Update and Urgent Help Needed!

Things have been crazy lately. It's been quite a while since I updated my blog about the cats. A LOT has changed.

I have some sad news to report.  March 22, 2015 I had to help Sassy to the rainbow bridge.  Her CKD had progressed, and so had her hyperthyroidism.  Her Kidney numbers were through the roof and so were her Thyroid numbers. Trying to balance those two would cause her to crash. She was not eating and peeing everywhere.


She did have a bad kidney infection which helped the CKD to progress and get worse. Antibiotics were not helping, and she was going down hill fast.  Her quality of life was dwindling so I did my final act of love and selflessness and helped her cross the bridge.  It was an easy decision to make but a hard one to go through.  I rescued her from abuse, and gave her a wonderful loving home.  She was 18 years old, and lived a wonderful long life.  I miss her terribly, but I do know that she is still around me.  There are times I do hear her meow. It was very distinctive to any other of the cats meows around here.  And I believe she is still here with me, and it gives me comfort.

 

I thought with the relief of not having to get meds for her, less wet food, etc that the financial aspect would improve just a little.  I was wrong.  

 

Smokie about a year ago was diagnosed with IBD. He was on steroids to help and meds and was doing great, however after Sassy was gone, he quickly started having flair ups with his IBD and now I have more meds and supplements that he needs which has taken any extra money I would have had. With the prednisolone that he is on for IBD it makes him eat more. Normally he should have one can of food a day. He's going through 2+ cans (5oz) a day.  The prednisolone reduces the ability of his body to fight infections.  He's recently had a UTI and is on antibiotics.  Every vet visit cost over $100. 

I now have a new situation going on that has threatened my veterinary fund I had set up for them. Every year my tax money goes for vet visits for my special needs cats.  A few months ago, I was contacted by an attorney stating that the collection company that purchased my debt is demanding payment or they will garnish my wages.  At first I thought this was a scam so I did some investigating.  Indeed there was a judgment against me. But this was almost 10 years ago, and I was never served or notified about it.  When I did more digging around I found out that it was for a credit card that I had paid off 11 years ago.  Since there was a judgment I went investigating on how I could get the judgement vacated. I never received a collection notice once until now.  The originating collection agency that handled the judgement from my research online has very many legal problems and they are about as crooked as you come.  They did not act on the judgement, and let it sit and gain interest until it was over $4000. They sold it to another collection agency for profit. Their legal problems are so bad they even had to change their name.   I figured I'll just find my records to prove I paid this off.  In searching I found out that those records were destroyed last year.  I had kept them 10 years, 3 years longer than what was recommended.  So I had to go about finding my bank I had all those years ago.  In searching I found out that this bank sold their business to another bank.  I called that bank and seeing as the records were over 10 years old they would no longer have those.  So I now have NO proof I paid this off!

I contacted many attorney's who practice in this area of law. Unfortunately I was told by all of them that investigation and going after this company would take money and time. Money I did not have.  They recommend bankruptcy as the cheaper alternitive.   So I did call many bankruptcy attorneys and because my debt is under $5,000 ( this judgement is the only money I owe to anyone) they do not recomend bankruptcy and will not do so.  Pretty much no attorney will.  So I'm caught in a very bad bad situation.

Fast forward a few weeks to now, the adverse attorney has started garnishment proceedings. They will take $100 + out of my pay check each pay period.  I can not afford this, as that means food for myself, my cats and their health needs.  On top of the current mess I had an unforeseen expense that took all of my veterinary fund to fix. It wasn't something I could put off.  So now, I have no veterinary fund, and I am getting my wages garnished.  Plus side is if I claimed bankruptcy they could have taken my veterinary fund money.  Now it's not there for them to take. :(

It is an unfortunate thing that has happened and I am outraged by it.  I feel as though the originating collection agency stepped all over my rights and now put me into this unfair situation.  I don't have the money to fight it, and claiming bankruptcy is going to be hard given the amount I have.

So it is urgent more now than ever that I forward my fundraiser to help raise funds for my cats veterinary care.  They should not be affected with what has unfairly been done to me.  I am including a link to my fundraiser for my cats.  Please forward it on your Facebook pages, twitter accounts and any other social media you may have or way to pass it around.

