Help Nautilus recover from Laparotomy Surgery

Hi there, thank you for taking the time to be here to read mine and Nautilus' story, please allow me to properly introduce us.

My name is Helen Shoemaker, I am a full-time student at the University of Central Florida here in Orlando, FL, studying for a B.S. degree in Elementary Education. My sweet cat Nautilus is my 10 year old baby boy, who just had Laparotomy surgery last night on 03/06/25 to remove a foreign object blockage in his intestinal tract, causing a buildup of gas and prevented him from eating or drinking. He had been throwing up nonstop to try and naturally remove the foreign object himself, and was severely dehydrated because of it.

When I took him into the ER, the vet informed me he will need surgery to remove the foreign object shown on his x-rays. Initially, the surgery was close to $10,000, placing me in the impossible decision of going into immense debt to save my baby, or to euthanize him, as it would have eased any pain he was enduring, which I was very distraught to even consider the latter.

Thankfully, the vet granted me a blessing and offered to do his surgery for $3,200, $800 of which I was able to cover with my own emergency and personal finances, with the promise of me doing all of his post-surgery care and treatment at home. We are immensely exhausted and easing down from our stressful night, but Nautilus is home and resting now, being administered his appropriate medications.

However, I had to take on a $2,100 debt to allow his surgery to proceed. As a full-time student, I work no more than 20 hours a week with my part-time job to help balance out my work and school life, and would be hardly surviving with the income I earn to pay for this debt as well as my student loans and everyday finances.

I am here today to humbly ask for your help, for any help, with paying this debt for my baby boy. I am not one to ask for monetary help like this, but any small bit of help you or your loved ones may be able to provide Nautilus and I, we are both profusely thankful for.

I offer my sincerest thanks for your time today, and I truly hope that you consider helping us in these desperate times.