Jones E Fur surgery fund

He goes by many names, Catty DeVito, Danger Loaf, The Toebean Terrorist, The Fur Tank from Burbank, but most know him simply as Jones. He is half a cat with twice the personality, who has been a fighter since birth. We found him 5 years ago when he was only about two weeks old crying by a fence all alone. We took him in and soon found out that he had a broken hip. Taking him to the vet to get help, we were told that since he was a kitten, there was nothing to do but to put him to sleep. We asked if he was in pain and if there was an alternative. We were told that it would be arduous, but if we let it heal on its own, crating him and bottle feeding him, he may recover. He not only survived, but with each day got stronger and became the center of our family, permakitten sized, but with an outsized personality and cuteness.

Jones has been fine over the years, but a little over a week ago, we noticed that he wasn't himself and having difficulties in the litter box. We took him to his vet and quickly discovered that he has a bowel obstruction that has solidified and required immediate intervention. While such a condition is fairly common, due to his pelvic break as a kitten, his hips fused in a narrow manner, complicating the traditional interventions. Over the last week, he has undergone numerous procedures to try and extract what was there, but without much success.

This brought us to the crossroads that any pet parent dreads. The Dr gave us three options.

1. Continue with the treatments that so far have failed, with a low chance of success and the potential that even if successful, could have us be here again.

2. Surgery, which would be a colectomy (removal of his colon) which while invasive, would grant him the highest level of probability in providing him a full and healthy life, but is prohibitively expensive.

3. "Give him a good weekend" and schedule to put him down next Monday.

Needless to say, this broke us. My wife and I have had pets all our lives, but Jones is the closest thing we will likely ever have to a child, and we want the best for him. Looking into his eyes, and seeing that he hasn't given up and wants to live we will do anything to give him his best chance.

It is extremely hard to ask for help, and I know that most reading this are likely facing struggles of their own. It is often difficult to find something so pure in its innocence, joy and love in this world and to us, Jones is just that. His impact on our lives has dwarfed his tiny size many times over and his hijinks, filling our camera rolls and social media feeds has warmed his way into the hearts of so many others.

While we somehow have been able to cover the costs thus far, totalling almost five thousand dollars, the cost of the needed surgery is something we realize we must swallow our pride and accept any and all help we can get. Some have made the offer and so any help is appreciated, and none expected.

The amount listed isn't the full amount we have been quoted for his surgery, but we have managed to scrape together some but not all. We will somehow manage to scrape the rest together as not giving this undercat his best fighting chance is not an option for us. He shows us how much he wants to live.

If you can help, our gratitude and grace is exponentially yours. Thank you for taking the time to read this and if even for a moment, allowing Jones to live in your heart.