Support Princess Meatball's Cancer Journey

Hi, I'm Rae, and this is my cat, Princess Meatball.

Her story:

Meatball came into my and my husband's lives about 4.5 years ago as a wandering feral from a TNR program. She showed up in our yard and would camp out to stare at us with that incredibly cranky face. She made it clear to anyone that she was not fond of people. I didn't care. I wanted her to know she had found a safe space and would be cared for.

For the next few years, I worked on building trust with Meatball and showing her what it's like to receive love. In return, she rewarded me numerous times with more scars than I can count, but also showed me her incredible will to survive, how intelligent she is, loyalty that I've never known from another animal before, and eventually, trust and love.

She's always had some problems with her health. She could never really put on weight, and her mouth always seemed to bother her. I started to notice all of this about 2 years ago, and after months of observation, I figured she had stomatitis. Since she still wasn't at the point in our trust-building relationship to safely take her to the vet, I have spent hundreds of dollars experimenting with various kinds of foods, bowl setups, medicine, you name it, to make eating more comfortable for her since she wouldn't allow me to take her to the vet. We'd eventually gotten it down to a science and it was managed the best it could be without medical intervention.

Every single day since Princess Meatball came into my life, she has shown little improvements and achievements in trust. And I tested her limits daily. She went from an extremely feral, angry, scared cat, to eventually allowing me to pet her, brush her, and love on her. These were not without a lot of bad moments. I had to learn to read her body language. She often gets "confused" or overstimulated if I've crossed a line that she was seemingly enjoying seconds before, and you pay in blood when that happens.

But still, we both persisted with each other. Learned each other's signs and body language. She is so incredibly smart. She knows the exact sound the floor inside makes when I approach the door and will sit outside the window waiting for me. She follows me around everywhere when I'm in the yard. If I can't find her, I just have to yell "Meeeeaaaatttbaaaaaaalllll" at the top of my lungs, and she would appear within 60 seconds without fail. She has tried to protect me from unknown people and animals that have come onto the property. She recognizes when she's hurt me or will hurt me when she gets swipe-happy and will pause before landing the blow and retract her claws. She and I have an amazing bond and she trusts only me, and I have done everything I can to keep that trust intact. Meatball has been my best friend and lifeline through so many things that have happened over the last 5 years, and she means the world to me.

We have seven other cats indoors. We've spent the last summer socializing them with Meatball through the screen door to get ready for the winter. She's come inside the threshold several times over the last few months of her own accord, and I knew this winter would be the one where I could finally get her indoors.

Her current state:

So, on January 4th this year, we brought her inside before a giant snowstorm hit, and plummeting temperatures. We anticipated a dumpster fire and Meatball turned out to be the best house guest ever. She's been a completely different cat and has finally learned how to relax, let others love on her, and has been good with the small socialization we have had with our other cats. I set up an appointment for her to finally get her teeth looked into, and all was supposed to be well. We had roughly $2500 set aside for this with Care Credit, and have a max amount left of $3500 of our available balance (from a previous vet visit from one of my other cats that needed a lot of work that I've been paying on since last year), along with what little savings we have.

We knew going into this that the extraction surgery would be expensive, and had prepared for that. We did not prepare for, nor expect, all these additional issues to suddenly arise, and now my husband and I are trying to move things around financially to quickly get her the treatment she needs and could use some help.

On Jan. 23rd, we took her to the vet, and she was confirmed to have severe stomatitis. She had bloodwork done, which came back great, and we discovered she's likely around 10 years old. They gave her antibiotics and anti-inflammatories for her mouth and scheduled her for extraction surgery on 1/31. She came home and was feeling great, and was finally acting like a normal house cat.

The very next day, everything changed and she crashed. She wouldn't touch food, water, or go to the bathroom. Her stomach had become distended and she was in obvious distress. Then she started having mini seizures, which weren't discovered until that Saturday morning (1/25). We rushed her back to the vet, and her bloodwork had completely changed.

Her potassium was dangerously low, and her sodium and chloride were as well. They kept her over this weekend to give her fluids and monitor her. She had a major seizure while she was there. This cost us $800.

Over the last few days, her potassium is up to acceptable but low levels, but her sodium and chloride have continued to drop.

As of today, the vet staff said nothing has changed. She still won't eat or drink on her own, and her current blood levels haven't really changed. They think they likely won't until something is done about the teeth, but she can't get cleared for surgery until she has ultrasounds and MRIs done to find out what the cause might be of her current state.

Tonight, we will be bringing her home and taking her to a different location for the scans she needs tomorrow morning. From there, depending on what they find, they have moved her extraction surgery to Thursday, January 30th.

If you have read this far, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading her story. This Saturday at the vet was the first time in our history that I have been able to hold, kiss, and love on my baby girl without fear of harm, and I'm terrified that will be the last.

Between the scans and the upcoming extraction surgery, and now likely interim care, we are well over our limit with Care Credit, and I have asked for an increase, which was denied. I will be maxing out my cards with this, and everything is coming at a really bad time financially (as is the case with most people).

I do not ask for help often, and try to give more than I take. But I am pleading and bargaining at this point with the universe, you, and anyone else reading this, to help me help my girl. If you have even $5 to spare right now, I would ask that you please consider sending it our way. I just want Princess Meatball to have the life she deserves now that she's found out what it's like to be safe, warm, and not want for anything. Her story shouldn't have to end yet. Funds will be used towards paying off her current accumulated bills, along with the ones coming later this week. Every little bit helps.

Thank you so much for reading all of this. I know times are tough for everyone right now, and regardless of what you choose, I hope you and yours can stay happy, healthy, and safe. I will update this post with any more info that comes along regarding her status, procedures, bills, etc.

Sincerely,

Rae, Dan, Princess Meatball, and the rest of the cuddle crew.

**New edit:

We had her ultrasound yesterday, January 28th, and they informed us that she likely has cancer. It could be intestinal lymphoma, it could be worse. We are still waiting on the results from the needle aspiration.

Depending on which version she may have (high grade or low grade) of lymphoma, or whether it is something else, largely determines what the prognosis and treatment is. Low grade would be ideal, as it is the easiest to treat, and would buy us a couple more years. Anything else will consume her quickly, and although neither of us is ready to say goodbye, would be in her best interests.

I am shattered with grief and anger, and wish we had a better idea. Waiting is not something I'm very good at doing, and this has been torture.

For now, the tooth extraction is off the table until we can find out more about what kinds of procedures she may need for the cancer, but we still need help if you are willing. Thank you for reading her story, and being with us on this horrible journey.

Update:

I am upping the donation amount needed, as we are already at our previously asked amount ($4k) and the bills keep piling up. Attached are the most recent bills, not showing the roughly $800 that we've spent out of pocket so far. Everything else has mostly gone on Care Credit, which is now close to my allowed limit with them. We are likely going to need yet another ultrasound and fine need aspiration in a few weeks; we are waiting for the oncologist to confirm whether we are to take her back off of her steroids to get a more definitive sample; this usually costs anywhere from $700-1000.

The new kinds of medications, special foods, supplements, and general supplies are also adding up, so we are so incredibly grateful for any and all help that could be provided!

Every single donation goes back on to Care Credit at the end of every week to help pay down this overwhelming debt. We cannot thank you enough for supporting our little bean!