Marilyn’s Operation

My name is Joe and I’m raising money for 2 operations to treat our workshop cat Marilyn who has hyperthyroidism. Each operation will remove a thyroid gland and hopefully cure the condition.

We have been treating Marilyn with medication for some time now, but it is becoming very expensive and isn’t controlling the condition as it should, so we feel it makes sense to have the operation done to try and cure the issue permanently. Marilyn has become a much loved member of our team, and a favourite with people who visit our pottery workshop each week. She enjoys sitting on the tables watching everyone work and receiving fuss and treats, and we hope she can continue doing this for years to come!

Marilyn’s story- Marilyn appeared at a farm one day around 14 years ago, and she didn’t get on with the other farm cats there so the farmer brought her up to his workshop in Wilbarston. She has lived at the workshops ever since, being fed by many of the workshop residence here and also keeping the rat population in check. She’s always been quite shy and wary of people other than a few people who she trusts. Around a year or so ago she started losing weight rapidly and losing her fur. She began hanging around us more than normal as she was constantly hungry and unable to hunt enough food to sustain herself. During this time she became very tame and fond of people, and now loves company. I decided to take her to the vets to find out why she’s losing weight, and they found she has an over active thyroid. They also found she has a microchip, and that ‘she’ is actually a ‘he’! They contacted the owner who hadn’t seen him in 13 years since he ran away as a youngster, and they were happy for us to take over Marilyn’s care. We started giving him thyronorm twice a day, and the change in him was miraculous. He started putting on weight, his fur started growing back to its bushy and majestic former glory. Things were going well for a while, but he started going down hill again so we had to double the dose, which again worked for a while. We’re now on the maximum dose and his thyroid levels are still not under control and he’s very skinny. The medicine is very expensive, and not solving the issue so it seems to make sense to spend this money on surgery instead to fix the problem.

We would be very grateful for any donations you can spare to help us reach our goal!

If anything were to happen to Marilyn before the operations, or after the first one, then any spare money will be donated to a local cat charity.