Surgery for Suki
Donation protected
Suki has gingivostomatitis, a rare feline disease, and its only permanent cure* is surgery to remove all of her teeth. Read more below and donate to help us pay for this surgery.
My parents found Suki under a bus a little over two years ago. She was dirty and thin and smelled awful. After that, we took her to the vet, got her cleaned up, and kept her with us since. She was a kitten at the time and is about 2 and a half now.
Where we found her was somewhat of a hotspot for stray cats and kittens, but was also unfortunately in close proximity to several cars coming in out of the area, so from birth until we found her, she was exposed to/covered in/drinking water with oil and heavy metals in it.
Early on we noticed that her breath was awful, she drooled excessively, and she would occasionally cry when eating. We took her back to the vet and were told that she has gingivostomatitis , an extremely painful feline dental disease in which the immune system attacks the plaque lining their teeth. This generally results in painful sores and lesions in the mouth and, if untreated, can become so painful that the cat is unable to eat and likely starves to death.
We have treated Suki's case with intermittent treatments of steroids and antibiotics, but those solutions will become less and less effective the longer we use them. The best and only long term solution is a full surgical removal of her teeth. This surgery involves pulling all of her teeth and removing their roots as well, because cat teeth naturally grow back in after falling out. We were told that the surgery could cost anywhere from 3 to 5 thousand dollars**, but we won't have any idea what the price point will be until we meet with a specialist that can evaluate her.
All donations will go directly to funding her surgery. Should the goal be exceeded, excess money will still be spent on her (toys, food, anything to improve her life).
Suki is one of the biggest sources of love and light in my life, and having to come to terms with her shortened life expectancy due to her disease is heartbreaking as it is. The idea that one day we'd have to put her down because of her pain is unbearable. My plan was to work and set aside most of my money each month until (about a year from now) I would be able to afford the surgery. I am still going to put my own money aside for this, but any help paying for it is GREATLY appreciated.
Below are some pictures of her:
If you want to see her recover and are willing to donate, please do. Anything to help me keep her happy and healthy would mean the world to me. Additionally, if you know someone who would want to donate, please send this to them.
Thank you.
*it should be addressed that this surgery has about a 60% success rate in completely curing the cat. 60% of cats that receive surgery to remove all of their teeth never need any kind of further treatment and can live (with the exception of not having teeth) a normal life.
**the cost of this surgery is so high because it isn't just pulling out their teeth. It involves removing the teeth as well as all of their roots, because cats naturally grow their teeth back in after they lose them, whereas humans only ever have two sets of teeth
My parents found Suki under a bus a little over two years ago. She was dirty and thin and smelled awful. After that, we took her to the vet, got her cleaned up, and kept her with us since. She was a kitten at the time and is about 2 and a half now.
Where we found her was somewhat of a hotspot for stray cats and kittens, but was also unfortunately in close proximity to several cars coming in out of the area, so from birth until we found her, she was exposed to/covered in/drinking water with oil and heavy metals in it.
Early on we noticed that her breath was awful, she drooled excessively, and she would occasionally cry when eating. We took her back to the vet and were told that she has gingivostomatitis , an extremely painful feline dental disease in which the immune system attacks the plaque lining their teeth. This generally results in painful sores and lesions in the mouth and, if untreated, can become so painful that the cat is unable to eat and likely starves to death.
We have treated Suki's case with intermittent treatments of steroids and antibiotics, but those solutions will become less and less effective the longer we use them. The best and only long term solution is a full surgical removal of her teeth. This surgery involves pulling all of her teeth and removing their roots as well, because cat teeth naturally grow back in after falling out. We were told that the surgery could cost anywhere from 3 to 5 thousand dollars**, but we won't have any idea what the price point will be until we meet with a specialist that can evaluate her.
All donations will go directly to funding her surgery. Should the goal be exceeded, excess money will still be spent on her (toys, food, anything to improve her life).
Suki is one of the biggest sources of love and light in my life, and having to come to terms with her shortened life expectancy due to her disease is heartbreaking as it is. The idea that one day we'd have to put her down because of her pain is unbearable. My plan was to work and set aside most of my money each month until (about a year from now) I would be able to afford the surgery. I am still going to put my own money aside for this, but any help paying for it is GREATLY appreciated.
Below are some pictures of her:
If you want to see her recover and are willing to donate, please do. Anything to help me keep her happy and healthy would mean the world to me. Additionally, if you know someone who would want to donate, please send this to them.
Thank you.
*it should be addressed that this surgery has about a 60% success rate in completely curing the cat. 60% of cats that receive surgery to remove all of their teeth never need any kind of further treatment and can live (with the exception of not having teeth) a normal life.
**the cost of this surgery is so high because it isn't just pulling out their teeth. It involves removing the teeth as well as all of their roots, because cats naturally grow their teeth back in after they lose them, whereas humans only ever have two sets of teeth
Organizer and beneficiary
Fiona Hayes
Organizer
Inman, SC
Nathaniel Hayes
Beneficiary
