Help Fund Alfie's Subtotal Colectomy

As some of you may know, Alfie has dealt with chronic constipation with bouts of obstipation for years. Since early 2018, he has dealt with many instances of constipation that resulted in him visiting animal hospitals, sometimes being admitted for multiple nights. Recently our primary veterinarian has advised us that we move forward with surgical treatment to remove the majority of his colon - the part that no longer has enough motility to move things along. This surgery, called a subtotal colectomy, should significantly increase his quality of life. However, the surgeon we consulted with is very confident in this surgery and thus we feel comfortable going this route, which is why we booked the surgery for February 22nd. This surgery usually has a high success rate, with most risk revolving around the sutures' stability within the first week of the surgery. We hope that we can begin to lower his daily medications after this surgery since he will no longer have the dysfunctional part of his colon. His combination of drugs is currently not as effective as it once was, and even sticking to this routine of several meds and fluids a day, he still has bits of constipation, including straining in the litter box, hard stool, and/or diarrhea and vomiting. 

 

If you're curious, right now, Alfie is on a daily cocktail: the motility drug cisapride, Miralax, and pilocarpine, which is typically used as an eye drop but has helped produce stool in Alfie's case. Early on in his trips to the vet, Lactulose was prescribed, but this caused a spike in his blood calcium levels known as idiopathic hypoglycemia. Afterward, he quickly gained weight in early 2018, which was initially seen as the cause of his constipation, but he has since lost weight with a high-fiber diet. As of today, the reason for his constipation is considered idiopathic megacolon. Essentially, vets are unsure about the cause of many instances of constipation in cats, with Alfie being one of them.

 

Types of treatments Alfie has gone through mainly include enemas and the administration of Golytely, or PEG 3350, through nasogastric intubation. This polyethylene glycol solution is an osmotic laxative that has worked to flush out Alfie's system twice now, once in May 2019 and once in May 2020. Both instances of these hospital stays during which Alfie was monitored with the nasogastric tube set us back thousands of dollars. Of course, charges for X-Rays, CT scans, bloodwork panels, anti-nausea medication, antibiotics, sedatives, and more came with these hospitalizations. It's crucial to avoid another hospitalization like this, especially after a scare this past December that put Alfie in urgent care with another round of enemas. For financial reasons and Alfie's well-being, we accept the vet's recommendation of the subtotal colectomy to prevent any potentially life-threatening situations. We hope to keep Alfie's bowels as smooth sailing as possible, and as we have exhausted our options as far as medical treatments, we now turn to the option of removing the problem organ. Go away, big ol' scary colon!

 

We are so very grateful for the veterinarians and vet techs who have worked on Alfie's case as we have moved from Pennsylvania to Connecticut to New York. We are incredibly thankful for those of you who have helped us previously with the expenses for Alfie's care. He is such a joy to have around, and every vet we visit remarks how chill and relaxed he is: he quickly becomes the local celeb. Just today, he had a pre-surgery ultrasound to rule out any last-minute things that may have been overlooked thus far, and he was very well-mannered and didn't need sedatives though they are typically given to cats before an ultrasound. We are so humbled to have this special little man in our lives, and we knew he would be worth everything when we first got him from a coworker at four years old, four years ago. Below you will find a photo of the estimated cost of the procedure from our surgeon (between $3,600-$4,400 roughly). Luckily we have a bit of room left on our CareCredit card, but there is still a large portion we need to fundraise to go ahead with the surgery on February 22nd. 

 

Alfie (aka Alf, Alf Bidalf, Alfie Bidalfie, Alfifi, Mr. Man, Sir Alfsalot, Sir Alf Bidalf, Chonky Man, Little Man, Little Big Man, Man of the House, or Chimkin Boy) is our whole world, and we will do anything we can to keep him around for as long as possible. He deserves the world, and we agree with him that having poop prevent him from living his best life is, well, full of crap. We would be eternally grateful for any help you can give us, whether that's a donation or just sharing this page. Alfie gives a big purr to you, and we give a big hooman hug. Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

Much love,

Tianna & Justin