this, but anybody that knows me knows I love my cats and will do anything for them. So now I am asking, please help me save the life of my cat.