Please help us to save Tilly’s life

We've just found out that our friends cat, Tilly, has been seriously injured yesterday afternoon. Someone shot her at point blank range with a pellet gun. She managed to hobble home but could not put her right front paw to the ground. Her owner took her straight to the vets. She was in so much pain, she had to be sedated for the examination. The vet could tell from conducting an x-ray and from examining the wound, that she had been shot very close up with a pellet gun. It was clear to see that the pellet went through her side and into her right paw reaching her elbow. She was kept over night at the vets with an IV for fluids, pain medication and also sedatives to keep her asleep and calm. The cost for this alone was £1,700 and in addition £60 was charged for some painkillers. My friend is devastated because in addition to this further treatment will be required to attempt to remove the pellet. This surgery alone will cost £4,000 and the vet doesn’t seem confident that this will be successful. The vet thinks that the leg will need to be amputated which would cost another £4,000. She’s at home resting and obviously they are letting her rest on the bed as she can’t walk at the moment at all.

My friend is the hardest worker I’ve ever known, often working 12 hour shifts tirelessly and with no complaint. Unfortunately although this pays the normal monthly bills it doesn’t allow for thousands of pounds in vet bills. If we cannot raise enough funds to pay for the treatment my friend will have no option but to put her down.

i have put down £10,000 as a target which would include the first operation to remove the pellet for £4000 and £4000 in case this isn’t successful for amputation of the leg. This figure includes the initial £1700 for the overnight stay and the ongoing cost of pain medication. However the £4,000 for the operation to remove the pellet is the most important and there’s a time limit to achieving this goal as the longer the pellet is left, the greater the risk of permanent damage and the likelihood of needing the limb amputating increases greately.

Please help us to treat Tilly quickly and save her life. She is such a beautiful affectionate cat. She has never been any trouble. She is always happy to wander around outside and loves joining the dogs on their walks (the 2 dogs live in the same house and are like sisters to her), a little affection and playing with her toys each day. We can’t believe that in a cruel instant her life is in jeopardy. We are grateful to you all for anything you can donate no matter how small. It would mean so much to us and most importantly it would mean so much to Tilly. None of us have slept since the terrible incident as this has hit my friend and our whole family really hard. We are all sick with worry and we just want our Tilly well and happy again. Thank you very much