Help get Felix back to being a fun-loving cat!

Hi there,

 

My name is Jennifer my best friend and constant companion for the last 10 and half years of my life is my wonderful fur-baby Felix.

 

Felix showed up on my back porch in Bermuda 10.5 years ago in the cold and wet. I wasn't sure if he had an owner so I put a basket and blankets out and fed him. I put flyers up in my neighbourhood and announcements on the radio and after a month of no response, I opened my home to Felix and in return he has shown me unconditional love and cuddles and brought a smile to my face in my darkest moments.

 

In 2014 I relocated from Bermuda to the UK and of course Felix came with me. Since then, he has lived in London and more recently Scotland. Felix has always been an indoor/outdoor cat and had his own cat flap to come and go as he pleases. He loves roaming around the area I live in Edinburgh and within a matter of weeks he became a celebrity around the nearby student halls. He is friendly and sweet to everyone he meets and even people who say they don't really like cats end up being besotted with him. I would regularly get pictures from the University students with Felix lounging on their bed, sofa or kitchen chairs. His sweet nature is infectious and his big green eyes and pink nose can melt anyone's heart.

 

In January of this year I returned from a trip to London and I noticed he seemed to have lost weight and looked very uncomfortable and unwell. He was referred to a specialist veterinary hospital, and I was later told he had intussusception. Essentially his intestines were growing into one another. The options were to remove the affected section of his intestines or to let him go. Of course, I opted for the surgery which he came out of well and returned home with me to recover. Within two days of returning home unfortunately, he started throwing up. I took him back to the vet and they kept him overnight, diagnosing vomiting, but said it was most likely discomfort from the surgery and he then returned home.

 

I struggled with feeding him for the next week and was told to bring him again to the vet. This time they diagnosed it as regurgitation and he underwent a camera down his throat and a swallow test. They discovered he had quite a significant stricture (scar tissue) in his throat and diagnosed him with an esophageal stricture. The vet advised that sometimes cats can have acid reflux after being under anaesthesia and that this is likely what occurred and caused the scar tissue. Unfortunately, regurgitation wasn't diagnosed when I first presented him after two days, and so Felix suffered a further 5 days with continuing damage to this throat.

 

Esophageal Strictures are usually treated with a procedure where a balloon is put down their throat and inflated in order to help widen their food pipe, allowing them to eat properly. Unfortunately, this usually requires more than one balloon procedure with the median number of procedures commonly needed being three. Felix has had two procedures where a balloon is inserted into his throat and inflated to try to widen his food pipe. He has also had steroids injected into the scar tissue and had an abdominal feeding tube fitted. Back at home we have 5 different medications to administer daily and food is a challenge as it has to be blended into a very smooth consistency. It has been so difficult for him and throughout this, he has been a total trooper. He has improved since the two balloon procedures however he needs a third esophageal ballooning procedure, which we believe will give him the maximum opportunity to return to normal life. We want to take out his feeding tube and allow him once more to run and play and bring a smile to the face of everyone he meets!

 

To date, Felix's treatment has cost almost £10K. Insurance has covered some of this and I have managed some, but savings have run out and I really need some help to fund the last surgery which he desperately needs.

 

I am appealing to anyone who has a pet who they love like a member of their family, to help me and Felix. Any donation at all would be a help and would mean more to me than I could ever express in words. Please find it in your heart to help fund Felix's final surgery. Thank-you so much for reading our story.