Help Levi Walk Again - Fund his Crucial Surgery!

My name is Lindsey Brunelle. I'm reaching out to the community for my mom and our cat Levi, who is in need of surgery for his patella dysplasia. We adopted Levi and his brother Zeke when they were 8 weeks old. I remember taking them home and how Levi was so small and scared. He's always been a homebody—he likes staying in safe, warm, cozy places—whereas his brother Zeke was always finding his way into trouble.

Levi is now almost 5 years old, and he has far outgrown Zeke and our older cat Eden. Even though he is almost twice their size, he is still a huge scaredy-cat. He is the definition of "a big baby." Even though he's skittish, he does still come waltzing by us every now and then for a good scratch, or if you catch him when he's sleepy, he may just let you cuddle him for a bit.

He's a big, clumsy cat in general, but we started noticing him limping over the last few years. He's usually pretty heavy on his feet (he's not the most nimble for a cat!) and we didn't think much of it until it started getting worse. The limping used to be every now and then, but it's gotten to the point where he has trouble walking altogether. My mom took him to the vet, and he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Patella Dysplasia in his right knee and Stage 1 in his left.He needs surgery within 1 year, or it will be inoperable and he will no longer be able to walk. He is currently on a regimen of glucosamine, but it has little to no effect on his condition. Not to mention, it's very difficult to even catch him and get him to take the meds without causing him to try and run while limping. He spends his days in pain hiding under my mom's bed (he's no longer able to get to his favorite sleeping spot) and has lost a lot of weight due to the rapid decline of his condition. There are unfortunately no other options aside from surgery for him. The medicine will give him some temporary relief, but without surgery, there is only a 2-year diagnosis. After that time, he would need to be put down.

My mom is a single mom who raised 3 kids on her own, and while we've all left the nest, the 3 cats have kept her home full of life and love.Levi is a member of our family, and it breaks our hearts to have to consider putting him down when there's a solution in sight—it's just one we can't afford on our own. Any help you can give us would be so greatly appreciated. We just want our little kitty to be able to walk again.