Hi guys, my name is Kathleen Garcia and I'm starting this go fund me for much needed help with vet bills after our sweet boy, Bobby Hill suffered a broken hip and had to have an FHO surgery.

Bobby is two years old and a gray/brown tabby cat. He had a very difficult start to life. He was born from a feral mom we rescued, who then gave birth under our daughter's bed! We lost one of the kittens, but thankfully, three survived. They had a very serious infectious diarrhea that left things touch and go for many scary weeks, and we had to work very hard to pull them through.

When the kittens ultimately began to walk, we noticed Bobby could not. He could only drag himself. His vet diagnosed him with Swimmers Syndrome, a congenital condition that prevents kittens from standing or walking normally. Treatment consisted of physical therapy and taping his back legs together so the tendons could strengthen enough to keep him upright. After about four weeks, he was walking! However, this did leave the growth plates in his knees and hips underdeveloped.

About eight weeks ago, Bobby broke his hip due to a high impact injury he suffered while running with his siblings. A complete freak accident, his vet later told us, but not unheard of due to his genetic malformation. We were able to bring him to our emergency vet, who unfortunately misdiagnosed the injury as being a broken knee plate, and were only able to get the proper diagnoses when visiting his primary veterinarian, a femoral head breakage. Our vet wanted to give the break a chance to heal on its own, as cats have a slim chance at recovering from this type of injury without the need for surgical intervention.

Unfortunately, after six weeks of bed rest and care, the hip had not healed. This left us no other option besides proceeding with the FHO surgery, as he would have been left with pain and a permanent limp without it. And it was a success! With time and physical therapy to help strengthen the leg and ensure the false joint gains mobility, he will be able to live a happy, pain-free life thanks to the hard work of his vet and their team.

We are, however, left with quite a financial burden after multiple vet visits, x-rays, medications, and now a costly surgery. The three major vet bills total is approximately $1,800.00. This includes the emergency two day stay, the visit to his primary vet, diagnosis, pain treatment, repeated x-rays to monitor the hip and ultimately, the FHO surgery and all post-op meds and subsequent x-rays and treatment.

I know things are rough for everyone, but if you could possibly help us out with a donation, we would be incredibly grateful. We have spent the last two years feeding, deworming, vaccinating and sterilizing many of the feral cats in our rural county. We have taken many in, including Bobby, his mom and siblings. It is an incredibly dangerous and difficult life here for them and we just had to help in any way we could. Now, we could truly use some help from friends and community who believe all animals deserve love, dignity and respect.

Bobby is a sweet, young cat and we just want him to have the best life he can. Thank you so much for reading about Bobby's journey and for any help you might be able to provide us.

If this fundraiser happens to exceed its goal, any and all funds will be put directly into feeding and vaccinating the rescued rural colony cats. We've been caring for them since we moved here two years ago and it's a true labor of love. Thank you, everyone. Truly, you have given us a gift that means more than you can ever know.