This is my neighbor, Esther. She's amazing. She was an incredible social worker who helped pass laws to protect children from sexual abuse (uhum, kind of a hot topic these days).

She and her hubby are lifelong cat owners.

Years ago their cat of 19 years, Squirt, died at the ripe old age of 21.

I later saw a cat on the ASPCA website that looked exactly like our favorite cat, and it had the same name! (Baby!) It was part of a "seniors for seniors" program, where they were matching older cats with elderly owners at no charge. I encouraged Esther and her husband to adopt Baby, and she was as wonderful as our "Baby" but quickly got sick... and proceeded to cost them thousands of dollars, and leave them heartbroken.

A couple of years later, I encouraged them to adopt a beautiful Calico beauty from Kitten Rescue who had lived in an outdoor enclosure for ten years and had never known the comforts of home. She was younger than Baby and was given a clean bill of health. They fell in love with her instantly, and she took to indoor life right away, adopting both of their laps and sleeping cuddled up with Esther every night. They were all very happy... but after only a few short months this sweet kitty, too, developed health issues that cost them thousands and left them heartbroken.

A couple of years later, I heard about Rocco - a gorgeous Tabby who was plucked off the mean streets and Los Angeles and needed a safe haven. Rocco is young (only 5 or 6) and despite his rough and tumble background, very chill. Esther heard his story and went right back into social worker mode - wanting to save him, and get him the life he deserves. So he moved in and after hiding under the bed for a week, settled in. Soon he, too, started sleeping cuddled up to Esther and they were very happy.

I went to visit recently and to my horror I saw that his nose was misshapen and HUGE. Esther thought he must have hit it on a doorway or something, but I knew something was the matter internally. I began making calls, and discovered it was likely a bacterial infection that happens sometimes to outdoor cats, and that it would take up to two years to resolve! The problem? Rocco won't let anyone give him meds. I whisked him to Urgent Care where the bacterial infection was confirmed. I hoped we could get him to take his meds with his food, but no luck - he lost his appetite (a further symptom of the illness,) and had to be hospitalized for a week. During that week, the doctor told me that kitties with this condition typically DON'T take their meds with food, even though it can be put in the food, and they instead must be "Man-handled" which Esther cannot do. So... with a heavy heart I convinced Kitten Rescue to take Rocco back, and he now lives in their sanctuary (which is a very lucky break for him, and part of their amazing work).

So, poor Esther just spent over $1200 on the Urgent Care (and I spent about $1900 covering the hospital bill) on a cat she only had for 8 weeks, that she had to give up.

She's heartbroken but recognizes this is what's best for him. The least I can do is try to get her some funds back. Sigh...

If you could find it in your heart to donate some shekels to Rocco's care and to uplifting a broken heart, she and I would be very grateful!