The Cats' Cradle

03/02/25: We are heading to Carolina Vet Specialist this afternoon for Tulip’s PDA surgery tomorrow. I’ve attached the following estimate of his surgery that I got from his pre-op consultation on Friday. Please pray for the surgeons and Tulip and donate if you can.

Hi Everyone! My name is Tulip and I’m a foster kitten with The Cats’ Cradle of NC. I know it may seem strange that my name is Tulip. Whe Momma Shari came to rescue me, she was told I was a girl. Upon further examination, she found out that I was actually a boy. Oh, well… it’s kind of like that Johnny Cash song except it’s called A Boy Named Tulip.

Anyway, I am here to ask for help. Momma Shari heard me cough weird one day and when she picked me up, she thought that my heart was a bit fast. She then picked up my sister Petunia and definitely knew something was off. Guess my purrs didn’t fool her.

Off to the vet we go. My purrs didn’t fool them either so they took X-rays and discovered that I have an enlarged heart. Next thing I know I am at the cardiologist in Matthews NC getting an echo done.

Come to find out that I have Patent Ductus Arteriosus (that’s a long name to me so I’m going to just call it PDA). Apparently, while in the womb, us kittens have our ductus arteriosus valve open. Once we are born, it is supposed to close but mine didn’t! Now I have the biggest heart both figurally and literally!

If caught in time and with a successful surgery, I can live a long, happy life. The downside is that there are risks and it is very expensive. I’d really love the opportunity to live that full life but I cannot do it without your help.

The cardiologist expense was almost $800 and the surgery itself is around $5000. If you can donate to my surgery, I sure would appreciate it!

Love,

Mr. Tulip