Last week Vinny [Vincenzo Marvelous, first of his name]– my emotional support chill guy–had a life threatening blockage in his urinary tract.

In between parenting errands for my human children, Vinny and I spent a weekend in and out of the veterinary ER to get it unblocked. (Leading up to this he was in excruciating pain and was unable to pee for several days). It kept getting re-blocked, which would have resulted in his urine backing up to his kidneys and poisoning his blood. The vet made it plain, either "bottom surgery" [lol] to widen his urethra or immediate euthanasia [womp womp]. He's only 8 or 9 years old and since I opted for life saving surgery, he'll have another dozen years or so of being the vibes master of the Mitten and our many friends and guests.

Unfortunately, this all came with a big price tag. $2,000 of ER visits and another $2,500 for surgery, medication, and special prescription food have set me back significantly. Over the past year my housing costs have tripled and my income was slashed when I decided that in my middle age I should not have to work more than one job, and therefore left AORTA at the end of 2024. I was already struggling to keep up with school, transportation, and medical bills for the kids when this hit. I told the vet that on my own, I wouldn't be able to afford the surgery but that we have a massive community to lean on and would pull through this with that love and support.

Please help us out and contribute whatever you can (there's no amount too small or large!). Vinny is recovering apace, it's just requiring a lot of home nursing for a few weeks. Thanks for your support!!!