Save Toot: Urgent Medical Care Required

Almost three months ago, my cat, Toot, fell off my second-floor balcony during a thunderstorm in the middle of the night. Seeking shelter from the weather, he hid in the hood of a car. The next day, he survived a 5-mile car ride across the highway in the blistering summer heat. When they stopped, he ran out from under the car into a very busy shopping district where he was missing for 7 weeks to the day before someone found him and took him to the vet. He was found seizing in a driveway and the residents scanned his microchip and got in touch with me.

We rushed him to Advanced Animal Care in Richmond, KY, where he was hospitalized for 10 days. He was diagnosed with hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver), jaundice, neurological problems, and hyperglycemia. He had lost 7lbs (almost 50% of his body weight). The liver enzyme panel tests showed that his bilirubin levels increased from 7.4 mg/dL to 25 mg/dL (the normal range being 0.1-0.9 mg/dL) within 5-7 days. His liver was eating itself from the inside out. I was told to euthanize him many times, but I did not feel that I had the right to take away the life that he had fought so hard for. With aggressive treatment, his liver enzymes stabilized, he was no longer neurological, and we were able to bring him home. His final bill at Advanced Animal Care exceeded $8,000. He had made a full recovery by his 1-week checkup.

At home, he made tremendous progress and began to act like a cat again: playing, running, jumping, and scratching. He fell in love with my kittens, follows me around at the hip, and is constantly yelling at me to be fed. He was eating 200 k/cal a day (two 3 oz cans of wet food) and was hungry for even more. However, on 8/22, he was rushed back to Advanced Animal Care because he aspirated. An endoscopy was performed and they removed a sizable mucus plug in his esophagus and discovered a rather severe stricture (a severe narrowing of the esophagus). I was given a prognosis of immediate procedure or euthanization. We were recommended to an internal organ specialist in Louisville, KY, where they will perform an emergency balloon catheter dilation. The estimate given for the procedure is between $3,000 - $5,000. If you can, please help me get Toot the care that he needs. The cost is steep but I refuse to give up on him. He is my baby boy and I will never stop fighting for him.

Toot turned 2 years old on 8/23. Happy birthday, baby.