Hey everyone,
I’m feeling pretty scattered in the process of trying to write updates across seven different platforms (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Patreon/Substack/GoFundMe/Blog), so I’m going to just post the same thing on all of them today.
We leave the state in just 13 days – in the afternoon on the 12th of July – and we are stressed about funding.
We found out on Monday that the law about flying with Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) has changed recently, and we need another $600 to fly with the cats ($150 per cat, per trip). We don’t have that money on hand because we’ve been spending it as we prepare to move. Space is limited, so we need to call the airline back and pay for the cats as soon as we do have the ability to pay for them to fly with us.
This also sets us back on shipping the remainder of our belongings. We had originally budgeted $2000 to ship out twenty boxes at around $100 each, but we’ve so far only been able to ship ten. That means that unless we get enough funding soon, we are going to have to reopen and unpack some of the boxes and reduce our belongings even more so we don’t have to ship as many.
I still have to get calming medicine to help the cats tolerate flying, and I go back to the vet with Belladonna on Monday the 1st to get her last vaccine and pick up the prescriptions.
Up until a few days ago, I was keeping track of offline donations with a spreadsheet, and updating the goal accordingly. Then I realized there’s a button on GoFundMe that allows me to add offline donations. I increased the budget and added everything up to reflect what we’ve raised and spent so far.
We have yet to sign the lease, but that should happen early next week. Our applications were accepted thanks to the generosity of a co-signer and the deposit has been paid thanks to the kindness of another supporter.
All things considered, this move has been going pretty smoothly. It CERTAINLY beats last year, where we were stuck living in a hotel and then a motel for six weeks while waiting for approval. We cannot thank you all enough for supporting us through that, and again for helping us out this year.
Here’s the expense breakdown:
We’ve raised $3,446 of our $5,550 goal since the end of April. Minus the transaction fees (about $100 across different payment platforms), here’s our cost breakdown:
$650 went toward the vet to get the cats examined, caught up on vaccines, and prescribed medications.
$1000 went to shipping ten boxes.
$135 went to Uber rides to the vet and DMV.
$115 went to updating both our IDs.
$650 has been spent getting shipping and travel supplies (boxes, tape, padding, cat supplies, a suitcase, etc.)
$400 went to basic new furniture.
$242 is still being processed, but will go toward cat flight fees.
$158 is being saved toward the cat flight fees.
This means that we still need another $200 to fly with the cats, and everything else will go toward keeping as many belongings as possible. We will be fitting as much as we can into as few boxes as we can.
Again, thank you all for your support. Please keep sharing the fundraiser! We absolutely need to move to a place that is less expensive and provides better access to medical care and community. We’d very much like to keep our cats with us as we travel, too.