Oliver's Surgery

Oliver, my 8 year old little fur ball, was diagnosed on 12/23/19 with Idiopathic Chylothorax.  Description of Idiopathic Chylothorax 

Idiopathic, meaning they don't know what's causing it. 
Chylothorax means his chest is filling up with chyle (basically liquid fat), preventing his lungs from expanding and suffocating him. 

Unfortunately, medical management (4 chest taps, Rutin and low fat diet) has not worked, and he is now recommended for surgery.   The vet surgeon has said that  he is a good candidate for the surgery as he's otherwise healthy.  Without the surgery, he will soon be crossing the Rainbow Bridge.

The surgery has an 80% success rate in cats and will involve 4 procedures: 

1)  Thoracic Duct Ligation to hopefully seal up the leak
2)  Partial Pericardectomy - the sack that the heart sits in is partially removed to allow his heart to pump easier
3)  Cisterna Chyli Ablation - looking for more leaks to seal up.
4)  Placement of a Pleural Port - allowing me to "tap" him at home when chest fills with chyle again.

Oliver will be in the hospital for 2 nights after the surgery if everything goes well, and be sent home to rest for 2 weeks before being able to return to normal activity.

Luckily I've found a vet surgeon that has done 8 of these surgeries successfully....which doesn't sound like a lot, but it actually is with such an uncommon disease.

Because the surgery is rare and complicated, the cost is very high.  I'm hoping some of you out there who've found joy in being around him may be willing to help us offset some of the costs (the surgery is much more than $3000).  Thank you.