Hi everyone, my name is Carrielle and we have a beloved family cat called Misty who has just turned 9 years old and is a huge part of our lives. I call him my eldest baby because he truly means everything to me and I desperately need your help!

BACKSTORY:

In November 2023 myself and my partner bought a house after being evicted from our home at short notice - 3 weeks after me birthing our first child.

I had to very quickly adapt to the idea of moving home after living there for 12 years of my life. And to add more heartache, I had severe postpartum depression but still had to deal with the idea of losing what was once my safe place and where I thought my child would grow up.

Skip to November 2023, we found a home that was up for sale - and already vacant - to which immediately we fell in love with. So we went ahead about bought it! Exciting times.

However, after just 6 short months, Misty started to stay out for long periods of time and suddenly was nowhere to be seen. (He had never gone missing at any point in his life). I was beyond devastated. Completely beside myself. It was totally out of character for him and I just knew something wasn’t right.

5 weeks later and there were still no sign of him. He wasn’t coming home for food or even a cuddle (which he loved!) and I started to panic thinking the absolute worst.

By the end of June 2024 I started losing hope thinking he’d been involved in a hit and run and nobody had done the decent thing…I couldn’t have been more wrong. I knocked on doors, posted on Facebook and asked the general public if they had seen him ANYWHERE at all. I plastered it everywhere possible.

I gained nothing from it. And I got a lot of “well cats do have tendency to just leave and they always get into accidents.” - safe to say I got defensive because he wasn’t ‘just a cat’.

Then to my surprise one day he jumped up on our fence on the front garden - I instantly cried and tried to lure him in to our home to give him the biggest hug I ever possibly could.

As soon as I picked him up I knew something was different with him. He was constantly crying, he was scatty, terrified and super skinny. His fur was matted, covered in fleas and his dermatitis had gone untreated for over a month. I broke down again. He was in real pain.

It turned out that he had been just TWO DOORS UP from his own home!! He was being encouraged to stay at one of our neighbours’ house, he was being fed food that I have no doubt had flies and bugs all over it as it had been left outside for him and other cats for long periods of time, he was being let in and out of their house and mixing with ‘his cats’ (to which I later on found out WAS NOT his but other neighbours’ which in fact they had apparently ‘decided to come to him’ - let’s not get started on that).

Due to the severity of Misty’s skin condition, weight loss and personality change, we had no choice but to keep him housebound until he got better. This went on for 3 whole months and consisted of very expensive injections (unexpected costs again) for his skin condition to get under control and him being limited to one room where the fleas could not multiply or spread around our house or to our dog.

You could say this was stressful, but that would be an understatement especially with a 1 year old.

Once his skin started to heal, we got a hold on the flea infestation. They started dying off and he started springing back to his usual self. Hallelujah!

However, I didn’t trust that it would remain this way (because of our neighbours actions) and therefore kept him indoors and have done ever since.

Then the panic kicked in again - fast forward to 2 days ago. He made an escape and I can’t explain the gut-wrenching emotions and thoughts that were going through my mind!

So just to remind you; he’s been an indoor cat for 1 whole year now.

I went straight to the neighbours and he said he’d not seen him…however, later that day I managed to get him back and he was covered in muck and was licking his lips?! He’d only been gone a couple of hours - max!

Skip to yesterday - he must’ve sneaked past me again eager to go back but why I have no idea (other than the constant feeding and freedom to go in and out as he pleased with the encouragement!).

I searched high and low…again…finally, I heard his bell and him meowing but also what sounded like scratching?! I ran to where he was only to find HIS BACK LEGS WERE LIMP!! My instant thought was…How?! Why?! Who did this?!

But I have no answers and no clues. All I know is his back end will not function properly and now I’m left with more heartache and devastation that my baby boy may never be able to walk again.

In order for me to get some form of idea of how severe the damage is, it would require an MRI to see exactly what we are dealing with. That’s where we stand right now - in limbo.

TODAY:

We have had 2 visits to the vet so far in the last 28 hours for general check-ins, 5 phone calls for updates and then anti-inflammatory injections and medicine to help maintain the injury until we know further prognosis.

We are almost at £600 with no clue to how we make things better for our little man and how we move forward. Is he in pain? We don’t think so but he could be masking it. I feel incredibly helpless.

The vet has mentioned that if he becomes incompetent then matters will suddenly change. I am doing my absolute best to ensure it does not come to this but we have another vet visit tonight and again this will be another unexpected expense.

The rough price of an MRI (to get a complete understanding of the damage) for a cat is around £3,000 and with me being on maternity leave with our second baby and our finances being more than tight as it already stands, I am reaching out for ANY help where possible please! The funds that we raise will be used to help pay the vet bills that are upcoming.

The vet has said that it is highly likely that he has been hit by a car; what are the chances after a year of being indoors that this ONE time he gets hit?! But it could’ve seriously injured the nerves in his spine and now we’re looking at possible life-changing treatment and unknown continuous costs!

If you have gotten this far then thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading the entire story and taking a genuine interest in us asking for your help.

If you cannot donate (and I totally understand everybody’s individual circumstances) then PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE share our story and help us save our fur baby by finding out what the next step is with a scan without wasting anymore precious time - and for those wondering if I can go through insurance, yes I can and already am, but our limit would already be maxed out with the MRI and whatever the future treatment plan would be.

I cannot just sit back and watch him struggle, I will do everything I possibly can to give him the best chance of survival with this!

We are truly grateful for your time and your support no matter how big or small. Thank you in advance