Urgent Help for Floki's Life-Saving Treatment

Floki is the center of my universe.

I grew up with cats, but I never had a bond like him. Floki is such a beautiful, expressive little soul. He loves to sing. He'll travel room to room, testing the acoustics in each one. As a helicopter cat mom, I always check on him when he hollers, and he happily greets me, running over to use me for his favorite thing in the world; pets. Lovin'. He's also utterly obsessed with hair ties. They're his other favorite thing.

Floki has been sick since Dec. 25th, and it's slowly gotten worse. His appetite has dwindled to nothing. Given his symptoms, we assumed he had an Upper Respiratory Infection [URI]. His appetite seems to come and go, but never enough for a full meal.

Taking him to the vet gave us some answers. Had a full Feline Diagnositic Profile done [bloodwork, urinalysis, etc] and pretty much everything came back "normal." Was sent home with medications that didn't do much [Anti-nausea and an appetite stimulant]. See bill below.

I live with my wonderful, kind hearted in-laws who have helped me pay this bill with a credit card--money none of us have--while I am waiting for confirmation to come through on new employment. It's guaranteed, but I won't hear back from them until the last week of January, and likely won't see my first check until halfway through February. It starts at Part-Time, and is $15/hr.

I am desperately searching for work still, just in case, but my area doesn't have many options available for me. Minimum wage in my state is still $7.25, and I'm sending out applications daily.

My mother-in-law works part time, and will not have said job after February because her place of work is shutting down. Father-in-law is footing the bill for household necessities. My partner is disabled, but does not qualify for disability due to work history and not eligible for govt. aid.

I have similar disabilities, and chronic pain, but it hardly matters right now.

Floki, despite his struggles, has so much life in him. He's lost a lot of weight, but he's still active. He still wants to explore the house, still soaks up sun, still comes to sit with me on my lap even after his feeding sessions [force-feeding approved by a veterinarian]. He shows interest in food, and is drinking water on his own [but not as much as he used to]. He is telling me he has the strength to keep going.

Force-feeding him isn't enough though. He hates it, and makes it difficult to get enough down. Right now, all we're doing is keeping him alive. And he's fighting so hard to kick whatever's got him down. He wants to keep going.

I think our next best step would be to insert an oesophageal feeding tube. This procedure can cost upwards of $400+ with prescription foods and medication. I would also like to get him another round of subcutaneous fluids just to pull him in a safer direction.

[Photo is of me and Poki--his nickname, because he pokes hard when he wants attention. His boogers give me hives but I've never missed being so itchy in my entirely life. I'm trying to stay positive but I've been crying every other hour since Xmas. He's my boy. My little man who can. I have to save him, I don't care what it takes.]

"Why not get a loan/credit card?" Unfortunately, my 20's were filled with mistakes. My credit score is around 500/600 depending on what you look at. I have new payment plans set up to pay it off at the end of next month once the new job is on paper. I know I messed up. I know I was reckless, and I cannot tell you the amount of regret I have in my heart over wasting it all on fast food and short-lived dopamine [gaming, mostly]. It's my fault, and I blame myself for Floki's condition. I know it's my fault. I'm trying to make it right. I really, really am.

The new job is guaranteed, I just have to wait for the background checks to go through and won't receive any pay until the 3rd week of Feb. at the earliest. Even then, it won't be enough to pay for everything immediately out of pocket. The first thing I'll be doing is getting pet insurance [the best/most expensive package I can logically afford].

What Floki is experiencing can be fixed. He doesn't deserve to suffer because his mama struggles. He's ten years old. Sure, he's an "elder" but he's been so healthy his entire life. This is a treatable illness I desperately want to help him with and I would do literally anything to get it for him. And I do mean, anything.

I cannot tell you how much extensive research rabbit holes I've gone down about veterinarian costs, medical procedures, financial aid options, loans, selling feet pics, etc. The past month has been spent researching, and researching again, looking for every possible option or loophole.

For those of you who are curious or would prefer to know who their money is going to, here I am:

My name is Sam. I'm an Aries born in '95. I grew up an only child in a small Texan town, raised on the river, and cultivated by a passion for wildlife and the arts. My parents are respectable folk--also too poor to help, and they have their own vet needs to tend too--who work for the State. [Not high-paying jobs, mind you. The best part is their health insurance and that's about it.] I live about 2 hours away from home now and spend much of my free time gardening, working on various arts [digital and writing, mainly], spending time with my kitties [Floki has a "sister" who is four years older, and is special needs in regards to her temperament/hormones], and gaming when I have the time/energy.

I didn't know I was Autistic with ADHD until my mid to late 20's, which has really helped put things in perspective for me, and helped me start to find a way to properly navigate life with the tools I needed. Earlier I mentioned chronic pains. I started having them in my early teens periodically. They'd come and go in waves, lasting for a few seconds to a few minutes. As I got older, they've gotten worse. The pain focuses around my joints, and can last anywhere to a few long minutes, to a couple days at most on rare occasions. The pain is enough to cause me to pause in my work, whatever it is, and hope it passes "soon". More often than not, it persists, and I force myself to work through it.

I only say this to put things into perspective, not for sympathy.

On top of all this, I was raised by prideful, self-motivated people. I struggle with asking for help, even when I need it most. I often choose to struggle, stumble, and bust my teeth on the metaphorical pavement rather than ask for help. I am convinced that I am the exception in the universe, and if I can't do it on my own, I was never meant to do it at all. I know this is destructive and unrealistic, and I'm working on it.

But this isn't about me. Floki doesn't deserve to suffer on account of my pride. And so I'm here, begging, pleading for aid on my hands and knees. I'm trying everything I can. I'm trying to sell commissions for Floki. I tried streaming my art on Twitch for him, but my internet is shit because there's like 5 people on it all the time. Social media is rotting from the inside out and I don't know what platforms to use. [I'll still use

every one I can.]

I'm at a loss, and I'm desperate. He is my boy; my son. I cannot have human children of my own, and I know a cat's life is short. I know my time with him is limited. But not like this. I can't lose him like this. He's supposed to be older, decline slower. He's supposed to live happy, peacefully until the time he lets me know it's time for him to go. Floki is supposed to die in my arms at a ripe old age when he's good and ready.

He can be saved. I know he can.

If you have questions, I would be happy to answer them for you.

If you'd prefer not to "give money away", I also offer art commissions on my webpage: Art Commissions Prices are negotiable. (I'm desperate, not stupid. I'm not gonna dedicate 12 hours on a full body piece for $5. Please be reasonable, I am already at my limit.)

If you don't have the means to help, please consider sharing this post.

Thank you for your time. Please have Floki in your thoughts. If you're a practitioner, please consider conducting some work to boost our aid. I appreciate you. Stay hydrated.