A pet owner is trying to raise money to pay for her cat’s surgery after pneumonia left him fighting for his life.
Megan McLaughlin started up the Gofundme page on Saturday in order to pay for her rescued cat’s lifesaving operation.
The five-year-old feline, who is named Archie, first became unwell on Tuesday morning.
His owner said: “Archie was refusing food, and he’s a chunky boy so he would never normally do that. He loves his food.
“I took him to the Blackness vets straight away but they weren’t sure what was wrong with him, so they gave him an injection as they thought it might be an upset stomach.”
Despite the vet’s best efforts, Archie’s condition only deteriorated overnight and in the morning he was taken back to the clinic and put on oxygen to keep him breathing.
© Supplied by Megan McLaughlin
Staff at the facility soon diagnosed the cat with pyothorax – an accumulation of fluids in the lungs – and pneumonia.
While they were able to drain some of the fluids, the vets decided on Wednesday to defer Archie to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh for further treatment.
Megan said: “They’re not sure what caused the pneumonia yet, they said it could have been anything from breathing in just the tiniest piece of dirt to a bacterial infection.
“They have done a CT scan and found a foreign object in his lungs, but they don’t know what caused it.”
Professionals at the vet school were able to drain more of the fluid from the cat’s lungs, however Megan has now been told that he needs surgery costing at least £8000 to remove what remains.
She added: “He’s got a pocket of it in his lungs that he’s going to need surgery to remove because they can’t reach it with the drill.
© Supplied by Megan McLaughlin
“My insurance covers £4000 of the operation, but we still need around £3500 more.”
Over the weekend Megan posted an update saying the vets are now concerned that Archie has developed acute kidney injury.
She said: “It could be that because of the amount of antibiotics he has had flushed through him – his kidney count is on the higher end, but ultimately it may leave him with serious kidney damage.
“I’m unsure what that means for him at the moment.”
The 26-year-old has been left devastated by the ordeal, saying: “I’m not doing good.
“He’s my best friend and I’ve had him for so long.
“I got him when he was just five weeks old, we actually rescued him from a house in Charleston where he was born on the floor.
“It’s not the same without him, he really is one of the family and with this whole pandemic he’s been a huge part of getting us through it.
“It would mean the world to me if people could donate anything, I just want to get him home.”
The appeal has raised £670 so far – to make a donation click here.
