Support Pat's Life-Saving Surgery

Hi everyone,

We never imagined we’d be writing something like this — asking for help has never come easy for us. But we’re reaching out with hopeful hearts to share a little about what’s been going on in our world, and why we could use a bit of support right now.

Our sweet cat Patroclus — or “Pat” as we call him — has been through an incredibly difficult medical journey over the past month. On June 26th, Pat suddenly became lethargic, stopped eating, and was straining to use the litter box. When we felt his stomach, it was hard like a tennis ball. We rushed him to Shoreline VCA in Shelton, where he was diagnosed with a urinary blockage — a life-threatening emergency in male cats. Pat is about to turn two, he’s still a baby.

He was hospitalized for 72 hours and stabilized, and we brought him home with a special diet to prevent future blockages. We thought we were in the clear, but just one week later, Pat reblocked during the Fourth of July weekend. Emergency vets were our only option. After another hospitalization, we received heartbreaking news: his bladder was full of stones, and he would need surgery.

We moved forward with surgery, and while it went well, the vet later informed us that Pat’s stones were not typical — they were xanthine stones, one of the rarest kinds a cat can get (affecting just 0.3%). Unfortunately, these stones are likely to return every 3–6 months. Pat now requires regular ultrasounds, a prescription renal diet for life, and careful monitoring.

Throughout all of this, we’ve done everything we could for Pat because he’s family. He’s our baby, and we love him dearly. Rescuing Pat and his brother have brought two years of joy to our lives. 

At the same time, we’re newly engaged and had been planning to start saving for our wedding — a milestone we were really looking forward to. But as you can imagine, Pat’s emergency care and surgery costs have taken a massive financial toll on us. While we don’t want to go into the full numbers, the costs have exceeded more than we could imagine— and we did not have pet insurance at the time. (His brother and sister are now fully covered.)

We know times are hard for everyone, and we’re not expecting anything — but if you feel called to help, even just a little, we would be endlessly grateful. Contributions will go toward:

• Pat’s continued veterinary care (future ultrasounds, prescriptions, and checkups)

• Recovery of emergency vet and surgery costs

• Starting to rebuild what we had hoped to save for our wedding

More than anything, we appreciate your time, your love, your cans, and your support — whether it’s sharing this campaign, sending kind thoughts, or just reading our story. Thank you for being in our lives.