Mark and I recently rescued a stray, abandoned cat who was in desperate need of help due to a tight collar that was cutting into his skin. After trapping him, getting the collar off, and giving him antibiotics from the vet, the little guy is now doing much better! We’ve been extremely happy to be able to help the kitty, who we have affectionally named Cowboy Jim, and look forward to continuing to give him a safe, clean, and loving place to live until he can be re-homed.

Unfortunately cat care, especially when it comes to vet bills…. gets very expensive. Right off the bat, Cowboy Jim’s emergency visit to Westside Animal Hospital brought on a $664 bill. If we want to continue to get him the medical help he needs and deserves, it will add on a minimum of $350 for a follow up exam, vaccinations, and neutering. Adding up to just over $1000, not including other essentials like food and litter.

We are hoping to raise $1500 to help cover Cowboy Jim’s vet expenses, food, litter, and other items to help the little man adjust comfortably. A comprehensive list of expenses will be posted below. First, here is a rough timeline of Cowboy Jim’s journey.

July 22, 2026

Not the first time we see this white & spotted cat around our yard, but the first time he is on our porch. We see through the window that his collar is looking a bit tight… He runs away when we go outside.

I tried posting pictures on local Facebook groups for animals and lost pets to see if he was *a missing cat. No takers, but I did get a lot of great recommendations for next steps from folks! (Especially Beth — thank you, Beth!!)

*A few days later we learned from a neighbor that he was abandoned by someone who had moved out across the street, along with a dog who was taken in by a different neighbor.

July 27, 2026

He’s back on our porch nibbling at the food we put out for the neighborhood cats. His collar is now wrapped around his armpit and neck, as if he tried to wriggle out of it, but couldn’t get all the way through.

July 30, 2026

After spotting the cat again, we tried to see where he went after leaving our porch. We followed him to the sewer pipe in front of the house next door. Mark and a local maintenance man named Ricky try to lure him out with canned tuna on either side of the sewer pipe. No luck… but, Ricky offers to set up a trap the next morning.

July 31, 2026

After a morning of no trapped cats, I checked again on Ricky’s TNR set up and find a cat! THE cat!

I threw a towel over the trap and brought him inside. He hung out in our bathtub with some fresh food and water while I figured out the next step. It was suggested that I try calling around to see if any local vets could take his collar off (for free, ideally!) My last call to Westside Animal Hospital was a success! They said they could try getting the collar off, for free! So I loaded the trap into the car and went to Westside.

After 30 long minutes and $664 unexpectedly spent, I was finally able to take him back home. He had a large open wound under his armpit where the collar had been sitting tightly. We were sent home with antibiotics for any potential infection and an iodine solution to flush out his wound.

That evening I found a decently priced, clean crate nearby posted on FB marketplace. We got the crate, put in a soft blanket, food water, and a litter box; And after a few hours of lightly persuading him out of the trap, little guy was on his way to feeling better, even if he didn’t look too happy about it.

August 2026

After a couple of days of silence, we finally got some conversation out of him! Turns out he is very talkative.

A few days later, he started coming out of the crate to eat. Then he let us pet him on the head. Then he started jumping up on the office chair and asking for head scratches!

After many days of workshopping, we settled on the name Cowboy Jim Richards. I will not be elaborating (unless you ask nicely then I’ll tell you how we got the name.)

Around August 3rd, one of our other cats got sick… long story short, Cowboy Jim **indirectly spread coccidia to our other cats. There were more trips to the vet, lots of anxiety, and a bunch of tiny oral medicine syringes, but everyone is fine now.

**FYI - it was not Cowboy Jim’s fault.

Fast forward to today, Jimmy has a spacious set-up, gets lots of pets & treats, and is finished with his antibiotics (although those were nothing for him, he went through that stuff like a champ). His wound is not yet fully healed, but it’s looking much better than it did when we brought Cowboy Jim home.

So that’s the story of Cowboy Jim, but it’s not over yet! We appreciate your support in keeping his story going. Thank you for reading & thanks again to Beth and Ricky for the help along the way!

~Rose, Mark, and Cowboy Jim

Expenses

Click here to view on Google Sheets