Nanni's Surgery Fund

Hi! My name is Nanni.  I an now 17 weeks old and was adopted by a wonderful family in July with my kitty sister Iris. We had toys, a family and love. What more could a cat ask for? Then something weird happened. I started regurgitating my food and my mom had to bring me to the vet. I had to get some pictures taken of my chest and esophagus...I'm told they're called x-rays. Luckily my family was there to comfort me the whole time I was at the scary doctor.

After looking at my pictures, the vet said they think I have persistent right aortic arch, a congenital abnormality of the blood vessels of the heart that can affect esophageal function. I'm not too sure what that means and frankly, I would rather be playing with my mouse toys and climbing on things with my sister than figure it out, but based on my mommy's face it wasn't good. The vet said with my condition an embryonic branch of the aorta fails to regress and is wrapped around the esophagus when a puppy or kitten is born, and it is a very dangerous condition that can result in death due to aspiration pneumonia. Next thing I knew I was at a specialty hospital listening to my mommy and another doctor talk about something called surgery. And then I was taken in for this so-called surgery, but apparently my breathing slowed down way too much to continue the surgery and they let me go home early.

At home, my mommy took extra good care of me and I even got some special treatment while eating. Mommy fed me a mixture of high-calorie wet food mixed with water and I got to eat standing up! Mom said it was to make sure my food made it down my esophagus so I could get my nutrients, but it made me feel extra special. Hopefully Iris wasn't too jealous of all the attention I was getting.

I went back to the doctor two weeks later on July 27 to get surgery. I'm still not sure what that means but I really enjoyed the long nap. When I woke up from my nap, I heard mom and the doctor saying my breathing was normal this time...yay! But the doctor found an unwelcome surprise. I heard the doctor say some really big words like rare anomaly of vessels, double aortic arch and aberrant subclavian artery, and they said that surprise made the surgery more complicated and time-consuming. I'm not sure what they mean though because I slept great. I even had some dreams of chasing mice with my sister.

I'm happy to say that my surgery was a success and the doctors say my prognosis is good. They even said it was thanks to my strong spirit (and my doctor's skill, of course) that my surgery went so well. How cool is that! I'm still going to need my special diet and to be fed standing up for about a month, but I'm told all signs point to a happy and normal life. I'm going to have so much fun playing and exploring with my kitty sister and human family for a long, long time.

Since my mom adopted me with this serious condition and she did everything in her power to keep me safe and well-looked after in my new home, the amazing place that saved me (Sammy's Hope Animal Welfare & Adoption Center) is committed to paying my medical bills. Can you help them raise $3,636 to help offset the cost? Any donation is appreciated, and me, my sister, my family and all my friends at Sammy's Hope thank you in advance for your kindness.

Now, if you'll excuse me, there are some toys and a nice, cozy bed calling my name.