Barbara Miller was a familiar face in fandom and a friend of mine. After her husband Felix passed away, Barbara kept two cats as companions, Annie and Elliot. When Barb herself passed away unexpectedly (I had spoken with her only three days before), her sister, who lived almost 2000 miles away, put a post on Facebook asking anyone to please go check on her cats. They had been indoor cats their whole lives and now someone, could have been an EMT, could have been anyone, had let them out, and winter was fast approaching. I spent two weeks going to Barb's house every night to sit in the driveway and try to coax Annie and Elliot into coming home with me. We were going to care for them while a forever home was found where the two could live out their days together. All of the shelters were full at the time and they were put on a waiting list. About three months later, we were told that there was room for them now, but by then we decided that Annie and Elliot had been through enough, were not going to a shelter to possibly be split apart or passed over for adoption. They already had a forever home with us.

Our sweet Annie had been acting a little odd lately and we watch for things like that, so our vet came to give them exams and, at the time, they seemed to be pretty healthy if a little rounder than is generally good. A few days later, Annie seemed off her feed, so the vet came back but was unable to get a urine sample. We were asked to bring her into the office a few days later, which we did. It was discovered then that Annie had bladder stones, and these had caused some pain and bleeding in passing, so she was given antibiotics and pain meds and sent home with an admonition to keep a close eye on her.

Her condition quickly worsened to the point that this morning, before I left the house for work, I checked on her and was greatly alarmed. I asked Bry to call our vet as soon as she was available and I honestly had doubts that Annie was going to live the rest of the day. Bry did, and our vet instructed her to take Annie to an emergency vet center downtown where we found out Annie had a stone blocking her urethra completely and as she couldn't pee, well, terrible things happen when that's the case. They said she needed immediate attention and that with the proper surgery and an overnight stay, her odds of recovering fully were very good. They also said they would only perform the surgery if we paid them the entire amount up front, which they estimated to be between four and five thousand dollars.

We pooled our credit cards and both applied for lines of credit and between us just managed to get enough to cover the cost of treatment. Annie went into surgery, at which point they told us she would have to have a follow-up surgery within three days (her bladder was FULL of stones) or else the surgery they were currently doing was for nothing and would buy her a couple of days at best. The second surgery is estimated to be in the same neighborhood as the first, and once again they would need payment beforehand.

And so here we are. We have a little credit left, not nearly enough and at usurious rates, and so we have turned to GoFundMe.

Perhaps you knew and loved Barbara and know how much her cats meant to her.

Perhaps you know us and know how we champion all things feline, have rescued, nursed, and rehomed more cats in the last 15 years than I can remember now, and that we have seven (including Annie) rescues ourselves, all of whom are loved and cared for the way all cats deserve to be.

Or maybe you don't know either of those things, but you yourself love cats, understand their grace, beauty, charm, and intelligence and how much they enrich the lives of people.

Whatever the case, here and now I am humbly asking for help.

For Annie, for the memory of Barbara (Babs to most of you who knew her), and for the love of cats in general, any amount you can spare to help finish paying for Annie's surgeries. It's a lot of money, it makes me a little dizzy to think of it, but I'm not the person to ask how much a cat's life is worth. It's worth whatever it costs, especially since we became the stewards of a lovely woman's companions. It doesn't have to be a lot of money for you though. Any amount helps, any at all, and maybe a share of this campaign with like-minded folks.

Incidentally, Annie has had her first surgery already and is recovering well at the clinic. They say she is awake and alert and even a little hungry, all of which makes for the best news I could imagine; she WANTS to live.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

Marc