Little Dude, a.k.a. Mr. Camille, is a homeless kitty who is relying on the kidness of strangers to save his life. 

Here's his story:  I am a kitty vet in Santa Clarita, California.  Little Dude, a.k.a. Mr. Camille, was rescued by one of my clients from Animal Care and Control in Lancaster on December 22nd.  She brought him to see me on December 26th because he was starting to have a little cold.  Little Dude also had a big, soft, pudgy belly full of roundworms.  I dewormed him and offered to take him home with me for a few days so I could give him kisses, cuddles, and special care.  His rescuer's plan was to get the little guy well and then move him to a rescue on the Central Coast for adoption.  Unfortunately, on Sunday the little guy suddenly became very sick--he regurgitated his lunch and then his temperature and blood sugar dropped precipitously.  Little Dude was suddenly in need of round-the-clock critical care.  I often send my patients in need of critical care to A.S.E.C. in Los Angeles--they do a terrific job!--and that's what this little guy needed.  The wonderful lady who rescued him wouldn't have been able to afford to provide him that level of care, so she relinquished him to me so that I could make medical decisions for him . . . which also meant I would be taking financial responsibility for those decisions.  I rushed him down to A.S.E.C. where the very best critical care docs went to work to save him.  Today they found Little Dude's big problem--a section of intestine was obstructed and dying, probably due to the massive roudworm burden he'd had.   This is a life-threatening condition called intussecption.  They took him to surgery and removed a large section of bowel and now Little Dude is recovering.  Please keep thinking good thoughts and saying prayers for him.  He was only one pound at the time of surgery, so he is a high-risk patient.   

I expect his bill to top out at around $2500 (updated to $3000!) and Little Dude only has five cents to his name so he's not much help.  This is what private rescue is all about; when an animal is unowned, the rescuer has to make the decision to euthanize or come up with the cash to try to save the animal.  I wanted to give Little Dude a chance.  I'm willing to take on the financial burden myself, even though, believe it or not, most veterinarians aren't rich and it might mean eating only ramen for a while.  But if you would like to contribute, any amount would be greatly appreciated!  I'll update the goal amount when I pick him up from the hospital so I won't over reach.  Thank you, friends.  And please don't feel badly if you can't contribute now.  There are lots of other worthy causes and kittens to save.