My diabetic cat needs to go in for a check up. She also has heart arrhythmia and her heart needs to be checked.  I have only raised $150 which has already been used for Smokie's vet visit. So right now I can not get Lucky in to be seen. The vet will not accept payment arrangements, and with the garnishment happening I can't afford to make payments.

 

I am hoping and praying that this situation can be remedied and soon. I pray for answers every day. 

Veterinary Fund Raiser

I had found many links to places that help owners with veterinary care for their animals. However, because her life is not immediately threatened by not being able to bring her in, no one can help me.  She is doing okay and this is just simply a check up. So unfortunately those sites will not be able to help until she is in a life threatening situation.  Regular veterinary checkups would help prevent that situation from occurring.

So fundraising is my only option.  I am asking for everyone's help. For the sake of my wonderful loving cats. I love them with all my heart and will protect them at any cost.

It has been a while since the last post. Things have been busy, and I have been horrible about updating. So I am going to update with all that has happened since the last post!


Sassy was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism, as you know.  She has now been diagnosed with CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease).  Her Phosphorus and potassium were very high.  She was also diagnosed with metabolic acidosis as well as a heart murmur.  So she is now on benazapril for her heart, coQ10 for her heart, Phosphorus binders, baking soda for the metabolic acidosis.  Her T4 had increased so she now gets 1/4 of her methimazole AM and PM.  She gets Ondansetron for her nausea and gerneric Zantac for tummy acid.  She seems to be doing well on this combo so far.  She has not gone back in for more diagnostics as I have run out of money. So now I take it one day at a time.

Lucky went in for dental this year again and gave the vet a scare. Her lips started turning blue, and after the procedure the vet found she had arrythmia.  And so she too now has been put on Benazapril for her heart.  The vet had suggested I get an ultrasound for their hearts to see what type of heart issues they had and how bad they were.  However at $400 a piece I do not have the money for that, and they are being treated just with the benazapril at this time.

Smokie on and off after being stabilized with Hyperthyroidism, had thrown up.  I'd change the food, and he would stop throwing up.  His vomiting spells had gotten worse. He went from weighing 12lbs to 8.5lbs.  About what he was when he was diagnosed with HT.  He was taken into the vet and diagnosed with IBD  which is Inflammatory Bowel Disease.  He was put on prednisone. 5mg to start and 2.5mg there after.  This has stopped the vomiting but he has had some nausea, and had to be put on Ondansetron for the nausea.  This helped with his appetite. 

It has been a very busy and stressful time trying to figure out what their medical issues were and trying to figure out if I could afford it all.

Now 3 cats are strictly on a wet food diet, and have multiple supplements to help them.  It's getting harder to be able to afford what they need because their medical conditions seem to broaden with each passing year.  Normally my tax money would be more than enough to pay for medical treatments as needed. This year I ran out by November.  2 of the 3 cats really need blood tests to monitor blood levels for treatment adjustments and there is just no money unfortunately.  On top of all those developments we have had car problems. Our cars are over 12 years old, and with all of the cats medical needs we can not keep up on our car repairs.  We really need money to buy newer cars that are in better condition than the ones we currently have.  We do the best to keep them maintained and do a lot of the repairs our self, or have a salvage yard friend help us find parts for cheap repairs.  But the vehicles are getting to the point that they are getting more costly and more invasive than we can do ourselves, and it's really time to get newer vehicles.  But in order to do this, I'd have to use at least 1/2 my tax money and half of my fiance's taxes to purchase a newer vehicle.  Unfortunately I need ALL my tax money and then some for the cats medical care.  If we do not get newer vehicles then when they finally do have a major break down, we will not be able to afford to fix them.  We live in a rural area, and the roads in the winter are plowed but never salted, and when plowed are plowed last.  So all wheel drive, or 4 wheel drive vehicles are a must.   If I can not get out to get to work, I will not have a job.  And it's needed for the cats' medical expenses. We can not live on one income.  As it is my fiance drives 1hr and 10 minutes to work.  To cut gas expenses he's stayed in town where he works, and only comes home 1-2 nights out of the week.  We've given up a lot of our daily needs to make sure the cats get theirs, and we are at a point where we can not give up any more.

