Rest In Peace, KC
Donation protected
Who Is KC?
KC is a snowshoe cat, age 15, who has been fighting cancer (diffuse gastrointestinal lymphoma) for the past year with a steroid and chemotherapy regimen.
My name is Ben and my girlfriend and I have been caring for KC along with our other two cats for the past five years. KC has been my feline companion for eight years now and he has been in my family since the beginning of 2004 when he was just six weeks old.
KC is loyalty and friendship incarnate. He has been there for the past half of my life and he has lived with me personally since the start of 2011. He has always been there for me no matter how rough things were, and I'm trying to do the same for him.
KC is the most happy, mellow and cheerful cat you will ever meet. Not a day goes by without hearing him purr loudly like a motor. He is constantly expressing his joy for life - scarfing down his food like a shark, basking in the sunlight, rubbing his face in catnip, and curling himself up on our laps whenever he gets the chance.
With our three cats between my girlfriend and I, we have been a family of five for the past five years.
KC and the other two cats get along like a pride of lions. They play with each other, wander together during their supervised outdoor time, and spend lots of time indoors relaxing in each other's company. Of course they occasionally squabble but they love each other and they show concern for each other.
Hershey (male, age 11) is the large, long-haired, black cat and Mercury (female, age 6) is the small, long-haired, silver cat. Hershey often enjoys being groomed by KC.
KC is a very social cat who likes to be the center of attention among groups of people. He loves ripping paper, chasing strings and laser dots, rubbing his face in catnip, and lounging about.
Although he is neutered, KC nonetheless enjoys making love to various assorted fabrics. It is a bizarre sight to behold, with KC clutching a blanket or a garment in his mouth while kneading it with his front paws and pressing it with his back paws. His motor-like purring is at its loudest with his jaws semi-clenched on the fabric, carrying on for several minutes until he shamelessly decides to lick himself.
KC's History
KC is a tough, resilient cat who was dealt some bad cards genetically in the form of obesity, diabetes, megacolon, constipation, and now cancer.
KC was adopted from a litter of snowshoe cats who were born under a barn in November 2003. At that time he was tiny enough to sit in the palm of your hand, with big eyes and ears, but he grew quickly.
Although he has a naturally large body frame for a cat, he spent his younger adult years overweight at 30 pounds (13.6 kg).
^ KC in 2007, age 3
In 2013, between the onset of diabetes and the start of a strict new diet, I was able to get him down to about 17 pounds (7.7 kg) and his weight hasn't fluctuated much from that in the past six years. Since that weight loss, KC became a more physically playful, active cat. He loves to climb and wander to find new places to lounge.
KC became diabetic in 2013 and needed twice-daily insulin injections for six months until his diabetes went into remission. Losing weight certainly helped with that. His diabetes returned in spring of 2014 and he resumed getting insulin injections twice a day for the next two years, until May 2016 when his diabetes again went into remission.
KC also has a condition called megacolon, meaning that his colon is wider than it should be and is unable to pass waste properly. Eating healthier cat food since 2013, while better for his weight management, unfortunately caused his stool to become much harder to the point of serious constipation. To manage this, KC receives a laxative regimen (lactulose) three times per day, which has been successful at preventing his constipation for more than five years now.
KC was diagnosed with diffuse gastrointestinal lymphoma in February 2018 at age 14. He began a steroid regimen (prednisolone) in short order along with a chemotherapy regimen (chlorambucil) within two weeks, both in the form of oral tablets. Unfortunately, a side effect of steroids in cats is diabetes and since KC was already predisposed, his diabetes returned again in April 2018.
Where Are We Now?
KC has been fighting cancer for the past 13 months while also dealing with diabetes again for the past 11 months.
Unfortunately, KC had a very bad episode on Friday, March 29, the cause of this GoFundMe campaign. KC had a seizure due to hypoglycemia. The stellar professionals at Cope Creek Animal Hospital in Sylva, NC were able to save him and he then spent the night at the Regional Emergency Animal Care Hospital in Asheville, NC. Currently, KC is home recuperating on my lap as I type this, but his prognosis is dire.
KC is a fighter. Even as he rests today, he's still purring when he wakes up and looks at me. He still vocalizes for his food when he's hungry. He's still KC and as long as he can savor his quality of life, we are going to help him fight for it. We're taking him to see an oncologist on Tuesday, April 2 to discuss our next steps.
We don't know what's going to happen next for KC but we're going to be there for him all the way, whatever it takes. He is our family and we are his. We don't give up on each other.
Now we're asking for help. We've been financially able to help KC on our own for the past year but after the events of this weekend, we need your help.
What Will The Funds Be Used For?
100% of the funds will be used for KC's veterinary/medical expenses incurred from March 29, 2019 and onward.
For transparency, none of the funds will be retroactively allocated to any charges we incurred caring for KC prior to March 29, 2019.
I Can't Donate. Can I Still Help?
Even if you cannot donate, just sharing this page with other people could make all the difference in the world for KC and for us, and we would appreciate it immensely.
PLEASE HELP KC in the fight of his life! He needs people in his corner.
PLEASE DONATE to assist with KC's medical expenses! Every dollar & every cent will help! It would mean everything to KC and to our family!
PLEASE SHARE THIS PAGE even if you can't donate!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for your help! From our family to yours, from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU FOR HELPING!
