Help Bella Overcome Feline Lymphoma

This is Bella. She needs help.

The first time I walked into my house in 2019, Bella was at the back door to greet me. From day one she was a regular visitor in my yard, and I came to understand she was well known all around the neighborhood, going by many names including Snowball or Snowflake. She was a popular kitty as she's always friendly and sociable with everyone. This even extended to my first cat, Red - they would often say hello at the back door as Bella was making her rounds.

Over the next few years, Bella gradually made her way more into my home, starting after Red's passing in 2020. I opened my doors to her during the 2021 freeze when she needed a warm place to sleep. Eventually I was asked to take over her vet visits, from other kind neighbors who had been taking her but had recently adopted another cat that didn't get along with her (they're the ones that named her Bella, a name I was happy to keep having studied Italian in university).

For a long time I didn't really consider her "my" cat, both because I'd still recently lost one and because I knew she was loved by many in the neighborhood and didn't want to take her away from her free-roaming lifestyle. But when she developed severe allergy issues that resulted in a long string of tests and eventual regular medication needs, I had to eventually make the call that she was an indoor cat and lived here now, and she's happily kept me company for the past couple of years.

A few weeks ago I noticed a lump on the side of Bella's throat. Fearing the worst I immediately took her in for testing, and confirmed - lymphoma. Cancer. The days since have been a flurry of more tests and exams. The good news is the results have been as optimistic as can be hoped in terms of "cancer" - it appears restricted to a single lymph node, and operable. The not as good news is that the costs of these diagnostics have already reached the limits of what I can readily handle with my current income, more than if I'm being honest, and the surgery is going to be considerably more.

So here I am like so many before me, turning to GoFundMe for help in a difficult time. The total here reflects her anticipated medical costs for the high end of the surgical estimate, but anything will help. I know there is a lot of need to go around but if you have some funds to spare, consider sharing some to help this girl who's always happy to curl up and purr with a new friend she just met.