Purpose of this fundraiser:

I am asking for assistance in covering my cat Alvin's emergency medical expenses: his trip to the veterinary ER, his tail amputation, related medications, and follow-up care.

What happened:

On February 5, 2025, my beloved cat's tail began irritating him due to an unknown reason. He started attacking his own tail, biting at it viciously. When he tried grooming where he had bitten, he would cry out in pain and attack his tail again. Quickly, his behavior became more aggravated despite my efforts to calm him. He continued to attack his tail violently to the point of it becoming degloved (he shredded the skin off the end of his tail). I took him to the ER veterinarian as quickly as I could.

An examination revealed he had fractured his own tail by biting it so severely. He had bitten himself in so many places on his tail that there was poor blood flow to the majority of its length. He required an emergency amputation of most of his tail.

We do not yet have answers to why he exhibited this behavior. Our next steps are to help him with healing from his surgery with his prescribed medications and diet. We are awaiting a follow up appointment, and would like to be able to do any needed testing including but not limited to an exam by a neurology specialist. We want to find answers, ones that will help enable continuation of his quality of life.

All donations received will go directly to paying for Alvin's care.

A bit of why I am asking for help with this:

I hate asking for help with anything, especially money, but I am in a difficult place right now financially. I just experienced the loss of another cat, the elderly Meodame Purrie, from a stroke less than two months ago, and she was also taken to an emergency veterinarian for treatment.

I am not currently employed and have had to rely on whatever help I can get from my family while dealing with these and personal health issues.

My history with my buddy Alvin:

Alvin was born August 20th, 2017 and was found orphaned with a littermate that day by a good Samaritan. When he arrived at an animal rescue I was involved with, it was discovered he was born with a severe cleft palate. He almost certainly would have perished had he not been found and rescued. He was a fighter since day one: the first time he was tube fed he eagerly latched onto the tube and essentially swallowed the tube into place as if to say, "I want to live, feed me!" My heart melted. The staff and volunteers at the rescue worked heroically to ensure Alvin was given a chance to live by round-the-clock tube feeding and veterinary care. Once he was old enough, a tube was inserted into his neck (e-tube) to allow him to be fed with greater ease and safety. At that time he came home with me and I became his full-time foster caregiver.

He required to be fed by the e-tube for the first entire year of his life, a task that was carried out at set times throughout the entire day by me and my sister. During that first year he endured 3 surgeries to try to correct his cleft palate, and had to be hospitalized once for pneumonia. He was regularly on different antibiotics and various meds to help him heal from these surgeries. His cleft palate could not be completely fixed; he still has a shortened soft palate and two holes on the roof of his mouth (hard palate). This causes him to get bits of food up into his nasal cavity and sneeze, but he does not have a problem with it aspirating into his lungs.

After a year, he was big enough that we needed to get him to eat on his own. Despite not having a fully corrected palate, he once again showed his vigor for life by immediately showing the examining vet how greedily he could eat an entire can of wet food. After all he ups and downs with him, after seeing how so lovingly he bonded with his human grandparents, I could not say no to adopting Alvin. While I didn't know it, he found his permanent home on day one of his life.

Alvin is turning 8 this year, but very much acts like a juvenile with his playful ways. He loves snuggling with and grooming his people, but don't be too fooled, his belly is a trap and he can be grumpy if he has to put up with any of that medical stuff he was forced to deal with as a kitten. For all the cards stacked against him, he has maintained a great quality of life and interest in the world. I want to be able to continue this quality for as long and as best as possible.

He certainly is my buddy, and is well loved by any who have met him.

My buddy, Alvin:

Alvin at 3 weeks. Cleft palate displayed:

Alvin at about 6 weeks with his (then) favorite toy:

An older Alvin as a kitten enjoying his next favorite toy:

Alvin as a kitten trying to defy gravity:

Alvin at about 6 weeks giving kisses:

Alvin, Alvin, Alvin! <3:

Invoice total from first emergency vet visit on 2/5/25:

Invoice total from return visit to emergency vet on 2/6/25: