For Patches - A Little Blind Special Needs Cat
Donation protected
In early 2018, my wife and I found a little stray Calico cat we named 'Patches' wandering around our home here in Central NJ. She had no collar, but seemed to enjoy hanging around our house (especially appearing when my wife would be outside), so naturally having a soft spot for animals, we began to care for her as best we could. 
It really tore us up inside to see her running across a very busy (and dangerous) street, and so at that point, Wendy began formulating her plan to socialize and care for this little stray, but still skittish, angel.
We provided her with a heated house and heated water and food bowls while my wife began the very patient process of trying to socialize her.
About a year ago, we noticed that little Patches was having trouble breathing while eating her food when she ambled up to the front porch for her meals. We were able to lure her into a humane HavaHart safety trap to bring her to the local Veterinary Clinic of America (VCA) Animal Hospital, where she was diagnosed by the VCA doctors as having an upper respiratory infection. Special thanks especially to Drs. Peluso and Togneri for their medical dedication to Patches. At the time, you can see from the picture below that Patches was still frightened of human contact, (as the VCA technician had to wrap her in a 'purrito' blanket and wear biteproof/scratchproof gloves as well in order for Patches to be even examined properly).
We agreed to have her treated and also agreed to blood & urine tests. The blood/urine tests revealed that little Patches has both thyroid disease and kidney disease, so we agreed to the medical treatment regimen. The alternative, leaving her untreated and outside, would mean her life span would only be another six-seven months. With proper treatment, Patches will live another four-to-five years. We also realized this would require us to make the commitment to take her into our home Immediately as an 'inside-only' cat because the thyroid medicine, Methimazole, has to be rubbed into the inside of her ear daily, both morning and night ( the oral version of the medication was causing liver toxicity) She also needs a twice daily supplement of potassium as a result of her kidney disease. Medicating a little homeless outdoor cat twice daily would be almost impossible. As a result of treating her thyroid disease, little Patches' blood pressure spiked causing retinal detachment.
The VCA doctors told us high blood pressure in a cat almost always results in retinal detachment/blindness and this is what happened to Patches. She is now completely blind and dependent on my wife and I for everything.
My wife Wendy has an especially big heart where animals are concerned. Fast forward a year, and little Patches has been an indoor part of our family for going on eight months and you'd never know that at one time, she was almost feral. When she was peering in through a window, Patches wasn't only being curious, she was looking for love and that love first manifested itself in my wife Wendy's heart.
In that time, she has been back to the VCA Hospital numerous times to be treated for infections, blood tests, urinalysis, ultrasounds, x rays, checkups...etc. I'm on a modest permanent disability fixed-income due to a spinal injury and I share one characteristic with Patches, in that her human daddy is partially blind due to glaucoma. But time marches on and so do the vet and food bills (Patches eats 5x/day because of her ramped up metabolism from her thyroid disease). She's going to need an MRI and very likely a CAT scan (no pun intended) soon to try to find out why she has sporadic back leg issues rendering her temporarily unable to get up or walk. Patches doesn’t and can't qualify for pet insurance due to her medical issues being 'pre-existing conditions.' So the money we spend to care for this little ball of purring Calico love must come from our savings. We are committed to taking care of her and doing everything we can for her but we are by no means well off, so after a heart-to-heart discussion, my wife and I decided to put aside our pride.
We're looking for financial help going forward via the gofundme community and the generosity of people who know the love a grateful little animal can give once they are rescued and who also understand the love a human can feel for an animal who literally becomes a loved family member.
ALL funds will go to either the VCA Hospital in Freehold, NJ or the Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls, NJ. (The following example is only ONE of many invoices)
We will post medical updates, photos and hospital receipts as received to prove that NONE of this money will be used for anything other than ensuring proper continuing medical care for the most loving little special-needs cat in the World.
Whatever you can give, we, but more importantly, little Patches, sincerely thank you.
VETERINARY & MEDICATION RECEIPTS:
It really tore us up inside to see her running across a very busy (and dangerous) street, and so at that point, Wendy began formulating her plan to socialize and care for this little stray, but still skittish, angel.
We provided her with a heated house and heated water and food bowls while my wife began the very patient process of trying to socialize her.
About a year ago, we noticed that little Patches was having trouble breathing while eating her food when she ambled up to the front porch for her meals. We were able to lure her into a humane HavaHart safety trap to bring her to the local Veterinary Clinic of America (VCA) Animal Hospital, where she was diagnosed by the VCA doctors as having an upper respiratory infection. Special thanks especially to Drs. Peluso and Togneri for their medical dedication to Patches. At the time, you can see from the picture below that Patches was still frightened of human contact, (as the VCA technician had to wrap her in a 'purrito' blanket and wear biteproof/scratchproof gloves as well in order for Patches to be even examined properly).
We agreed to have her treated and also agreed to blood & urine tests. The blood/urine tests revealed that little Patches has both thyroid disease and kidney disease, so we agreed to the medical treatment regimen. The alternative, leaving her untreated and outside, would mean her life span would only be another six-seven months. With proper treatment, Patches will live another four-to-five years. We also realized this would require us to make the commitment to take her into our home Immediately as an 'inside-only' cat because the thyroid medicine, Methimazole, has to be rubbed into the inside of her ear daily, both morning and night ( the oral version of the medication was causing liver toxicity) She also needs a twice daily supplement of potassium as a result of her kidney disease. Medicating a little homeless outdoor cat twice daily would be almost impossible. As a result of treating her thyroid disease, little Patches' blood pressure spiked causing retinal detachment.
The VCA doctors told us high blood pressure in a cat almost always results in retinal detachment/blindness and this is what happened to Patches. She is now completely blind and dependent on my wife and I for everything.
My wife Wendy has an especially big heart where animals are concerned. Fast forward a year, and little Patches has been an indoor part of our family for going on eight months and you'd never know that at one time, she was almost feral. When she was peering in through a window, Patches wasn't only being curious, she was looking for love and that love first manifested itself in my wife Wendy's heart.
In that time, she has been back to the VCA Hospital numerous times to be treated for infections, blood tests, urinalysis, ultrasounds, x rays, checkups...etc. I'm on a modest permanent disability fixed-income due to a spinal injury and I share one characteristic with Patches, in that her human daddy is partially blind due to glaucoma. But time marches on and so do the vet and food bills (Patches eats 5x/day because of her ramped up metabolism from her thyroid disease). She's going to need an MRI and very likely a CAT scan (no pun intended) soon to try to find out why she has sporadic back leg issues rendering her temporarily unable to get up or walk. Patches doesn’t and can't qualify for pet insurance due to her medical issues being 'pre-existing conditions.' So the money we spend to care for this little ball of purring Calico love must come from our savings. We are committed to taking care of her and doing everything we can for her but we are by no means well off, so after a heart-to-heart discussion, my wife and I decided to put aside our pride.
We're looking for financial help going forward via the gofundme community and the generosity of people who know the love a grateful little animal can give once they are rescued and who also understand the love a human can feel for an animal who literally becomes a loved family member.
ALL funds will go to either the VCA Hospital in Freehold, NJ or the Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls, NJ. (The following example is only ONE of many invoices)
We will post medical updates, photos and hospital receipts as received to prove that NONE of this money will be used for anything other than ensuring proper continuing medical care for the most loving little special-needs cat in the World.
Whatever you can give, we, but more importantly, little Patches, sincerely thank you.
VETERINARY & MEDICATION RECEIPTS:
Organizer
Robert Marro
Organizer
Freehold, NJ