Fern is a 4 year old Maine Coon in Asheville, NC, who needs $2,000 for Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD).

Fern has been with us for four years, since he was a six week old, palm-sized kitten and now weighs in at a whopping 17 pounds (a healthy weight for his breed). He is the sweetest, most loving gentle giant and has been a constant in our lives when nothing else has.

Fern has been diagnosed with Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD). I've bought the special UT cat food from the vet (Hills), gotten a Feliway pheromone diffuser and an extra litter box, and done everything possible to reduce his stress (which can trigger this condition), to no avail.

Fern has been a great comfort to my 9 year old daughter, Mara, whose father is battling cancer. Last year, we lost our other kitty, Bramble, to feline leukemia. Our hearts are so battered and bruised and I would do anything to spare her another loss.

I'm a single mother in graduate school living on a teacher's salary of less that 30K annually. I've charged over 6K for Fern's treatment so far and he's not out of the woods. He remains catheterized in hospital and will die without treatment.