Help Whiskers get the medical care he needs

Sunday morning, August 1, I was walking down the street and saw a tiny kitten huddled by the curb. I wanted to get him out of the street, so I walked over and picked him up.

He was nothing but skin and bones, with both eyes crusted over so badly he couldn't open them, and his whole face and front paws were crusted with dried mucus. He was coughing and sneezing. This was one sick kitten. I estimate that he was about 5 weeks old, although, malnutrition might have made him look younger than he was.

I set him back down while I thought about what to do, and he started weakly crying and searching for me. I can't afford another animal, but I couldn't just walk away. My heart broke so I took him home. I didn't think he had a very good chance of making it until the next day, but I was determined to do what I could.

I fed him kitten formula and put him on antibiotics and used ophthalmic ointment on his eyes. The next day I bathed him. He started filling out and his lungs started getting less congested.

When I decided he had a good chance of surviving I made a vet appointment (and my daughter named him Whiskers), but they were booked up. He finally got in to see the vet today.

While his left eye is now fine, he has an ulcerated cornea on his right eye. He was prescribed some stronger ophthalmic ointment and oral antibiotics to see if that clears up. If it doesn't, he'll need surgery to remove the eye. Crossing my fingers that it doesn't come to this, but if that's what he needs that's what I'll have done.

Also, he has an umbilical hernia that needs to be fixed. They said they can do that at the time of his neutering.

I'm not sure how much all this will cost, but I want to be able to give him all the medical care it takes to get him as healthy as possible without having to worry about how much each necessity costs.

He has become a loved and loving member of the family. My daughter has been doing a lot of his daily care and is very attached to him. We all are.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.