So I’m not going to beat around the bush–things are tough right now. They’re tough for everyone, I’m not unique, but while I cut out as many expenses as I can and I’m fine going without things for myself, I still have to take care of my cats. Some of them have special dietary issues, some ended up with me because they were otherwise unadoptable, all are rescues of some stripe. If you want to help out, please see below. Screenshots of costs for transparency’s sake.
What Do Cats Need?
Food and litter are the biggest expenses next to vet visits. My cats are indoor so they’re at low risk for illness and accidents, but I’ve got a couple of seniors and a very expensive one with health issues, so I have to stay on top of checkups and diagnostics as they come up.
How To Help
What is here: smaller things that are easier for me to pick up from the post office.
What isn’t here: food/litter. For one reason, two of them are on diets that aren’t sold on Amazon. For another, unless you’re a Canadian with Prime shipping (which delivers to my door), shipments go to my PO Box because they go through the post office, and it gets tricky to coordinate help picking up large, heavy boxes from there and getting them home.
2. Send a gift card to PetSmart or Amazon.
I do a lot of shopping at PetSmart–it’s delivered right to my door. I can get Shawn’s food here. And I’m part of the rewards program, so I end up with discounts when they add up.
I do have Prime shipping so I can get litter and other cat food at Amazon delivered to my door if you’d prefer that. These can go to the same email as PayPal, my full name at gmail dot com or:
3. Send a monetary gift via PayPal.
I do have PayPal. Please put “gift”/choose the gift option when sending so I can keep it separate from my work for income tax purposes. For Canadians: I also have Interac e-transfer, to the same email address.
Who Needs the Most Help?
Meet Libby.
She was a colony kitten, back when I volunteered in TNR, who had severe health issues as a kitten she never got over. She was unadoptable and I couldn’t get a larger shelter to take her while I fostered her, and without me, the remaining option was euthanasia. It’s a tricky situation given her dietary restrictions to have her in a multi-pet household, but we’re trying.
She’s had a full dental, she’s on medication long-term and anallergenic food, and needs her liver checked yearly. She’s kind of a mess but she deserves a chance. I’ve got money on my vet account for her summer checkup and bloodwork, but her food is very costly monthly.
Meet Rodney.
He is a little thirteen-year-old, which makes him an old man. He’s got some anemia we can’t entirely explain. B12 shots seemed to help him, so I would like to try that again and do more bloodwork to see if tests confirm what I noticed clinically. Ultimately the vet recommends an ultrasound to see if there’s a potential cause internally (a GI bleed? a tumor?), which involves booking someone to come with the machine (I’m rural) and read it. With tax, that’s normally about $1000. That is entirely off the table for me right now.
Meet Shawn
Who am I kidding? You already know Shawn.
No one racks up more expenses than Shawn. I found one hairball food that actually works for him, which cuts down on the vet trips because of the obstruction risks. He’s had two dental surgeries already. He is chaos incarnate.
Some dental cleaning is needed for Jonesy but these are the big needs at the moment while I’m struggling.
$85 CAD (including tax and shipping) will sponsor Libby’s food for a month.
$122 CAD (including tax) will sponsor Shawn’s hairball food for fourteen weeks.
$27-35 CAD (including tax) will buy an order of lightweight clay cat litter (cost varies with where I buy it).
$60 CAD (including tax) will sponsor food for the other cats for a month.
A visit and thorough blood workup is normally around $300-$400 CAD.
If anyone has won the lottery, $1000 CAD will sponsor Rodney’s ultrasound.
There are many worthy causes out there. Many people struggling. I hate asking because it’s always been important for me to take care of things myself, but that’s getting harder as the working poor. For folks who want to help my crew on occasion, please know that I am deeply grateful.
Writer of urban fantasy, thrillers/mysteries, and horror.