Help us cover Elan’s final vet care and cremation

We are heartbroken to share that we recently had to say goodbye to our beautiful Elan, affectionately known as B-lan, Little Bee and BB.

Elan was not only deeply loved, he was a huge part of the story of Karen’s Cat Community. He was one of our very first sanctuary cats, following Thelma, our tripod girl, and Jess. The upstairs room was originally created as a safe, soft space for our senior and special-needs cats, but Elan helped shape it into what it is today.

When Elan first came to us, he was brought up around some of the kittens at the time, but as his needs became clearer, he moved into the special sanctuary room. We made sure he had soft furnishings, cosy places to rest, ladders, steps and everything he needed to move around safely and comfortably. That room became his space and, in time, he became one of the reasons we continued to take on more special-needs boys.

Elan helped bring “the boys” together. He was like the older brother of the room: a quiet but important presence, a big character in a little body, and a huge part of our home. Losing him has left a massive space in the room, in the rescue, and in our hearts.

Elan had always lived with extra challenges, including chronic gingivitis, gastric issues and recurring infections, but sanctuary meant we could give him the time, patience, adaptations and ongoing care he needed. That is only possible because of the people who support us.

Over the last few weeks, Elan’s health began to decline. He started losing weight, struggling with his appetite, and became increasingly poorly. We worked closely with our vets to try to understand what was happening and give him every chance. He had blood tests, checks, dental treatment, medication, pain relief, appetite support and scans.

Sadly, his scans showed abnormal swollen lymph nodes and free fluid in his abdomen. Alongside his anaemia, bleeding gums, eye changes and poor appetite, the vet felt this was pointing towards something very serious, most likely lymphoma/cancer. A definite diagnosis would have required further sampling, and treatment would likely have meant chemotherapy, but there were no guarantees and in Elan’s condition, we did not feel it would be fair or kind to put him through more.

We made the heartbreaking decision to let him go peacefully, before he suffered further. Elan passed surrounded by love, safe and cared for until the very end.

We are now asking for help to cover the cost of Elan’s final vet investigations, treatment and cremation. Because he was such a massive part of KCC, we chose a small black cat urn for him, so he can return to the room with the boys, back where he belongs.

Any donation, no matter the size, would help us cover these costs and allow us to continue caring for the other rescue, resident and sanctuary cats who rely on us.

Thank you for helping us honour Elan’s life, and for supporting the sanctuary space that he helped inspire.

Run free, beautiful Elan — B-lan, Little Bee, BB.

You were so loved. You always will be.