Oreo

Hey pals, 

I have had a sweet little kitty in my life for the past four years who some of you may know as Oreo, Orzo, or Jasper. I am currently stuck between paying upwards of $6000 out of student loans to ensure he can continue to live a good quality of life, or putting him down. 

I used to hate cats, but when I met Oreo, he won me over with his immediate love and affection. I brought Oreo home despite being very afraid of cats, because it seemed that he just needed some affection in return. Many of you who have met Oreo probably know that I refer to him as my cat-dog because he is just as loyal and loving as a puppy. Among the many benefits of having a pet, the most important thing that Oreo does for me is offer support when my mental health is not well. 

I am so embarrassed to have to ask for money on this sort of platform in the current political climate. There are so many other causes that I believe are worthy. I recognize that Oreo is just one being - one life in many - and isn't facing systematic oppression to say the least!

Nevertheless, he is a loyal companion who can tell when I am unwell, and who gives me a reason to get out of bed each day, which in turn allows me to continue to fight for what is right. I ask that if you are on the fence about whether or not you donate to Oreo's cause, you consider how I've affected your life both as a support and/or as an advocate for education regarding social issues. 

Thank you in advance. Please read further if you want to know the details of what's going with Oreo medically, and why I'm not currently seeking to cover the full $6000 in expenses. 

Love,
Eliana 


Medical details: 

Oreo is about 6 years old now, and has recently had some issues with his urethra. On June 21st, he was diagnosed with crystals in his urinary tract. With medication and close care at home, his symptoms seemed to improve over the following 10 days. However, after a few days of being off the meds, he developed a blockage in his urethra and became extremely sick in the span of a few hours. Some pals and I took him into the emergency veterinary clinic, where we were told that he would have to stay the night. 

Overnight has turned into several days, which has come with a hefty medical bill of approximately $2500. While the blockage has been removed, Oreo is still unwell. Right now, my options are to continue to keep him under care at the animal hospital, which would be a few more thousand dollars, in hopes that his condition improves, or to bring him home and see if he is able to relax and urinate regularly here. 

The risk with bringing him home is that he is very likely to develop a blockage again, meaning the entire process would have to be repeated, increasing his chances yet again to fix the blockage. Once a blockage has been fixed twice in a male cat, the last option is to perform a sex change, which will significantly decrease the chances of him developing a blockage again. However, this surgery comes with many complications, and would cost upwards of $4000. 

I have decided to bring him home this evening, July 3rd, and continue to monitor him from here. Unfortunately, unless this campaign goes extremely well for some wild reason, I will most likely have to choose to euthanize Oreo sometime in the future, as the total veterinary bills will come to over $6000, which is about equal to the amount of tuition I pay for one year of schooling at MacEwan.