Dora's story
Dora is such a friendly, loving cat who brings us so much joy. She is around 7 years old
We took in Dora 3 years ago from someone who could no longer look after her, after her rehome with her brother fell through as the person was unwilling to take on a sick cat. She has a fast growing tumour in her abdomen, and vets gave a prognosis of 2-3 months.
Amazingly, in ourcare the tumour growth slowed, and much to our joy, she is still thriving nearly 3 years later.
She is still eating, playing, purring and giving us more headbunts than any human could wish for. She is clearly still enjoying life and is not ready to let go.
We have other rescued special needs cats who are all insured, but sadly because of Dora's tumor we are not able to insure her.
Her vet history
She has steroids every day, which she loves as we wrap the pill up in pill putty, which she sees as a treat! She gets semi regular check ups from the vet to make sure she is doing okay.
Recently she has been suffering with a persistent, bad ear infection. We have been working with the vet for months to clear this up, which has cost us over £450 so far.
We are happily covering all of this ourselves.
What we are fundraising for
We are now coming to a time where she needs dental work for her bad teeth, and a possible procedure under sedation to clear out her ear.
Before we can do that, we need to check that it is safe for her to be under sedation with her tumour.
This requires a scan of her abdomen under light sedation, and a possible tissue extraction with a needle, of the mass. This will show the vet if the tumor is affecting any blood vessels, and if it is safe for her to have full sedation for the two procedures. She will lso need blood tests.
An estimate for the scan is a minimum of £450.
Her blood tests will cost around £200.
If the scan says she can have the procedures, the dental will cost £375+ any tooth extractions,
The cost of treating her ear under sedation is currently unknown.
What we are doing to raise funds
Since we took in Dora, my disability has worsened and I have had to give up work. This means our income has drastically reduced. Dora is part of our family now and we could not put her through the stress of rehoming her, but we have not planned for her amazing fighting spirit and longevity!
We are selling all assets that we are able (without diminishing our quality of life completely), but as I also have my annual wheelchair service coming up (which will cost hundreds as my local authority would not grant me funds for a chair suitable for my complex needs), we are falling short of the money we need to help Dora.
We are currently asking for money to cover the scans, blood test (and crowdfunder fees). If they show that she can go under sedation, we will increase the fundraising goal if we cannot cover those costs.
Why we are doing this
We would not be putting her through this if we considered her quality of life to be poor, but as she is still loving life with us, and her tumour is not causing her any pain or discomfort, we have to do everything we can to make her comfortable and enjoy life to the fullest.
Any money you could spare would be appreciated. I promise to put all receipts up here as evidence of our spend.