I rescued these special needs cats because no one else would.  And at the time their conditions were manageable.  Now they are getting older and need more medical treatment and supplies.  

I have worked so hard to keep them in a safe environment, and give them a warm and loving home.  I am now starting to struggle, and it is very difficult when I know they need to go to the vets to monitor their medical conditions, and I can't take them in.  I am doing the best I can, but the way things are going I may not be able to properly care for them if their medical costs go any higher.

Therefore I'm creating a fund raising website, to try to raise funds.  If I can raise at least $2000 that will free up my taxes and we can get a newer vehicle that has less miles and will be more reliable and less expensive to fix for a while.

There is a link below where you can donate.  I have also created cat related t-shirts and other items. I will also create dog related t-shirts to sell.  I have teamed up with an animal rescue in Michigan who makes the shirts and items and then ships them out. So, each purchase also helps them with their animal rescue and sanctuary as well! It benefits both of us. All money raised  by purchasing t-shirts and other items will go for veterinary care for the cats, and their medications and supplements.

I ask that you forward these links as much as you can through social media websites such as twitter, Facebook etc.  It would really make Christmas a happier time if we knew that these wonderful cats would have the proper medical care that they need and deserve. 

We pray daily for the answer to our situation, and hope you will do so with us as well.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year!

Purchase items to help us raise funds:
http://blujay.com/TheFanDepot

Where to go to donate money:
http://www.gofundme.com/5catsvetfund

Lucky is Diabetic

Since April of 2013, I have had a very terbulant time with my cats. One cat was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism, and As of August Lucky was diagnosed as Diabetic.

I started noticing Lucky waiting by the water dish if another cat was drinking. Something she did not normally do. I also noticed that she went frequently to the water dish many times during the day.  She had also lost some weight.  So I put her in a room and monitored her. She wasn't eating very much, but was drinking well over 1 cup of water a day.  I  noticed that her urine didn't have that distinct ammonia smell that most cats urine had.  I made an appointment with the vet as soon as possible.  She had blood drawn and a urine strip test was done. There was a lot of sugar spilling into her urine, and her urine was very dilute.  Her blood sugar came back at over 300.

The vet was very optimistic that only a diet change may be needed.  So she was then put on an all wet food diet of Fancy Feast as it was the lowest in carbs and the cheapest.  At first her numbers went down a little but they were still above normal.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Looking into insulin, the best for her was Latnus. However Latnus cost around $200.  Which I did not have.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do for her.  I was referred by someone to Diabetic Cats In Need, and they were quick to help out by sending a pen of Latnus to get me started. Luckily by the time that arrived. She started having blood sugar readings in the normal level, and they stayed there for 14 days. After which she was considered in remission, and controlled only on food.  This was a BIG relief to me.

Since being diagnosed, she has had to have one dental cleaning and was put on antibiotics.

Hopefully she continues to be controlled simply by diet.

Another Diagnosis of HT

As of April 4, 2013 I have another diagnosis of Hyperthyroidism. Sassy was officially diagnosed and put on medication.  However, after a few days of the medication she started to scratch her face and had sores all over :( Poor Sassy!

A small percentage of cats have an adverse reaction to the Methimazole medication.  I did not want to give up so I did try stopping it for two weeks and then restarting it while giving her Zyrtec for the itching.  She was restarted on her once a day pill treatment and so far the itching has not returned.  However I feel as time progresses and she needs more, this may not still be the case. For cats like Sassy they need the radioactive iodine treatment which is a 100% cure for this disease.  So ultimately I have to start raising funds for this.  The radioactive iodine therapy costs around $1500.

If you would like to help, I have opened a Bonanza booth where you can purchase a wide variety of items from Toys to Android Tablets.  All proceeds will go to getting her radioactive iodine therapy.  If you can not help with a purchase, please forward the link to the store on your facebook, twitter and tumbler accounts.

Here is the direct link to : Koshkonong Treasures .

She as done nicely so far, and does need to go back in for lab testing to make sure her T4 is where it should be.  Hopefully this will be done within the next month or so.

Recovering Nicely!

