This is Tabby, a three-year old Maine Coon cat (aka a gentle giant and a breed cited as having "dog-like characteristics"). He's a local stray in my mom's neighborhood. He started coming around, stealing our hearts, about a year and a half ago and we knew he was special.

From the get-go, he was always friendly and loved to be petted. (I'm sure it was also the Temptations treats, my mom, Susie, gave him in generous portions.) We knew we were a local diner for him, but he always stayed with us for a while to hang out.

We never knew where he went in the off hours, and on the days he didn't show up, we got worried.

About a week ago, he reappeared after being gone a few days and was limping. Something was wrong. After two days of him limping, we decided to take him to a vet. We found out the bad news that his femur was broken and the vet suspected he was hit by a car, yet he still managed to move around the neighborhood limping and dragging his bad leg-especially to our house for breakfast.

We were given a few choices by the vet. The vet said we could take him to an orthopedic surgeon and said we could expect to pay upwards of $8,000. The second option the vet gave us was to amputate his leg and also mentioned he could have a good life with three legs. The last option the vet shared was to make the difficult choice to put him down. We were heartbroken at the thought of that as this cat has such a sweet demeanor and soul.

We thought if he had other internal injuries we would have to truly consider what was best for him and his quality of life and put him down. If he did not have any other injuries, we would go to plan B and get him the care he needed.

We found out today, 3/31, that Tabby cat had no other injuries, thankfully, and the vet even said he was such a sweet cat and calm and friendly despite suffering such a bad injury likely causing much pain.

We knew it would be a challenge, emotionally and financially, to help get him on the road to recovery and find a forever home. Sadly, although we were willing to fund his medical expenses (surgery of some type and neutering), we are unable to care for him as he heals and be his forever home. We are taking this one step at a time and dealing with the more critical and time-sensitive task at hand, getting Tabby the medical care he needs.

Caring friends encouraged us to set up the Go Fund Me as they wanted to help support Tabby's medical expenses. We are overwhelmed and grateful for their kindness and generosity.

With gratitude,

Lisa, Dexter, Susie and Tabby