A mum and daughter from Blackburn are in a “race against time” to save their kitten’s life.
Malia Violet Beaumont and mum Naiomi Beaumont Swindlehurst are trying to raise £4,000 after their eight-week-old kitten, Ulla, was diagnosed with a condition called pectus excavatum, also known as funnel chest.
The condition causes the sternum and rib cage to be misshapen and sunken into the chest. The vet told Malia Violet and Naiomi that without an operation, Ulla may not live any longer than 14 weeks.
Malia Violet, 22, said: “Ulla developed her health complications in the womb but we didn’t find out about them until we took her to the vet.
“She is still happy and full of life.
“They told us that she had funnel chest. Most owners decide not to operate and let the cat die, which is at around 14-weeks old.”
Surgery prices range from £3,000 to £6,000 and it is not yet known how much Ulla’s is going to cost.
Malia Violet said: “The reason most owners don’t get the treatment is because it is so expensive, especially without insurance.
“When we got her we didn’t expect to receive such big diagnosis so didn’t get insurance straight away, people usually wait until they have had their vaccinations at least.”
When Malia Violet and her mum received the news they were “devastated”, especially as they had just put their 18-year-old cat Ouka down.
According to Malia Violet this shows the lengths the family will go to for the animals.
She said: “We did everything we could to bring Ouka back to the UK, in 2013.
“We lost her cat in June. We couldn’t do anything for her we had no choice but the put her down.
“When we found out that Ulla was diagnosed with something life-threatening we knew we had to do something.
“It is a race against time but we still have few more weeks to save her and get the fundraiser going.
“Cats are a big part of the family for us and we look at them like our children. We would put all of our funds into saving them.”
Malia Violet has also launched a TikTok account in her campaign to raise the funds and says she has received a £200 donation from a generous stranger.
She said: “We want to thank anyone who has already donated.
“We have gained almost 10,000 likes on our TikTok channel and there are thousands of comments across the videos.
“I wasn’t expecting this many people to reply, respond and share the GoFundMe.”
To make a donation visit the GoFundMe page at: https://gofund.me/dd85e90f
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