The story behind Bindi…

It all started on October 9th, 2025, with rescuing her off the side of the road on my lunch break. My partner thought I was nuts getting a frantic call saying, “Get a small crate and meet me at my location ASAP.” She was a little skeleton, starving, limping, scared, and had fleas all over her that were eating her alive. When you ran your fingers over her, all you felt were bones and scabs. She had trouble breathing, and we were getting turned away from multiple places to try and help her. I have never owned a cat before and had no idea what to do with her. Finally, a local cat shelter took her in and saved her life. I get emotional writing this post because of how overwhelming it was—wanting to save her while simultaneously being told no by other local shelters and hospitals in the area. She had a three-month road to recovery, and after multiple rounds of antibiotics, she ultimately needed a large polyp removed from her throat that was obstructing her breathing. I didn’t think she was going to make it. But she fought through it and was finally up for adoption. Of course, we said yes. She’s extremely shy and still has some limited mobility, but is so sweet and affectionate when approached. We brought her home and got her comfortable to the point where she will come out of her hiding spot and climb onto my lap. Many things will spook her, but I am not one of them.

Fast forward to her first vet appointment to establish care—I thought everything would go smoothly. But unfortunately, it didn’t. Bindi was having some issues with vomiting and lack of eating. I thought it was just hairballs from what people were telling me. But it was far from that. The vet examined her and said that Bindi is not well. When they did her exam, they found her abdomen to be distended and she has stool backed up all the way to her throat. Additionally, when they did an internal rectal exam, they found a hard mass on the right side that’s blocking her stool from passing. We are unsure if it’s bone due to an old hip/leg injury that didn’t heal correctly, or a cancerous mass. After three hours at the vet, we were told options that put us in the worst position. We are faced with decisions we don’t want to make. I want to help her, and she deserves to be helped after she’s been through so much her whole life. But it comes down to the unfortunate position where we cannot afford thousands of dollars for further testing and surgery. But at the same time, I cannot live with myself knowing I didn’t do something to try to help her before I have to be faced with the decision to end her life. It is the most uncomfortable thing to reach out for financial help, but we are at a loss. I want to try to help her in any way I can. Any small amount would help.