Help River Heal!

River (AKA Mr. Boy) is a sweet, loyal cat. We adopted him in March after the tragic death of our previous cat. Despite his scraggly appearance and gray hair, he was only 1 year old! With some tender love and care, his gray hair slowly went away, his coat got healthier, and his personality came out. River is the snuggliest cat on the planet and does an incredible job fulfilling his duties as his mom’s certified Emotional Support Animal. He adores her and loves to follow her around the house. Additionally, River loves to play, especially with our kitten Junie, who we brought home in May. The two quickly became inseparable, wrestling all day and curling up together afterwards to sleep.

Recently, we noticed that River’s behavior had changed. He stopped playing with Junie and was annoyed when she tried to initiate play. He was sleeping more and we noticed that his hind end was stiff and he had trouble jumping onto the bed. Concerned he was in pain, we took him to the vet, who suggested x-rays. We discovered that River has a broken femur, where the thigh and pelvis meet to make the hip joint. The damaged joint is causing the bones to grind together painfully with every movement.

River needs a Femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO) to repair his hip. This procedure would remove the head of the femur. Over the recovery period, scar tissue forms to create a “false joint,” and cats can make a complete recovery, regaining use of their leg and living pain-free. Without the surgery, the bones of his joint will continue to rub together, causing arthritis, which will leave him in lifelong pain.

The problem is, this surgery is almost $3000. As newlyweds and one of us in college, I’m sure you can imagine our distress when we heard this number. So, we’re reaching out, hoping that we can afford this surgery so River can return to his playful, happy self, and wrestle with Junie all he wants.

Anything helps. I know that may sound cliché, but it’s true. Even $5 gets him another day of pain medication post-surgery.

Thank you for your prayers, love, and support!

Sierra, Shelby, and River