Hi, my name is Nancy A. Collins. Some of you might know me as a novelist and comic book writer. Most of you don't know me from a hole in the ground, and that's okay.

I'm running this GFM to help pay for vet bills for a stray cat I call OB (short for Orange Boy). He's an intact male orange tabby that's been hanging around my apartment complex since this summer. 10 days ago I noticed that looked like a red collar around his neck--but on second look realized it was an open, bleeding wound. Something had tried to tear out his throat. (You can't see it in the photo, but the right side of his neck is very gnarly.) I felt sorry for the poor guy and started leaving food out for him behind the dumpster. After a few days he was not only waiting for me but allowing me to touch him. That's when I realized he wasn't a feral but a stray. He used to belong to someone and either got lost or was abandoned.

Today I succeeded in trapping OB and getting him to my vet at Northside Wesleyan Animal Hospital here in Macon, GA., where they will tend to his neck wound, give him his shots, and neuter him. Since they're closed Thursday & Friday for Thanksgiving and aren't open on the weekends he will have to be boarded until Monday--but he's going to need that time to recover from his operation and wound management anyway. The estimate I got from the vet for his care is just under $1000, assuming there is nothing else wrong with the poor bastard.

OB is a little tank of a guy--it's probably the only reason he's still alive--but he's also a sweet cat. Unfortunately, I can't adopt him myself, because I already have an adult male cat and my lease only allows for one pet. So I'm doing all this for a cat I don't (and can't) own. I can't really afford to do this, but I can't stand to see an animal suffer, either. I'm hoping I can get him fostered or adopted once he's good-to-go, but one thing at a time. Right now he needs to get his neck worked on and his nuts removed. Any help would be appreciated.