KC is a snowshoe cat, age 15, who has been fighting cancer (diffuse gastrointestinal lymphoma) for the past year with a steroid and chemotherapy regimen.
My name is Ben and my girlfriend and I have been caring for KC along with our other two cats for the past five years. KC has been my feline companion for eight years now and he has been in my family since the beginning of 2004 when he was just six weeks old.
KC is loyalty and friendship incarnate. He has been there for the past half of my life and he has lived with me personally since the start of 2011. He has always been there for me no matter how rough things were, and I'm trying to do the same for him.
KC is the most happy, mellow and cheerful cat you will ever meet. Not a day goes by without hearing him purr loudly like a motor. He is constantly expressing his joy for life - scarfing down his food like a shark, basking in the sunlight, rubbing his face in catnip, and curling himself up on our laps whenever he gets the chance.
With our three cats between my girlfriend and I, we have been a family of five for the past five years.
KC and the other two cats get along like a pride of lions. They play with each other, wander together during their supervised outdoor time, and spend lots of time indoors relaxing in each other's company. Of course they occasionally squabble but they love each other and they show concern for each other.
Hershey (male, age 11) is the large, long-haired, black cat and Mercury (female, age 6) is the small, long-haired, silver cat. Hershey often enjoys being groomed by KC.
KC is a very social cat who likes to be the center of attention among groups of people. He loves ripping paper, chasing strings and laser dots, rubbing his face in catnip, and lounging about.
Although he is neutered, KC nonetheless enjoys making love to various assorted fabrics. It is a bizarre sight to behold, with KC clutching a blanket or a garment in his mouth while kneading it with his front paws and pressing it with his back paws. His motor-like purring is at its loudest with his jaws semi-clenched on the fabric, carrying on for several minutes until he shamelessly decides to lick himself.
KC's History
KC is a tough, resilient cat who was dealt some bad cards genetically in the form of obesity, diabetes, megacolon, constipation, and now cancer.
KC was adopted from a litter of snowshoe cats who were born under a barn in November 2003. At that time he was tiny enough to sit in the palm of your hand, with big eyes and ears, but he grew quickly.
Although he has a naturally large body frame for a cat, he spent his younger adult years overweight at 30 pounds (13.6 kg).
^ KC in 2007, age 3In 2013, between the onset of diabetes and the start of a strict new diet, I was able to get him down to about 17 pounds (7.7 kg) and his weight hasn't fluctuated much from that in the past six years. Since that weight loss, KC became a more physically playful, active cat. He loves to climb and wander to find new places to lounge.
KC became diabetic in 2013 and needed twice-daily insulin injections for six months until his diabetes went into remission. Losing weight certainly helped with that. His diabetes returned in spring of 2014 and he resumed getting insulin injections twice a day for the next two years, until May 2016 when his diabetes again went into remission.
KC also has a condition called megacolon, meaning that his colon is wider than it should be and is unable to pass waste properly. Eating healthier cat food since 2013, while better for his weight management, unfortunately caused his stool to become much harder to the point of serious constipation. To manage this, KC receives a laxative regimen (lactulose) three times per day, which has been successful at preventing his constipation for more than five years now.
KC was diagnosed with diffuse gastrointestinal lymphoma in February 2018 at age 14. He began a steroid regimen (prednisolone) in short order along with a chemotherapy regimen (chlorambucil) within two weeks, both in the form of oral tablets. Unfortunately, a side effect of steroids in cats is diabetes and since KC was already predisposed, his diabetes returned again in April 2018.
Where Are We Now?
KC has been fighting cancer for the past 13 months while also dealing with diabetes again for the past 11 months.
Unfortunately, KC had a very bad episode on Friday, March 29, the cause of this GoFundMe campaign. KC had a seizure due to hypoglycemia. The stellar professionals at Cope Creek Animal Hospital in Sylva, NC were able to save him and he then spent the night at the Regional Emergency Animal Care Hospital in Asheville, NC. Currently, KC is home recuperating on my lap as I type this, but his prognosis is dire.
KC is a fighter. Even as he rests today, he's still purring when he wakes up and looks at me. He still vocalizes for his food when he's hungry. He's still KC and as long as he can savor his quality of life, we are going to help him fight for it. We're taking him to see an oncologist on Tuesday, April 2 to discuss our next steps.
We don't know what's going to happen next for KC but we're going to be there for him all the way, whatever it takes. He is our family and we are his. We don't give up on each other.
Now we're asking for help. We've been financially able to help KC on our own for the past year but after the events of this weekend, we need your help.
What Will The Funds Be Used For?
100% of the funds will be used for KC's veterinary/medical expenses incurred from March 29, 2019 and onward.
For transparency, none of the funds will be retroactively allocated to any charges we incurred caring for KC prior to March 29, 2019.
I Can't Donate. Can I Still Help?
Even if you cannot donate, just sharing this page with other people could make all the difference in the world for KC and for us, and we would appreciate it immensely.
PLEASE HELP KC in the fight of his life! He needs people in his corner.
PLEASE DONATE to assist with KC's medical expenses! Every dollar & every cent will help! It would mean everything to KC and to our family!
PLEASE SHARE THIS PAGE even if you can't donate!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for your help! From our family to yours, from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU FOR HELPING!
Organizer
Ben Haines
Organizer
Cullowhee, NC
