7.12.2013

[yall] save[d] Waffle!

ok friends, my gooey heart has been lured into the open and hoodwinked into loving a hopeless creature and i need your help. 

my friend found a kitten in her backyard yesterday and asked if anyone wanted it (her husband cant be around cats).

 stray cat strut. he's got cat class, yall!

i begged jesse since i have been wanting a kitten for some time and i am being plagued by chipmunks and bunnies in my yard (mr. macgregor is becoming a way less evil character in my head these days). plus i have missed having a cat since our danger and scout went bananas and ran away after we tried to convert them to outside/garage cats when layla was born.

so we took mr. little stray man home yesterday and we noticed he had a big lump on his side and a wound by his mouth, a wonky eye and was generally pretty lethargic (though so sweet and purr-tastic). we thought maybe something had bullied him.


my kids named him Waffle and the love affair began. i got nervous since he was looking rough and maybe not totally healthy. trying to guard my own heart from falling for this guy was hard too.

i wasnt going to let him inside until he was vaccinated and dewormed and flea treated, plus i wanted to make sure he wasnt about to die of some exotic suburban jungle disease.

so we went to PetSmart at 6:30 and begged to see the vet who was there until 7. the sweet dr. agreed to see us and examined him. the lump was actually a swollen and infected puncture wound from another animal attacking him and it had abscessed. it would be $300 to get him fixed up. tragedy!

health care costs in this country are jaw dropping

i was heartbroken because we CANNOT afford that right now. we werent even positive we could afford adopting just a baseline healthy cat (with vaccinations, neutering, etc) right now, but with another $300 just to get him feeling well and ready for normal care, it was looking hopeless.

we left petsmart (passing cages of fixed, clean, adoptable, vaccinated, healthy cats available for $110...oh my heart was so sad for my special needs stray!) and i tried to explain to the kids why me might not be able to keep waffle.

 not a great pic, but he was sleeping under the console in the van like an adorable chill little lump.

first we decided to see if he wanted to be ours or if he would run away overnight. well, he didnt move from our back doorstep all night long. i think he loves us (but it could be that he is feeling like crap and not in the mood for a roadtrip in the wild again).

well this morning we found out that a mobile vaccine clinic was in our area and we could get him dewormed and vaccinated for very cheap. jesse took him and had them look at the big bump real quick beforehand.

turns out it had filled up even more overnight and ruptured. they shaved the wound and it is just SO AWFUL. huge and open and so painful looking.

so much ouch. sorry for the yuck.

they couldnt flea treat or vaccinate him with the wound uncared for and they arent set up for that kind of care. so we just took him home. they said we need to keep him inside so maggots dont get in the wound (i'm dead) but we cant do that since he might have fleas. 

since then i have called shelters, vet offices, clinics and places especially for low-income pet owners. no one seems to be able to help without spending at least $300. we even considered doing some Dr. Google and trying to treat him ourselves like back alley vets (this was shot down by many as super dangerous).

i put a plea on facebook because i am seriously feeling for this little guy and running out of options (and hoping a miracle let's US keep him).

trying home treatments himself


well my facebook friend and 4th grade valentine suggested doing a kickstarter-espue, crowd-funding type thing where friends could maybe help us pay for his injury and the vet care he'll need to fix it. so that's what i am doing. it can only piss you off right? hopefully i have some goodwill stored up though at at worst it's just tacky.

it would be pretty to make Waffle like a community cat that we all helped to save. that's what the disney movie in my head is saying (also: believe in yourself!)

i know it's just a cat. i know some people hate cats (i thought i did until we rescued our first two kittens from a tree and fell in love with them), and i hope that asking for chip-ins for a random hurt kitten doesnt offend anyone. jesus probably loves people more than animals. that's okay and i acknowledge that; however, this little guy has crossed our paths and we are now what seems to be his only chance (beyond shelter donation which can end...badly).

we do want to adopt him but we just can't afford the cost of this wound surgery/treatment. so i'm hoping i have 30 friends/stalkers/animal loving haters/or random visitors who would give $10 to see this pet get patched up and adopted by a loving family.

if we can get $300, we will go ahead and take him to the vet for the procedure. after that, we will foot the bills (like we were already planning) for his normal care, neutering, shots, etc.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! yall are sock-knockingly amazing. THANK YOU!



i'm just putting it out there and seeing what comes back. i'm not thinking about a plan-B. i know lots of folks have hearts for animals and cant adopt them all themselves, so i am asking my community online and real life to help us pay to fix him up so WE can adopt him.
our waffle needs syrup. preferably made with penicillin.


anyone who contributes can submit a candidate for waffle's full legal name (because my kids dont do well with change, he needs to stay "waffle," at least colloquially).

thanks guys!

UPDATES

2:41PM - my 4th grade valentine gives not only the idea but the first $20, we're on our way! thanks, bobster!

3:42 PM - 13 people have given $150 so far! halfway there!

8:00 PM - YALL DID IT (actually it was much earlier but i was offline for awhile)! we are so floored by the kindness of our little corner of the internet to love even a lonely stranger kitty like. waffle is going to be a Dukes forever!

4 comments:

  1. congratulations on your new family member....I'm not totally sure Jesus loves people more than animals...If I were HIm, there would be no question in my mind!! This post was amazing and I'm so glad waffle is fixed. Get some silver cream for that thing from Linda. My cats are indoors, but they have never been vaccinated ever~healthy as can be~you may want to research that more, certainly cheaper. Our cats bring us great joy!!

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  2. Just read the whole sage...sorry I missed out on the fund raiser--would have surely contributed to my grands' kitty! Silver on that wound would be a good thing for right now--that looks seriously ucky!

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  3. Just read the whole sage...sorry I missed out on the fund raiser--would have surely contributed to my grands' kitty! Silver on that wound would be a good thing for right now--that looks seriously ucky!

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  4. :) I'm not a huge cat fan due to allergies but I totally was prepared to donate! Glad ya'll made it & Waffle has a home!!

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