Save Our Steve xxx

We're not really sure where to start with this, so I'll start with something a dear friend said to us 'You're not the type of people to do this, but these pages are for this exact reason'

...and that's it in a nut shell - Ed and I have exhausted every avenue possible, but now we really need the help of our friends, family and any animal lovers that will listen:

Late Thursday evening, 6th February 2025, we got the dreaded call that no pet owner wants to receive - our beautiful cat Steve had been hit by a car, suffering severe head trauma. This news came almost a year to the day since we lost his little sister Susan from the same fate in the same place.

By some miracle of a chance, a couple (whom we have now made contact with to show our inordinate thanks) witnessed the collision happen and had the kindness and foresight to rush Steve to an emergency vets...once there we were called and told to expect the worse as they weren't hopeful Steve would make it through the night.

However, Steve is defying all odds as not only did he survive the night, but he managed to get stable enough so we could transfer him to Dick White Referrals, one of the best specialist vetinary hospitals in the country (we are so grateful it was only an hr away from us).

Steve has been at DWR since Friday afternoon and despite the severity of his injuries he is fighting so hard to stay with us, and overall is remaining comfortable and becoming more cat like with every hour that passes - he recognises and reacts positively to our voices and today he even rolled on his back to invite his vet Kate for belly rubs!

He has been seen by the Ortho, Neuro and Dentistry team over the weekend just gone undergoing various tests, investigations, and treatments; including an extensive CT Scan, which he had to go under anesthetic for but went in and came out relatively OK given everything. It's been deduced that Steve has lost vision completely in his right eye, and the damage sustained will mean a surgery to remove is required, but thankfully he is showing signs of some vision in his left eye so they're hopeful they can save it. He has also broken his jaw in at least 2 places, which will require a second surgery and has suffered multiple fractures around his skull. One particular fracture is quite large and in a sensitive area, so they need to keep an eye on it, but all of them should heal in time without surgery. Their other big concern is Steve currently cannot walk, but he can sit up and stand a little. The Neuro team suspect he has sustained some spinal damage and will likely need an MRI to determine whether it is just severe bruising or damage to the spinal cord that will require a third surgery.

As you can probably guess, care such as this comes at a cost and whilst Steve has good insurance, he is only covered for up £7,000 and unfortunately has already reached his limit - CT Scans and MRIs alone cost approx. £3,000 a time. DWR have estimated that the total cost for surgeries, treatment and aftercare will come to anywhere between £10,000 - £15,000 - this is currently without further imaging and the possible third surgery, which could add a further £7,000 on to the total bill, on his spine as they want to wait a few days to see if he improves on his own. To make matters a bit harder they don't accept payment plans so we would need to come up with this money up front. We have managed to sort some finances through the generosity of a close friend and my dad, but we are still quite short. This isn't also factoring in the therapies he will need post operations to help get him mobile again.

We appreciate it is a big ask given how the world is right now, but we have got to try - those of you who know us know that Steve is our absolute world, he is our family and there is a reason that this wonderful couple were there for Steve at the time of the collision - the emergency vets said that if it wasn't for the quick actions of them, Steve wouldn't still be with us right now fighting like a warrior, so he deserves everything we can possibly do and give. With everything he has gone through so far both him and the vets are not giving up and so we can't either

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you can spare anything at all towards his vet bills, or help share his story to spread the word, it would mean so much to us.

We will keep you all updated with his recovery journey

All our love,

Corrina, Edward

...and our soon to be one eyed pirate cat, Steve

XxX