Merlin Needs Your Help

THE BEGINNING: On a quiet Saturday, I was working in an old barn and heard a cat mew.  Weird. I don't own a cat.  The very tiny sound was coming from under the floorboards of the barn's shed.  I peeked between the boards and saw the big, sad eye of a young cat.  

THE LURE: I put out food and water but the cat did not emerge...at least not while I was around.  I talked to the cat, I tried to get the cat interested in playing with a string...nothing.  However, the food was always gone by the time I returned. 

It took a week for the cat to let me see him emerge.  I took a quick photo and posted it on social media to see if I could find his family...no luck.

After another week, he let me stay in the shed at a distance while he ate.  And then...finally...after almost three weeks, he let me scratch his ear. 

THE PROBLEM: The cat's hip wasn't right.  He limped and was clearly in pain.  I needed to get this cat to the vet, but that meant I had to get him in the car, and didn't want him to be terrified.  
 
THIS IS NO BARN CAT: Since I moved to the country, I've wanted a barn cat to feast on mice and gophers.  Had a barn cat magically shown up?  Nope.  What is very clear is that this is no barn cat.  This is an affectionate and gentle house cat who would probably make friends with the mice. 

Every night I worried about leaving him in the barn.  It's warm and dry, but there are many critters roaming the countryside.  I was concerned that he'd lose any scrap he got into.  (Why didn't I try putting him in the house?  Well, there are three big dogs in the house who have never seen a cat and I'm very allergic to them...having the cat in the house would have caused more problems than it solved.)  

So, another week passed and he was now sitting on my lap and purring!  Into the box he went and we were off to the vet. 

THE VERDICT: The vet said the cat had been neutered and had a chip, but that the chip could not be traced because the owners had not updated the chip with their contact info.  (I tried to trace the chip to the shelter - no luck with that either.) 

The vet wanted to do an xray to assess that hip...  my $60 'wellness checkup' was quickly adding up.  I walked away with a 1-year-old neutered male cat who purred when the vet techs touched him and who needs a very special surgery (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femoral_head_ostectomy) to repair the "impact" injury that was likely caused by being hit by a car.  Total for that day's trip to the vet: $500.  

OUCH: The vet sent me home with feline pain meds for 4 days and an estimate for the surgery: $3200! The good news is that the surgery is very effective - at only a year old, he will recover well and lead a very normal and pain-free life...

Well, well, well...

So, I'm going to need some help with that.  So, I called every cat rescue in the county, the state vet school, and several vet hospitals...either they are not able to assist, are closed due to COVID, only do spay/neuter or require that I be on food stamps in order to help this cat.  I also nudged the original vet to see if we could get a discount on the surgery...not happening.   

HERE'S WHAT I'LL DO: I will pitch in on medical costs, take care of the cat through what will be a long recovery, and will find a great home for the cat, who I've now named Merlin, because he magically showed up and we need lots more magic to raise the funds for the surgery. 

HERE'S WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO: Please help me give this loving animal the medical attention he needs for a normal life.  He will go on to become part of a family! 

Please contribute what you can to this campaign today - the surgery needs to be done very soon! 

Any amount gets us closer! 

Any funds raised beyond what Merlin needs for surgery and recovery will be donated to the Sonoma County Humane Society.  

From the bottom of my heart: thank you.