Bert survived! Needs support for medical bills

Bert Update!

It's been a while since I have shared any updates about our beloved Bert Kitty, so thought folks might like to know about his progress.

As many of you know, our three-year-old rescue cat for went in for surgery in May to have his teeth removed due to severe periodontal disease. To our dismay, Bert had an adverse reaction to anesthesia, and after the surgery was not able to rouse. The veterinarian hopped into her own car with Bert and raced him to the emergency animal hospital, where they gave meds to reverse the anesthesia, and took measures to combat the alarming drop in blood pressure, anemia, and hypothermia that had taken over. They advised us to prepare to say goodbye, and told us there was a small possibility he could make it to the morning, so we held our breath and waited for word from the hospital.

In the morning he was a little responsive, and in turn we had a little hope. After staying another day and night, we were able to bring him home. We were overwhelmed with gratitude. But 3 days later he started isolating, clearly in pain, and we noticed a red wound appearing under the fur on his belly, so we immediately took him back to the emergency hospital. There they let us know that Bert had sustained severe burns from the warming pad used to treat his hypothermia. It was too soon to know the extent of the burns, because the surface does not show how deep they would have gone under the skin. Once again we were sitting vigil. Over the next few days what was revealed was heart-wrenching and horrifying.

Bert had sustained burns over 40% of his body, from his groin to his armpits. The consulting surgeon commented that they were the worst she had ever seen on a pet. We had a choice to make, and we chose to help Bert fight, as he clearly was some kind of supercat who had no interest in giving up. Thus began our journey of constant care to keep him on a path of healing. This involved our whole family working as a team to dose him with medications daily, slather his belly with ointments, put him in onesies, monitor the healing of the wound. Over the month of June and part of July, the wound slowly began to heal, and at a certain point we knew they would have to remove the scab from the area in order to assess what was happening underneath; Bert had that surgery in early July.

The next phase, what we are slogging through now, has been the most difficult. Now that the raw wound is exposed, it is still about the size of a lamb chop, and Bert has gone in for bandage changes every 2 to 3 days at the hospital in the care of a surgeon. The bandages need to be stitched directly to his skin, and he has been living with a large collar to keep him from getting near it. For the first dozen bandage changes, Bert was so combative they had to sedate him each time. He has become somewhat more cooperative, but is still very displeased with the whole thing. We have several weeks of treatment to go, but remain optimistic for his recovery.

I am writing this update from my car in the parking lot of the hospital, waiting for Bert to get checked due to possible infection. Although he is not allowed to groom himself, he's very wily, and somehow managed to get around his special collar to gnaw on a corner of the bandage, and it looks terrible. So this evening I high-tailed it over here and he is currently in with the surgeon to assess the damage.

It has been exhausting to care for him, and definitely has been a strain on our family dynamic, but overall we have worked as a pretty good team under the circumstances. I won't share the total cost of all of this, but I can say it is absolutely hair-raising. We are eternally grateful to all of those who have donated to the GoFundMe for Bert, which remains open. All sales at my upcoming vending events will be going into the The Bert Recovery Fund, so your support there is deeply appreciated.

Bert agreed to pose for a portrait wearing his favorite Little Lord Fauntleroy collar to let you all know how wonderful you are to believe in this remarkable, quirky, charming, slightly crazy cat and his fierce determination to live. ♥️♥️♥️Meet Bert, our remarkable 3 year old rescue cat who needed major surgery, had serious complications, fought to stay alive, and pulled off a miracle!

After a daunting surgical procedure that would set him free from chronic pain and a severe medical condition that was rapidly advancing, Bert was not responsive. The anesthesia was not leaving his system, his breathing was compromised, and it was hard to determine what was going wrong. His veterinarian didn't hesitate, and rushed him to a 24-hour emergency animal hospital, where for two days the team worked to stabilize him and give him a chance to fight. Scans, blood tests, medications, oxygen, and more... But we were cautioned that the prognosis was very poor. We prepared for the worst.

But Bert had other ideas.

Slowly but surely small improvements marked a potential path to recovery, but it was hard to hold on to hope. At home, his bonded brother Ernie was beside himself, looking for his best friend in every room of the house. Things felt bleak. But to our amazement, our mighty Bert persisted in his fight and demonstrated an extraordinary will to live.

We were overjoyed to bring him home yesterday morning, and though there are still issues we are working to resolve, the primary one we need to address is the understandably staggering hit of the total cost. The amount we are looking to raise is approximately 25% of the total we need to pay. Any help offsetting these costs is welcomed and deeply appreciated, and we would consider it a tribute to Bert's extraordinary determination. There are miracles that can happen for abandoned pets who can find a new and wonderful life when we embrace the concept of "adopt, don't shop", and watch the joyful result for all parties involved.

We appreciate any shares of this fundraiser to friends or family who believe in the power of unconditional love and compassion for our most vulnerable companions when they get the chance to live their best life. Many thanks in advance!