URGENT - Please help my cat Tofu!
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This feels weird to post because I'm usually posting yaoi art here once in a blue moon, but my sweet girl Tofu needs help.
Three days ago, on July 21st, my 12-year-old cat Tofu started vomiting every few hours. She was still responsive, still wanted to be near me, and would even occasionally accept creamy treats and hydralife, so I hoped it was another small nausea episode like she'd had before that went away after a day of rest and care. Initially I thought she was improving and recovering because she hadn't vomited for a day, July 23rd in the morning she threw up again. I called the vet clinic and asked to be seen ASAP.
She was hospitalized for dehydration. We initially believed she would need IV fluids, monitoring and hopefully come home within the next day or two, with an estimate of 750–1000€ from the vet. A few hours later I received a call saying they found multiple kidney stones causing an ureter obstruction, alongside severe dehydration and a bunch of bacteria in her bladder. She was planned to stay until Monday. The estimate increased to 1500–2000€ while they hydrated her, and planned to flush out the stones.
Today, the 24th, I got another update. Her kidney values have doubled despite treatment, she can no longer go through the flushing treatment. Tomorrow morning she is undergoing surgery. Without it, the obstruction cannot be relieved. The current estimate starts at 4000€.
So far with people's help she has gotten 900€, +500 that i had stashed from before, and I am so thankful. I'm physically and mentally disabled. If I have to, I'll try to take out a loan to cover the rest, but I'm asking for help because this cost is simply beyond what I can manage alone, even if I dip far into savings.
I've had Tofu since I was 8 years old. She's been by my side for 12 years and has carried me through the hardest periods of my life. She's the reason I got out of bed on days when nothing else felt worth getting up for.
She isn't just my cat. She is the most precious thing in the world to me. I grew up with her, I raised her and she raised me. Despite her CKD she still sings, plays, gallops like a horse, shows curiosity, chases her treats, greets me when I come home, cuddles me, heals my ankles by laying her weight on me. Every time I sit down in the bathroom to fight for my life she starts serenading me and/or my friends in voice calls until I come back while carrying around plushies. My friends affectionately call her performance The Poop Song.
Cats are known for hiding pain, but Tofu has always done the opposite with me. When she had nosebleeds she'd come curl up beside me. When she had an UTI she literally made me watch her pee into the shower drain so I'd take action (and I did). When she developed tumors she'd roll over and let me inspect them. Even these past few days she mostly stayed in her usual spots beside me until the day she started wandering between my room and the kitchen, and that's when I knew something was seriously wrong.
She has also helped another cat. After my roommate adopted a terrified 3-4 year old tuxedo cat named Mimi from a shelter, Tofu made her drop her guard down and taught her that people weren't so scary after all during their limited interactions. Even now, when Grandma Tofu tells her off with a hiss, Mimi simply turns around, starts kneading and purring because she respects boundaries.
I visited Tofu today. And it reminded me once again what an absolute fighter she is. The staff let me give her one of the treats I'd brought and she happily ate it. She was completely drugged up on pain medication but still kept trying to jump out of the carrier and walk around, only to immediately flop over. However a cat can only show so much, she can't tell me she has stones lodged in her ureter. I was told shes opinionated, but that it is a good sign.
She's still fighting, and I want to fight alongside her.
I know surgery isn't a guarantee, and the complications can be serious. But if the team believes she still has a chance, then I want to give her that chance. I directly asked if it'd be more humane to put her to sleep.
If you're able to donate or simply reblog this so more people can see it, it would mean a lot to me, and by extension, Tofu, even if she cannot grasp what I mean when I told her today that there's people wishing her the best.