Charlie is recovering nicely from his Dental surgery. Have not seen any red ears since the day after surgery.  Hoping the Dental surgery solves this issue.

The others cats are doing nicely (knock on wood). Today they are being lazy as I am too!  Soon I will be changing food.  I will be changing back to chicken soup for the pet lover's soul. Hopefully it takes care of the dark waxy build- up in smokie's ears and the vomiting.  Smokie has another three months until another blood draw for updated T4 readings.

I have found a toy that they all love. It's a hybrid that I put together.  It's a dabird attachment feather or mouse and put it on a child's fishing rod. OMG they go nutty for it! It's the only toy that they want to play with!

It's Been A While

It's been a while since I last posted on any of the cats.  Since taking the 2nd Job, it's now my main job. Smokie is still on the medication, all though he started throwing up again about 8-9 months ago.  He went in to check his thyroid numbers and they were good. He's also had a lot of brown waxy build up in his ears as well. I'm thinking it could be allergy related on both accounts due to food.  It could also be the medication. But stopping the medication is not going to be the answer. He'll start throwing up without it. So I won't know either way. So, I'll be changing food to a limited ingredient food. Trying to find one that is within my budget is not an easy task as they are all really expensive. So the search is continuing.

Smokie is a very interesting cat.  He knows the time at which he gets his meds and he will be next to me crying away and it's usually two minutes to 7 (he gets his meds at 7am and 7pm).  There have been times I've been busy doing something and have not heard my alarm go off for his meds. And I know if he's pestering me persistantly it's one of two things if his bowl is full it's because it's past 7 and he has not gotten his medication. HE reminds me! He's such a unique cat, and that's why I love him!

One of my other cat's Faith had to cross the rainbow bridge due to a stroke on December 27th 2011. I was heartbroken but I knew it was best for her. It's been a hard year without her. I miss her tiny squeeks. :(  Many people have tried to send other cats my way, but unfortunately I have a limited income and can not afford at this time to take any more in. It's sad, but true. I see a great many cats that I'd love to rescue, but the funds are just not there.

Many of the cats, in 2012, had lots of dental work done. All of my cats accept the youngest Callie, has had teeth removed.  Charlie the recent one, had 4 removed. One was one of his canine teeth. He is genetically predisposed to having them just drop out.  The one that was taken had a pocket in it, so it had to be removed.  He's doing fine. I initally brought him in for the very red ears he'd get.  We're thinking it was from the teeth, but not completely sure right now. If it doesn't resolve with the teeth removal, then we'll be looking at blood pressure next.

Sassy used to get red ears and now it's been quite some time since I've seen them red like the picture's I've posted in my blog previously. I'm thinking the tooth removal might have been the issue with her. And I'm hoping it's the solution to Charlie's red ears.

The other thing that prompted me to bring Charlie in was that he has been pouncing on Lucky. Just after Christmas he bit her leaving her with a bite mark and a nice wound. That has healed over, and he does seem to be calmer since the dental surgery. I'm hoping that stops the agressiveness towards Lucky and the other female cats.

That brings everyone up to date on their lives thus far and their journey in life.

Update With The Cats

It's been some time since I last posted.  I did not get accepted for the animal fund because his condition is treatable with medication.   However,  since the fundraising aspect was not panning out, I took a 2nd Job.  I've been working hard to save some money up so that Smokie can get his Radioactive Iodine treatment.  He has been doing well on the Methimazole.twice daily.   I'm trying to save up at least $100-$200 a month to put away for Smokie's treatment.  Though right now I've had two cats with urinary tract infections which have eaten up any money I was putting a side for Smokie right now.   So hopefully next month will be better for Saving some money.  Right now I have saved $100 currently.  So hopefully the cats will stay healthy! ;)

Charlie was doing good until this past Tuesday July 5.  In the morning I heard a commotion at the bottom of the basement steps. Charlie's tail was all poofed out and he had pounced on poor Lucky who was in a corner.  She had a cut below her eye which I treated.  Had to separate him for a bit. So far so good. Her scratch is healing nicely.   If his behavior doesn't change soon he'll be going into the vet to be checked out.

All the rest of the kitties Faith, Callie and Sassy are doing good! ;)  Will try to update the blog more often.

Till Next Time
Melissa