Erwin, our sweet little feline cuddle bug has been battling ear infections for years. We’ve managed things with antibiotics and topical drops but in April of this year, Erwin started having some pretty bad mobility issues seemingly out of nowhere. The local veterinarian told us that he may have arthritis due to his age (11 years old at the time), and gave us some pain medication and NSAIDs to see how he responded. The medication resulted in an immediate improvement in his health and mobility, but 2 weeks later his health had rapidly declined again to the point that he lost the ability to walk, to sit up, and was no longer eating.

After taking him to the ER, they gave him a neurology consult and were informed that he likely had a severe system-wide infection that had spread to his nerves. The specialist started him on some antibiotics, and we saw an almost immediate improvement: he was running around again, playful, and showed no signs of problems. A few weeks later we followed up with a CT scan that was recommended and received some bad news. Both of his ears had severe infection that had resulted in breakdown of the inner ear barrier and subsequently had spread to the brain. The only option we had to save his life was to do emergency surgery to remove the debris and infection so his ears could fully heal. Due to the cost we chose to pursue surgery on the worst ear first, where the infection had spread to the brain, and to do the second ear after. The first surgery was successful and he has since made a stunning recovery, is active once again and full of life. However, he needs the second surgery or else it’s possible the right ear will get worse and spread deeper.

The ER visits, CT scan, many neurology & surgery consultations, and surgery has stretched our finances to the limit. We are reaching out today to ask for some help in paying for the second surgery for Erwin and to help ease some of the heavy financial burden we've taken on to try and save his life. We are hoping that with your help and support, we can provide him with the best care possible to make his future days bright and playful.