Help Turtle heal from her 4-story fall

Latest update (2/4):

Hi! Thank you all who have donated and been checking in! Turtle's surgery has been bumped up to Thursday, much sooner than expected, so her broken canine will be extracted then. We have a great start toward the cost (see below), but could still use help if you are able to support. Thank you all!

Previous Update (1/23):

I wanted to provide an update after our latest appointment last week & orthopedic exam, if you’re following this -

Turtle is doing so well, aside from her broken canine! It's honestly shocked me how quickly she bounced back. The orthopedic exam went great - she's in great health with nothing broken aside but the tooth. I've added photos of the cost breakdown for our upcoming extraction, which we scheduled for March. In the meantime I'll be looking around for quicker option… it doesn't seem to be bothering her much yet, but there are some days I wonder, & I don't want her to be in pain.

After the costs for her emergency visit (just over $400) & follow up exam, (just under $200) we still have a great start of about $800 + what I've been able to set aside for her vet fund to cover these future costs. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed. Below is the cost breakdown & estimate they gave me for her future extraction, with a low estimate of $1905 and upwards of $2386.

First Update:

A positive update! After getting a second opinion, it sounds like the cost for a tooth extraction that I was first quoted by Mercer St Vet is really high ($2-3000 - possibly why they were the only ones with such immediate availability) - and thankfully Turtle is doing well enough that it seems we should have time to find another vet who may be able to do the extraction more affordably, or (my preference) hopefully put a cap on the tooth. Ideally I want to preserve her tooth because she's so young, I don't want her face shape to suffer or for eating to be difficult. Our next appointment is next Tuesday with the VCA, and we will have more info then.

In the meantime, she is doing so much better than I expected! Still eating more than expected, purring, and looking wistfully out of the window. Still seems a little sensitive on her face but she is so much closer to her usual self Because of this I'm adjusting the goal, I just wasn't sure how much we'd be looking at (and I guess I'm still not, but it's looking like it's less than I originally thought, thank God).

I want to deeply thank you all, whether you've donated or just reached out in support. I truly appreciate each of you. Your generosity meant that I was easily able to pay our emergency bill with more left to put towards her upcoming dental needs. Thank you

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Turtle & Frog found their way into my life this summer after I moved into my new apartment and it's been the best match. They love spending time with me on the balcony, and usually, they know to never get up on the ledge, and they won't do it. They each have their safe, comfy places to sit.

This week though, Turtle used up one of her nine lives. She got too curious and bold, and she got up on the ledge of the balcony and fell off while I wasn't looking. Four stories, (technically five, with the drop of the ramp) onto the concrete ramp of the parking garage below us. Luckily, I heard her cries right away and ran down. My heart broke open when I saw her huddled there on the cold wet asphalt & carefully picked her up to take her back inside. I will remember that feeling my whole life.

Miraculously, she is alive and well! The emergency vet & their staff were so kind & supportive, I'm so grateful for this. She did suffer soft tissue damage, her shoulder is hurting her, and her canine tooth broke off exposing the nerve, so we’ll be getting that extracted as soon as possible. I may need to get her x-rayed but I decided to wait on that and the vet thought it's likely she hasn't broken anything but we're not sure. I'll be monitoring her & we'll reassess at her appointment for her tooth. They said it's possible she has small fracture(s) but I really don't think she does.

She received an injection of pain medication at the vet and they gave us more to take home. Hopefully aside from this she will just need to rest and will be back to her usual affectionate, chatty self soon. We are obviously no longer doing balcony time until we look into a cat-proof option, so I think she'll actually like to give leash training a try.

Our emergency bill cost about $400. Tooth extractions seem to be in high demand because many places have a long wait, but we made an appointment on Tuesday which a vet in Queen Anne which quoted me $2-3000 for the removal, plus we will need to first have an establishing care appointment ($105), blood work before they can do surgery ($250). I'm in the process of continuing to call around to see if there is a better price with a comparable wait time that wouldn't be too long for her, but it's becoming apparent that no matter where we do this procedure, it will be expensive.

I'm humbled to be asking this, I hoped never to have to do it, but here I am. The expense is going to make things financially very difficult for me for a while, even if I'm able to qualify for care credit and break down the payments. I deeply love and appreciate my family community here in Seattle and I think I have people here who would want to help us, so now I'm asking for help. I'll figure out a way to get Turtle the care she needs regardless, but If you're able, I will be so grateful for any contribution, however small. I've included photos of the cost breakdown so far & I'll add more as we move forward with the tooth extraction. I'm not sure yet exactly what the cost will be. Thank you so much for taking the time to read