Help save my kitty's life

My sweet girl Austin had to be rushed to the ER on Tuesday because she was in respiratory distress. I was worried she wouldn't make it and decided to get her the best care I could. The ER vets immediately rushed her in when we got there and stabilized her on oxygen treatment and bronchodilators to open her lungs, which ultimately saved her life. Unfortunately, Austin has spent the last few nights in the ICU/critical care unit at Cummings Veterinary Medical Center at Tufts and her vet bills are becoming unmanageable. I brought her in Tuesday morning thinking I could take her home later in the day. Still, she couldn't breathe without oxygen therapy and needed extensive diagnostic testing to find a potential treatment. So I had to make the tough decision whether to spend several thousands of dollars to try and save her life, or know she couldn't ever come home with me. Austin is the most resilient kitty and has gotten me through some of the toughest times of my life, so of course there was no decision to be made; I was going to do anything to save her. I rescued her as a stray in Austin, TX, in July 2021 and brought her back to New Hampshire, where she has become the sweetest girl. I could never have expected any of this.

After several diagnostic scans, cultures, and sampling numerous abscesses in her lungs, I was told that they have never seen anything like her. They are surprised she has been a relatively normal kitty for the last 6+ months since her lungs are filled with mucus and several bacterial abscesses of varying sizes. One of these in her lungs is larger than her heart. We ultimately have decided to try and drain this larger abcess with the hopes that she will then respond to several antibiotics. Her prognosis is uncertain, but we are hopeful that we can give her a comfortable (long) life.

I'm reaching out to my friends, fellow Smithies, family, for anything they're willing to contribute towards her life-saving care. She's currently still at Tufts undergoing one more procedure to debulk the large bacterial lesion in her lungs and monitor her as she recovers and starts broad antibiotics. I'm hoping to pick her up in the next few days. I made the difficult financial decision to pursue a treatment for this amazing kitty and would love any help you're willing to provide for her medical care. I'm a PhD student trying to figure out how to navigate her complicated medical situation financially. Please keep Austin in your thoughts.

Read on to learn more about her:

The story of Austin

I flew to Austin, TX in July 2021 to visit my little sister and fell in love with this kitty living outside her apartment complex. She had most magical green eyes and came right up to me when I kneeled down. I brought her some of my sister's dog's food and she scarfed it down faster than I could keep re-filling it. As I spent several hours hanging out on the sidewalk with her, residents of the complex kept coming over asking whether I was going to take her. They had all seen her hanging out for several months and mentioned she was living outside through the horrible winter storm last year. They all loved her and wished they could take her themselves. Austin was hanging out around another cat-owner's apartment (Sarah), who had been leaving out food occasionally. Sarah, a seasoned cat-owner, agreed to help me take her to get checked out and lended me her carrier. She calmly and carefully placed Austin in the carrier and we took her to the local vet for a check-up. The next day, she was sitting on a plane with me en route to New Hampshire. Austin's medical history has been complicated. She had pneumonia, fleas, ear infections, a cough, and heart murmur, so we've been on a wild goose chase to get her healthy for the last 7 months. We've done x-rays, EKGs, ultrasounds, blood-work and more, but unfortunately no one has been able to figure her out. Overall, you'd never know about her health issues because she is such a great kitty. Her medical story came to a head this week when her breathing became a severe, acute issue. I am so thankful we've landed her in such great hands to try and solve this medical mystery, but of course the financial costs are extremely high. I'm hopeful that Tufts will help give her the care she needs to go back to being a playful and loving 3-year old girl. She has put on 5+ pounds, several inches of fur growth and fluffiness, and her health has improved so much overall in the last few months. She's still a young girl with lots of life left to live and love to give. I'm so grateful for your support.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Jordan