Join Captain's Crew! Give a Young Cat a Second Chance

Hello! Our names are Sean and Sami, and the big boy with the doe eyes is Captain.

The Backstory

We found Captain two weeks ago when we stopped for gas on our way back from a dinner outing. He was hiding in the corner of the lot, sheltered under an Amazon box that the attendant had hastily set up for him before the rain started. Not really sure of his temperament, we approached him cautiously and tried to coax him out so we could check his condition. Pretty immediately, he was all over us, rubbing his big cheeks on our hands and meowing at us for help. We scooped him up in the box we found him in (plus a few car blankets!) and rushed him over to the Falls Road Animal Hospital.

It wasn't clear whether Captain was going to make it that night. We deliberated with the vet, ran some tests, and determined fairly quickly that his prognosis wasn't terrible. In particular, no leukemia or Feline HIV, but a clear case of liver failure evidenced by his jaundice. He had a chip, but it wasn't registered, and it was too late to get a response from the site of implant. I had a potential down payment for a house already stashed away, so I looked at our options and resolved to go forward with getting him hospitalized.

Intensive Care

His cocktail of issues looked concerning: hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, hematuria, azotemia, muscle loss, colon blockage. The irregularities in his pancreas later caused an onset of diabetes. Our boy was not loving life. But ultrasound revealed no large masses or abnormalities, and at the end of the week, it appeared there was nothing that wasn't treatable and resolvable.

Over the next couple of days, Captain fought like hell. His vitals were improving, the pink was returning to his ears, and he started to walk more steadily, purring all the while! His future didn't look so grim anymore. After he had charmed the whole vet staff—I'm told he was "the perfect lab cat," a joy to have in class, if you will—the team evaluated him as stable enough to discharge back into my care, where he's been resting up for a bit now. We also finally got in contact with his original owner, who was very kind. After discussing his future care at length, they thoughtfully decided to hand him over to my care, and we have incredible respect for them in making that hard choice. If you're reading, we thank you every day, and we are doing everything in our power to get him healthy.

Where We're At

Captain still has a long way to go. It will be several weeks at minimum before we can even begin to declare him out of the woods. He's up and down every day. In the meantime, his medication schedule has Sami and me on round-the-clock care. We're up at odd hours throughout the night delivering doses through his E-tube. Luckily, a cadre of friends has offered to help out in a pinch, which we are incredibly blessed and thankful to have. Turns out this cuddly cat has more fans than he will ever know, from coworkers to family to city neighbors to his vet team. But even still, we are constantly trying to mold our work schedules around his intensive needs and barely sleeping in the interim.

My stashed down payment was enough to cover his initial 10 days of hospitalization and ensuing outpatient care, but it was steep. We've hit $11,000+ for the diligent care, tests, and prescriptions from Falls Road in total so far, a price I have been more than happy to pay for their excellent service. We continue to accrue expenses for check-ups with his vet and med refills, and in addition, we are looking into getting him a specialized internist who can target his panoply of issues more effectively. For the time being, I can possibly eat the cost of a couple more surprises with that down payment money, but it won't last forever.

We set the fundraising goal at $8,000 as a rough target more than an actual estimate. His occasional check-ups with prescription refills range around $500-$700 depending on the tests administered, and we don't yet know what the Internist quotes will be. As such, any amount raised will be helpful going forward.

We know that it seems a little insane to pour so much time, energy, and resources into a cat you just met, but I can't express how gentle and sweet Captain's spirit is. Never once has he nipped or hissed at either us or the vets, through all of the discomfort and late-night disturbances. He continues to seek out our comfort and make us laugh and swoon. I know deep down that I have to be there for him. He's young and curious, and he's got a good shot at several quality years of companionship ahead of him.

The Pitch

So here's where you come in: if you feel at all inclined to help us in our journey to nurse Captain back to his spry old self, we would be incredibly grateful to have any assistance in softening his expenses. No gift is too small, and we don't expect our extended community to fully cover his cost of care either. As mentioned, the results of this crowdfund will not determine whether he receives care; it will simply help to weather the heavy bill deposits and surprise medications, as well as open up our possibilities for daycare when we both need to attend to our (already) busy schedules.

I do not need or want reimbursement for his initial hospital visits, and we will consider any money donated at all to be a successful campaign. All funds will be used exclusively for future medications, appointments, boarding costs, stipends to those who donate their time to watch him, and other miscellaneous expenses accrued in pursuit of his medical care. If by our community's charitability we are able to raise any funds in excess, all remaining funds will be given as a charitable contribution to the Maryland SPCA and the Towson Tiny Tigers club. To be extra clear, we don't intend to use any of this for food, rent, gas, or any other expenses that cover our own lives.

If you are not in a position to give, but you are feeling inspired and gracious enough to offer your time and energy in other ways, please do get in contact with either of us. This cat could use a village right now. Especially if you have free daytime hours...

Thank you so much for reading, and we hope you can spend a little extra time with the animals in your own life today.