Help Gummy Recover from Bullet Injuries
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This is Gummy, our beloved, purring, face-nuzzling, motorboat of a cat, who was nearly euthanized in October 2024 simply because no one wanted to take in a sick, elderly animal.
My brother, Kaz, met Gummy on October 13, 2024. He was told the cat was going to be put down that week. The backstory? Gummy had belonged to my brothers girlfriends great aunt, a woman who passed away, and her relative, a kind but overwhelmed woman, took him in along with many other pets. She was evicted two months later. The younger animals were all rehomed. Gummy, at around 15 years old, was sick, smelly, and hard to place. No no-kill shelters would accept him. A decision was made: he would be euthanized.
But when my brother met him, Gummy gently wrapped his little arms around his neck. He purred like a broken motor and shoved his face into my brother’s chest like he’d known him all his life. We couldn’t let him die.
At first, we thought we’d just foster him, nurse him back to health and find him a home. Our parents weren’t thrilled. But within days, we were completely in love. We renamed him Gummy (formerly Blue by great aunt, briefly Toothless from my brother) and vowed to do whatever it took to make him comfortable.
October 28, 2024 – Full Dental Extraction – $693.50
Our first vet visit showed his teeth were all abscessed and rotting. He was in pain every time he ate. He had full dental surgery and they removed 17 teeth. The procedure, medications, and diagnostics came to $693.50. He seemed a little happier afterward, but his symptoms didn’t go away.
He constantly sneezed, sometimes with blood. His eyes and nose were always wet with discharge, and he scratched at his face until it bled. His face smelled so foul, it was clear something deeper was wrong.
October 2024 – April 2025 – Testing and Antibiotics – $1,214.57
We brought him to our regular Vet Clinic over and over again. He underwent 4 rounds of antibiotics, a bacterial culture (which revealed E. coli), bloodwork, and urinalysis. His blood came back perfect, but nothing resolved the infection. Over the months, we spent $1,214.57 trying to diagnose him.
The vet suspected polyps in his ears or nose due to his loud snoring and facial discharge. Unfortunately, they don’t do polyp removal, so they referred us to a surgical vet.
June 23, 2025 – Surgery Consultation – $130.00
We booked a consult with a surgical Veterinary Clinic. The plan was exploratory surgery for suspected polyps, with an estimated total of $1,800–$2,300.
June 26, 2025 – Bullet & Shrapnel Removal Surgery – $3,874.74
But that’s not what they found.
After performing a CT scan, the surgeon called us, stunned: there were no polyps. Instead, buried deep in Gummy’s sinus, they found a bullet and embedded shrapnel surrounded by scarred, infected tissue. This injury had likely been there for years. The bullet had discolored and partially disintegrated, something that only happens after a very long time in the body. They told us they could operate but the cost would be around an additional $1500.
We said: do it. Please make him better.
They removed every piece of shrapnel. They cleared the infected tissue. They told us he had no nasal lining left in one nostril. But for the first time in months, maybe years, he could finally breathe again.
As if that wasn’t enough, the CT scan also revealed another bullet in his neck. The vet believes he was shot multiple times. They advised us to leave that one in place, as removing it would cause more harm than good if it’s not causing issues.
The Outcome
It’s now been 9 months since we took Gummy in. We’ve spent $5,912.81 total on his care.
We’ve put off our own medical bills to prioritize his. My brother has his own surgery expenses, and I have an upcoming eye surgery for esotropia and strabismus that I’ve been delaying.
But Gummy, this cuddly, partially deaf and blind, arthritic little old man, has shown us more love than we ever expected. His meow is adorably crunchy. His purrs rattle like an engine. The vets adore him. He cuddles everyone who gets near and buries his face into our hands like it’s the first time he’s ever been held.
He’s finally, finally on the other side of pain.
We just want to give him the cozy, pain-free life he deserves for however many years he has left. And right now, we’re asking for help, anything you can give to help us recover from this journey would mean the world to us.
Total Vet Costs to Date: $5,912.81
Rescue Date: October 13, 2024
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If you’ve ever loved an animal so much it hurt, or believed that the old, sick, or “unwanted” deserve second chances, please share this. Gummy is proof that even the most broken souls can still have so much life and love left in them.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
- Kaz & Teddy
Organiser
Teddy A
Organiser
West Valley City, UT