Salty needs your help with ongoing treatment costs

Link to Saltys Instagram account

Hi, my name is Bernadette & my cat is Salty Sea Cat.

Two weeks ago, Salty became very ill with a liver infection and what we thought was diabetes. He was initially treated with antibiotics and insulin at the vets. Unfortunately, he was also jaundiced and not eating, so he was put on a feeding tube.

After the first seven days, he was strong enough to begin steroid treatment, and the infection appeared to be under control. The blood tests showed diabetes resolving once he got nutrition via the feeding tube, and we thought he was on the road to recovery and home.

Salty was given another set of blood tests today, showing that he still has Jaundice and is now dangerously anaemic. Our vets have contacted a specialist Veterinary Hospital in Glasgow for advice.

Salty has come off the steroids for the Liver and has had scans to ensure he does not have any internal bleeding that would cause the anaemia, and his vet will change to a different antibiotic.

Our local vets are reaching the limit of their capabilities to treat salty so we want to raise the money to take him to the veterinary Hospital in Glasgow, where he could receive a blood transfusion if needed and further treatment.

He is insured and has been paying for the treatment he has been having so far, but it will not cover the costs of further treatment at the Specialist Hospital in Glasgow.

Taking him to Glasgow could be life-saving for him, so we are reaching out using this platform to ask for your help.

UPDATE ON 1 AUGUST 2022

This morning's update from the hospital vets is that they have ruled out any underlying Liver condition or disease that could have caused this condition.

Salty is being treated for Refeeding Syndrome, which is unusual in cats. They have to treat this slowly; the Liver and possible bile duct infection he went to the vet for over two weeks ago caused his body to stop taking in nutrition. While he was so ill fighting the infection then, he could not process food. He was on a feeding tube in the first two weeks; however, his body was unable to manage it, possibly due to the diabetes symptoms he presented with alongside the infections.

The current intensive care he is having in Glasgow is life-saving for him. They have to monitor his blood during the day. They have told us this morning that the blood transfusion he received on Friday has successfully started bringing the anaemia down and that although his skin is still very yellow due to jaundice, his nose has started to pink up slightly, which is a good sign.

He is currently being fed directly into his oesophagus with a gastronomy feeding tube. The daily intake needs to be managed slowly with a 5% increase every 24 hours to ensure his body can cope. In addition, he has to be monitored constantly to ensure his electrolytes are kept stable. So today, they will be raising the amount from 15% of his daily requirement given yesterday to 20% and adjusting his electrolytes during the day to support his Liver and internal functions.

The vets estimate he will need to stay with them for at least the next six days; this intensive treatment for him is estimated to cost one thousand pounds per 24 hours. Therefore, we have reset his fundraising goal to reflect the costs of a ten-day stay at the Intensive Care unit in the Hospital and the admin costs of running this fundraiser.

We have been astounded by the response from everyone who has donated and sent us messages of support and don't have words to express how grateful we are to you all. Please continue to share his fundraiser a little longer to help us fund his treatment.