My name is Stacey Riley. On Tuesday February 8th my beloved and otherwise healthy 7 year old kitty, Athena, was put to sleep. She was healthy, happy, talking and sleeping on my bed-- until she wasn't ok. It was all so sudden. I took her to an emergency vet services at 11:00am and at 3:30pm she was in my arms and I was telling her goodbye and kissing her when she crossed the rainbow bridge. She died of anaphylactic shock and we have no idea how or why. I am currently on a fixed income while working on healing my brain and body from the brutal chemotherapy. (remission is good but no one tells you about how the chemo affects the whole body for years afterwards) I now have a $1700 vet bill. I put it on my credit card as there was no payment plan and payment was due the same day. (I have no complaints about the Animal hospital, they are trying to pay their own overhead). There are no charities or foundations that pay the veterinary costs for a animal that didn't make it. Friends have suggest I set up a GoFundMe. If you can help or not, I am grateful to those who suggested this as a way to help me pay the bill. 

Here is my story of a cat that choose me and my daughter: Athena chose my daughter and me. Her "owners", if you can call them that, had neglected and abandoned her then eventually moved and left her behind. Athena adored my daughter first. She would take her into the forest to show where she slept and played. She would run out of the forest area by our complex everyday meowing and greeting us when we came home. At times she slept on our porch in a box (we had two kitties already) By the time her "owners" moved away our girl, Athena was on a bed in our apartment. She has been with me through my Leukemia and the loneliness of living alone. I feel like my heart is so broken now knowing I won't hear her from behind my front door meowing at me to greet me when I come home. When I open that door she won't be there. She won't jump in my lap or sleep next to me at night. My sweet kitty was only 7 or 8 years old. I thought I had more years with her. My home feels so empty without her "bigger than life energy" . I only hear the clocks ticking now.