Hi, This is Zak and Laura, and we are the proud Parents of Nico. In June of 2022, Nico was found left behind in a storm drain by La Habra High School at 6 weeks old. He wasn't scared of Paul (Laura's father who found him) or cowered away as he walked right up to animal control. Paul asked what do they do with them now and they gave him to us from the street. From that point on Nico has been a center piece of our lives. For those who know Nico, you know how friendly he is, how kind and relaxed he is. He has the biggest personality too. It doesn't matter what you're doing, if he wants the attention he will jump on your lap and purr, he will roll over on his belly for rubs, he will claim you as part of his tribe.

On Thursday, December 14th at around 5:00 PM we started to notice that something wasn't right. He would sit in the litterbox straining for 30 minutes without moving and when we took him out of the litterbox, he wouldn't move again. He stood straining like he was trying to urinate until 4:00 AM (12/15) when we decided to take him to the urgent vet.

There, we found out that he had a blockage in his urethra that needed to be drained. He was put on a catheter and fluids and was sent home to us on Saturday Morning (12/16) at 10 AM. When he came home he still wasn't acting himself. He was like a ragdoll and wouldn't eat or drink without Zak using a 5 mL syringe to ease water into his mouth. We took him back again and he needed to be drained again, and at this point, the vets and surgeons recommended surgery. The main cause of these blockages are stress and diet for Nico and although we have changed his diet, the stress of being in the vet and in urgent care leaves just a constant stressed state, and he won't get any better.

The surgery is a Perineal Urethrostomy (PU) surgery that would open the urethra and allow him to urinate on his own and he should make a full recovery afterwards. This is where we need your help. With the two visits the last two days, we've hit our annual limit on Nico's insurance. The surgery has been approximated at $5,000 (including the past draining) and we must pay it up front as is the nature with vets and pet insurance. We simply just don't have that money. Although this surgery is common, if we can't get it for him then it turns to quality of life and it would be best for Euthanasia. This can't be an option for us.

We love Nico so much and every dollar helps. If you can spare anything in the holiday season, or share this for our little guy, that would be the greatest gift of all.

Happy Holidays and thank you.

-Zak And Laura

-This is a video of Nico when he was first found, you can see how friendly and although scared, not cowering.

We love you Nico, get better soon.