Hi!

I'm Sapphire, I live in London with my two cats: Ethel - who is one and a half and Bernard, who is one.

I picked Bernard up from the breeder on Sunday 13th September when he was 8 weeks old.

Here he is the day he came home. I had everything ready for him - food, toys, insurance, bedding and was really excited for Ethel to meet her new friend!

Within 48 hours, I noticed that Bernard had not eaten or used the litter tray and his abdomen felt hard and swollen. I took him to the vet on Tuesday morning (15/09/20) and who said it was the worst case of constipation they had seen in a kitten. He weighed 800g at this point and we were extremely worried as he would not eat or drink and was in pain.

Over the next few days, Bernard was hospitalised during the day for intravenous fluids and enemas - including two that were so invasive he needed to be sedated. He lost 100g, he was straining so hard that he would vomit, crying out constantly and would not eat or drink anything.

On Friday (17/09/20), Bernard came home from a day of hospitalisation looking very unwell. I could not keep anything down him at all. I was terrified that he would deteriorate over the weekend and could not bear to see him suffer anymore. I took him to the emergency vets that night, where he was admitted for intensive treatment. He eventually started to improve, and came home with me on Monday evening as a bright (albeit small) ball of energy.

Unfortunately, our worst fears were confirmed when Bernard's constipation quickly returned. He had X-rays under anaesthetic at his regular vet, and they found that his colon was oversized. He was diagnosed with megacolon - a chronic, degenerative condition that usually occurs in older cats as a result of a long period of untreated constipation. In his case, his colon was irreversibly damaged by the severity of the constipation he had when I got him. We suspect this was the result of the breeder weaning him too fast in order to sell him off and breed the mother cat again. The breeder quickly blocked me on Whatapp when I messaged to let her know he wasn't well.

To make matters worse, pet insurance policies have an exclusion period of 2 weeks for new pets. Bernard was unwell not even 48 hours after I collected him, so none of veterinary bills were covered. Bernard is completely uninsurable as a cat with a chronic condition. By this point, his treatment had cost almost £1,700. Bernard takes two medications three times per day. One of his medications, cisapride, is an unapproved 'veterinary special' and must be dispensed from a compounding pharmacy, at a cost of around £200/month.

Initially, Bernard was thriving on the cisapride + prescription food and lactulose. However, he has stopped responding to the medication and has started becoming extremely constipated again.

On Friday 6th August, he received an enema from the vet and we were instructed to come back on Monday if he did not make a bowel movement. He was unsuccessful and became more nauseous over the weekend. On Monday we went to the vets and once again he needed to be sedated for a much more invasive enema.

Here he is on Monday evening after his enema (and a wash!).

After a discussion with his vet, we decided it is time to seek the advice of a specialist, with the intention of surgery (subtotal colectomy).

This is a treatment that should cure his condition, allowing him to live a normal life without prescription food and medication.

Although I have been saving money in anticipation of this - currently £2000 plus my full £800 credit card balance, this is not enough to cover the cost of consultations, imaging and the surgery fee. I am also down £400 for his recent treatment at our regular vets.

I am looking for help with the cost of Bernard's specialist care at London Veterinary Specialists at Belsize Park.

Bernard's comprehensive specialist consultation is on 16th August 2021, at a cost of £364.

He will also need imaging - X-rays, ultrasound and potentially endoscopy at an estimated cost of £1000-2000.

After the vets review the images, Bernard will need surgery at a cost of £2000-3000.

This puts Bernard's treatment at an estimated cost of £5,364, which is £3364 less than I have saved.

Please help me get treatment for my little boy so he can live a normal and happy life! We would be grateful for any donation, £10 or £1!