Monkey: Home But Needs Medical Help

Meara Beatty's cat, Monkey:
Home at last, but headed to surgery :(

"By Halloween, my cat Monkey had been missing for two days. She hadn't lived outside before. I always made sure she had her shots, just in case, but I never imagined my cat would slip out of the house.

"The weather was good. I had friends searching. Lots of friends, more than I expected. Someone loaned humane traps. Friends drove through the neighborhood at night. Neighbors kept their eyes out. I had posters everywhere and ads on Facebook, and I was just sure that any day, we'd see her and bring her back inside, or she'd find her way home if I just put her favorite blanket on the porch.

"But days passed. Weeks.

"People told me when they'd seen her. I would look nearby, but we wouldn't find her. Snow hit, but then the weather got better, and I kept hoping. I kept being grateful for every tip and every hint. How was she doing? Did she look all right? Did you see where she went? And then it was December. It got to the point where all I could ask was "Is she surviving?"

"She was. We found her. On DECEMBER 23.

"Best Christmas present ever? Yes. Oh yes. She's home, my Monkey girl.

"She's also hurt. Badly.

"There are fractures in her pelvis and femur. One ball joint is shattered. She's lost so much weight, and she's listless and hurting. When the surgeon explained what would have to be done and how much it would cost, the suggestion of euthanasia came up just because - because it may cost more than $4,500 for Monkey to walk again.

"You know I'm doing everything I can to help her, but the bill is due, and I don't have much time to raise the money. I look at my Monkey girl and see her fighting to hide her pain, to eat, to purr, to cuddle, to get used to being home, and I can't consider euthanasia. I can't. But I can't come up with this kind of money this fast on my own. So. I have to ask. I have to ask for help. I need your help. I need your help to save Monkey. To get her out of pain and on her feet and gaining weight and staying warm. Please, help me help my girl.

"I need to make payments of $800/month for six months if I'm going to escape some heavy interest charges. The faster I pay, the easier it will be to apply any extra to follow-up care. So that's what I need.

"What I wanted was to bring my Monkey home. What I'm asking you is to help me help her heal. She's been through a two-month ordeal, and it's going to be hard for her to fight through this. There are procedures we could skip, risks we could take, to save money, but with your help, she could have all the care she needs to regain her health. You know what that means to me.

Monkey the Monkey of Cuteness

"This is what my Monkey girl looks like when she's healthy. She's the best thing I see in the morning and the reason I love to come home. She's funny and weird and beautiful and she's been part of my life through some of the hardest times I've ever known. She's been there for me after hard days and on good days, when I lost my grandparents and when I've got a feather on a string. She's got a lot of life left in her - I can see it in the way she struggles to play and cuddle with me just like she always has - and I just have to help her.

"Can you help me? Can you give a little and help Monkey a lot? Can you imagine how much I will thank you, every step she takes, every treat she steals, every time she jumps up into my lap?"