Help a little Trooper and his human Mama Cat

Hello, everybody--

Many of you from Daily Kos know me as "tonyahky" and may have read yesterday's diary about the little newborn kitten my daughter Felicia and I are caring for. For those who haven't, here is his story--

A little over a week ago, a friend brought us a tiny newborn kitten to care for. The mother cat rejected the entire litter, and he was the only one who survived. Unfortunately, he had the umbilical cord wrapped around one of his back feet--as a result, the blood circulation was cut off, and he ended up losing his foot.

In spite of his injuries, however, this little one is still very active and vigorous--it eats very well, and seems otherwise quite healthy. He even tries to climb the door to his pet carrier, which we made into a little nest. Because he seems so determined to survive, we decided to name him Trooper.

We took Trooper to the vet, and all he did for him was simply prescribe some antibiotic cream for his injury. However, by the next day the wound became worse--now there is bone visible. We called one of the local animal hospitals and made an appointment for Friday, which is tomorrow, April 1st.

He is almost certainly going to need antibiotics, and will likely have some sort of procedure that will help close up his wound so the bone is no longer exposed. This will protect him from infection unril he gets a little older, when he will need to have the leg amputated.

This entire scenario, however, could not have happened at a worse time for us financially--I was just laid off from my job, so I don't have a lot of money to spend on veterinary care. Luckily, I have a new job lined up--but I learned this morning I won't be able to start training till May 9. I won't get my first paycheck until May 26. So I am going to need a little help in order for us to scrape by until then. Since I also get a small amount of money from the state for caring for my adult disabled daughter, I don't qualify for unemployment. On the bright side, though, Trooper will have a full time caregiver until then!

So here is a tentative breakdown of how the money we are trying to raise is going to be spent:

About $450 for Trooper's care at the animal hospital--this includes antibiotics and stitches.

An estimated $1800 for the amputation surgery when Trooper gets a litle older and is stronger.

About $250 for kitten formula, some nutritional supplements, and miscellaneous supplies such as puppy pads to line the nest and keep it sanitary, bandages to dress the wound as it heals, and other minor costs.

The rest of the money ($2500) is to help us stay afloat until I get my first paycheck.

I included in the totals an allowance for sales taxes for Trooper's care, and the cash transfer fees from Gofundme, Paypal, and CashApp.

The amounts I estimated for Trooper's care and the amount of money I need to hold on until I get my first paycheck is are tentative estimates.

It is possible that Trooper's care at the animal hospital tomorrow, or for the amputation surgery later on, could end up costing more, or hopefully less, than the amounts I have listed. (The estimates are based on ball-park figures I managed to wrest from an employee at the clinic.) If this happens, I will adjust the amount of the fundraiser accordingly.

According to the HR person where I got hired, there is a small chance I will be able to get into an earlier training class, which would mean I will start working sooner, and get my first paycheck sooner. I am also looking around to see if I can find some gig work. If I luck out either way, I will adjust total amount we need downward.

In addition, any donations via Paypal or CashApp will be deducted from the total.

You can already tell Trooper is going to be one special kitty--he is already full of personality and can teach us human cats a thing or two about determination. Thank you to everyone who helps him, and who helps me!