6 years ago in 2020, as a kitten, Gary was discovered to have been eating hair ties which ultimately caused a blockage and he underwent surgery. Despite the next 6 years of me being overly cautious and not allowing toys with strings and asking guests not to leave anything with strings within Gary's reach, on the morning of March 6, 2026, I witnessed Gary vomit a large clump of broken hair ties. I called our local vet who recommended he come in immediately. They took x-rays and were concerned that there was something long and stringy going into his intestine and recommended that we go to the ER. Gary and I went to Hershey Animal Hospital immediately and they did an initial exam on him and triaged him a code "yellow" (concerning but not life threatening). The doctor came in and did some more x-rays. After looking at them, she determined that Gary was a good candidate for surgery as the string was essentially backed up into his intestine and causing a blockage. The nurse told me the cost estimate for the surgery, and, after a quick cry, I applied for two credit cards which would cover the cost of the surgery. We just lost our Rose 5 months ago and there was no way I would be able to do that again, especially when Gary has a high chance of surviving the surgery. So I gave my grumpy boy a kiss and left him at Hershey. They will do the surgery likely overnight tonight (March 6 into March 7) and will call me in the morning with an update. Hopefully he will be home by Sunday evening (March 8). Any amount donated will go to the cost of Gary's surgery. Thank you so much.