A little over a week ago, a friend brought us the tiny little newborn kitten pictured above. His mother cat had rejected the entire litter, and he was the only kitten to survive. Unfortunately, he ended up losing one of his back paws due to the fact that the umbilical cord had gotten wrapped around his little foot, which cut off the circulation. I took him to a local vet, who did little for him beyond prescribing some cream. I wrote a diary a few days ago asking the community for any advice you guys could give on how to handle this situation. I want to thank everyone for all of the good tips and information you gave me and my oldest daughter—the knowledge you imparted to us will be very helpful during the coming weeks and months.
Despite the fact he has lost a foot and was abandoned by his mother, he is doing amazingly well. He eats very well, and seems very active and healthy other than his injury. Because of his tenacity despite his situation, we decided to name him Trooper.
However, in order for him to survive and thrive long term, he is going to need some serious medical care. Today I am taking him to the local animal hospital, and they are going to try to close up the wound on his leg in such a way that the bone is not exposed, and the area can heal. Then, after he grows some more and gets stronger, he will need to get the leg amputated—otherwise, he will keep re-injuring the leg when he tries to walk on it.
Right now, however, is a bad time for me to financially handle such large vet bills. I just got laid off from my job, so I’m kind of broke. I did find a better paying job with one of the large hospital/medical networks in the area, and will be working at a large primary care clinic in Lexington, KY. However, I have to take a class on a type of medical software called Epic before I can start working, and the first available class starts on May 9. So unless somebody withdraws from one of the earlier classes, I won’t get another paycheck until May 26.
So I am hoping the community can help us out a bit so I can pay for the care Trooper needs, and maybe a bit to help us scrape by financially until I get that first paycheck. I don’t qualify for unemployment because I make a small amount of money from the state as a caregiver for my autistic daughter, and they count that as having two jobs. But it is just not enough money for us to get by until I get my first paycheck. I am looking for some gig work in the meantime, so any money I make doing that will be subtracted from the total amount of the fundraiser.
Here is a breakdown of the estimated costs we are looking at to provide Trooper’s care, plus scrape by on bills till May 26—
Today’s visit at the pet hospital--roughly $450.
The amputation—the lady I talked to on the phone at the pet hospital told me I should budget around $1800 for this.
About $250 for kitten formula, puppy pads, wound dressing, and miscellaneous supplies for Trooper.
And then lastly, about $2500 to insure that we can stay afloat till the end of May—this amount will be reduced by any gig work I can find, though, which I will reflect on the GoFundMe page I set up.
Some people already donated the $450 I will need to take Trooper to his vet visit today---I am so very grateful they could help Trooper out. He desperately needs to get that wound closed up in order to prevent infection.
Any help anyone can spare is greatly appreciated—here is the link to the GoFundMe:
Help a little Trooper and his human Mama Cat
If you prefer, you can also donate via paypal—my paypal address is tonyahky AT gmx dot com.
I also have a CashApp account—$MamaCatSays
Thank you everyone for all of your help, good advice, and encouragement!
Friday, Apr 1, 2022 · 3:56:00 PM +00:00
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tonyahky
You guys are amazing! I just stepped away for a short while, and now the total is up to $1135. It is such a blessing to know there are people out there who have such compassion for such a tiny little animal.
Friday, Apr 1, 2022 · 5:20:09 PM +00:00
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tonyahky
Thank all of you, you are all just a godsend for Trooper and for me as well. Now it is almost time to get ready to go down to the animal hospital. I will do another update when I get back. As of now, the total raised is at $1915.
Friday, Apr 1, 2022 · 11:35:52 PM +00:00
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tonyahky
The vet and the vet techs at the animal hospital were fantastic. The vet was able to suture together the wound so there is no more bone sticking out, and is having us continue on with the antibiotic cream we were already using. She wants us to come back in one week so she can check the wound and monitor Trooper’s condition. She said he was doing great however, and told us to keep doing what we have been doing in terms of feeding, sanitation, and keeping him warm.
I was absolutely shocked when I checked the amount of the donations you guys have sent us in the last few hours—the total from all sources is now $3752. That is amazing! Now I know Trooper will get whatever care he needs—and I can breathe a little easier now about the bills coming up. Thank you! Thank you!