Hi friends. We’re reaching out to the world to help this little guy out. Mr. Sallie O’Malley was found in Southeast Los Angeles, scared, hungry, and suffering under the hood of a van on the street. My dear, sweet, neighbors wrapped him up, brought him home and did their best to nurse him back to health. Mama S. and her kids took such amazing care of O’Malley, warm baths, healthy food, but there was a wound on his chest that was worrying everyone.

At first, frankly, he smelled awful. The wound was infected, and he was in pain. Mama S. gently cleaned the wound, and watching for signs of infection spreading and he was getting better day by day. But there was something else too. It seemed like something strange was thumping under the skin of O’Malley’s chest! If you looked closely, it kind of looked like a heart beat, and it was so big for such a small kitten.

The kids fell in love with O’Malley, but unfortunately there was no room to add another pet to the family, and no one knew what was wrong with his heart, so Mama S. reached out to the community on NextDoor for help.

We thought maybe we could organize some help and foster O’Malley ourselves. Enormous thanks go to Sante D’Or Foundation in Atwater Village, Los Angeles, CA, and Hope For Paws, in Studio City for coming to our rescue! Through them, we saw the veterinarian, and they examined Mr. Sallie O’Malley and when they looked at his x-ray they saw that his sternum was definitely not formed correctly. It was wide open at the center and giving no protection to his heart. So it turns out, we WERE seeing his heart beating against his skin. So so scary.

This is such a rare birth defect - but it should be fixable with surgery. His other heart issues, though, only time will tell. He is growing so fast, and he is just the sweetest boy. We are happy to shepherd him through whatever comes next.

We know times are tough, but we’re hoping to raise enough money to support the amazing rescue organizations that are providing for Mr. Sallie O’Malley’s veterinary care as we go forward. If 4,000 people donate $5 each, we’ll hit our stretch goal of $20,000. Do you think we can get there by Giving Tuesday?