Chungus & Alexandra
Meet Chungus, an older kitty that came to CVO Saskatoon. She was overweight, eating a lot and peeing frequently in the Fall of 2025. Her person, Alexandra, knew something was not right. Our team diagnosed Chungus with diabetes. One of our outstanding volunteers was able to pull some strings with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, a CVO Saskatoon community partner. Under their Good Samaritan Fund, we were able to provide Chungus with more comprehensive care, starting her on insulin and regular rechecks. Royal Canin Canada — our platinum sponsor and champion donor — funded Chungus’s new diabetic food. This was essential for her care, as the most important thing for her heath was proper nutrition and consistent, good food.
With all of this care, Chungus began to put on muscle! As the ruler of her home, Chungus greets us when we visit to drop off food. Her human has done an excellent job of making sure Chungus has enough litter boxes and is getting active. She has even begun jumping up on furniture – something she had not been able to do in a long while.
When we work as a team, we help tight nit families just like this one, made of pets and their favourite people.
Enough from our perspective, read what Alexandra had to say:
“When asked what Chungus means to me only one word came to mind: Everything.
From the beginning she was always making me laugh with her expressive face, wide eyes and silly poses. Chungus came to me at a time in my life where I was really struggling mentally. I was in and out of the psych ward pretty consistently and struggling so much. I remember specifically every time I signed that safety plan upon leaving the ward, Chungus and her older sister cat, Maiya, were always at the top of my list for reasons to stay in this world.
I can't tell you how many times I have felt like I have hit rock bottom, on the verge of doing the irreversible, only to be pulled back to reality by the feeling of a paw placed on my leg in such a reassuring manner that sometimes she feels more human than cat. I always feel like she knows, she understands, and she's there to remind me that there are always reasons to keep living.
My cats are my babies, my family, the one constant thing in my ever-changing and erratic existence. They have seen so many different versions of me, my highs and lows, and always offer unwavering love, support and reassurance.
I truly think without Chungus and Maiya, I would not be here today. They get me out of bed, give me something to look forward to and are always ready to cuddle! They bring so much joy and purpose into my life and Chungus' sweet nature is enough to make anyone and everyone fall in love with her! She's pretty well a local celebrity and I, the paparazzi distributing her photos out to her fans AKA our friends and family lol.
Chungus started rapidly losing weight... as a cat who was pretty obese and on a diet at first we were thrilled! …Having extra money for vet emergencies can be difficult to say the least. So, when my friend who works at SWITCH clinic mentioned the CVO program we immediately signed up. I was so nervous and immediately my brain was trying to prepare and anticipate for the worst case scenario of losing my best friend. But I brought her and immediately I knew we were in great hands. Everyone was so kind, thoughtful, and explained things in a way that was so easy to understand. Getting our picture taken afterwards, and seeing all the resources available to us was such a nice surprise.
I really am so thankful for programs like this and the amazing team and volunteers behind this program. I can only describe this program as a miracle and everyone involved as miracle workers because that is truly how this whole experience felt. Without this program otherwise, I would've had to have scraped and saved for MONTHS before getting Chungus seen which would've delayed treatment and potentially made her condition worse. I am so thankful to everyone involved for making this service accessible to the community and for people and pets like Chungus and I. It is such a great kindness and I truly felt like everyone went above and beyond to help us in any way they possibly could. Thank you CVO for welcoming Chungus with open arms and aiding both her and I on this new health journey of hers! Because of your care I feel like we are able to tackle this diagnosis head on and hopefully get to a point where it reaches remission.
Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to give my baby and best friend the best possible care she can get. Chungus is equally as grateful to all of the new friends she made during this experience…definitely in a state of perpetual confusion about the whole thing though (look at that face!) but overall I know she will be glad to be feeling healthy and happy again, and we couldn't have done it without this program and the amazing people behind it. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts."