Hello, we are Patrick and Alex. We are a pair of animal lovers who fell in love after finding each other two and a half years ago. Pat is a vet tech by trade and a familiar face in the world of cat rescue, having saved well over 100 cats from a tough life on the streets and placed them into loving homes. Alex is a recent graduate trying to land her first job as a technical writer, relying on a small income from gigs to get by as she searches.

 

Though the idea may make the superstitious shudder, a little black cat happened to cross our paths and charm our hearts in September of this year. Pat has slowed down his rescue operations, but nevertheless we found ourselves welcoming the around 2 year old domestic longhair into our home. We named her Mae, after the month we first met as well as after a story based video game called Night in the Woods that Alex loves. Mae is a true delight, and has us wrapped around her little fuzzy black slippers. But unfortunately, our marvelous Mae has a looming, costly surgery that she must face.

 

Mae has stomatitis, a very painful condition of the mouth that makes her gums inflamed and bloody. Think of it as having sores in your mouth all day, every day, 24-7. Her immune system has essentially turned against itself and is constantly attacking her teeth. The wonderful professionals at Pat's clinic have strongly advised that she have a full extraction of all her teeth. But this is a surgery that spans well up into the thousands because dental work is so intricate and the swelling from the stomatitis makes it especially challenging. This can be the trouble with saving outdoor cats, as you can never truly know their medical history. But we adore Mae and there's no question to us that she is worth it. To see her suffer makes us suffer. Helping us fund this surgery would mean pain free days for Mae and a better quality of life for her in the years to come, as stomatitis patients can live a normal happy life without their teeth.