Kitty Mangina: Emergency Surgery Fund

On today’s episode of: Situations I get myself in to trying to save an animal I just met... I am desperately seeking help to save this kitty and give him the mangina he deserves. That’s right...a cat mangina y’all. And he deserves his chance to live the rest of his life in all his mangina glory. Here is his story.

This 4 year old kitty came in to the clinic I work for with urinary problems. He is a repeat offender of urethral obstruction and his family could not afford his emergency surgery. They had drained their savings the last episode just 1 month ago, and in heartbreak...thought their only option was to euthanize. I get tunnel vision when this happens and just start discussing options for surrender to a rescue and commit to giving him a chance. I contacted a list of rescues and reached out publicly to a message board of rescues. But let’s be real here, no one has the money, foster, or adopters out there for a cat like him, especially as an emergency. After all the apologetic no responses, I said furk it let’s go. He needed sedated and unblocked ASAP and there was no more time to wait, so I took responsibility for his care. I quietly thought to myself, what the hell am I doing. I literally have likely negative money to my name because I wait until the 15th to finish paying my bills cause you gotta milk that grace period and I have no clue where I even stand yet. My care credit is maxed out and I definitely don’t need a cat. But you know, my morals scream louder than my bank account and it’s pretty much my M.O. to spend all my money on saving animals that aren’t even mine or I just met. Let me just say too...I am surrounded by some amazing veterinarians. I literally would not have the chance to save this kitty without ALL of their help...

So here we are, Dr. Brooke Dodge and I...trying to get this cat unblocked and it just won’t go. After quite some time trying to finesse a urinary catheter...his penis continues to deny, and we realize...kitty needs a mangina. In medical terms, that means he needs a Perineal Urethstrotomy which basically entails some manscaping aka penis chopping to shorten the urethra in order to allow urination. He is a cat that has had multiple urinary blockages and even with special diet, it just kept recurring and he had a ton of mucous plugs with a very inflamed/thickened bladder. This time, he couldn’t be catheterized at all, and often times cats in this situation are never given the chance due to cost. This boy is only 4 years old and full of life, he can live a perfectly normal life as long as he gets the procedure. We may have be sh**ting our pants in this moment, because a PU is difficult and more so a specialty procedure. So we wake him up, empty his bladder via cystocentisis (pulling urine off with needle and syringe) and give him all the feel good drugs.

Now, let me just gush over the veterinarians I have in my life. Thankful for the 3 veterinarians I work with, Dr.Busch, Dr.Sara, and Dr.Dodge for all their help and knowledge. I also called Dr. Kathy Carter and Dr. Lee Roberts to ask for their help with doing his PU. I worked with them for a long time at FACE, and miss them both! Without hesitation, they both were willing to help the very next day.  Literally in awe of their friendship and big hearts to help a kitty penis in need of chopping off. Carter is the penis queen after all and has done many of PU in her career. They tag teamed the procedure and did an amazing job! I genuinely couldn’t have saved this kitty without them because going to a specialty clinic is not an option for my bank account.

This morning is his first day post-op, and although we had a moment of pain induced feral freak out last night...he is doing great this morning. He is urinating like a champ and eating well. He will be crated and monitored closely during his recovery, then hopefully I will be able to find placement for him.

So here is where your help comes in to play. All of this effort still comes with a cost. Labwork, X-rays, medications, his procedure and supplies, special diet that’s way too expensive, and follow up care all cost money. My motto is always if there is a will- there is a way, and I am so thankful to have a community of people that support my unconditional love for animals. If you are able to help me help this kitty, I would greatly appreciate it and so would he...because giving a kitty his life saving mangina is worth it. Every amount makes a difference, even if it’s just $5. Please share his story and I will keep everyone updated on his progress.