Nova's Tail Amputation and Other Expenses

On Thursday, April 2nd 2024, my husband Andy heard a tiny cat mewling outside his bedroom window. He looked out and saw a young kitten all alone. Our neighborhood has a coyote presence, so Andy dashed out to grab him. We were able to bring him inside and get him set up in safety. We eventually named him Nova.

The following afternoon, we took him to the vet. The vet found multiple injuries on his tail, at least one of which had actual maggots inside of it, and we all noted that as the kitten romped around and played, that he never moved his tail. The vet determined that it would be necessary to amputate the tail sometime in the near future, and now that time is here.

The low end cost of this procedure before taxes is $2,448.92. We just so happen to have a roof that needs replacing, and the deductible for that is around the same amount. This is really bad timing for a four figure vet bill. So we were hoping that any interested and able parties might be willing to chip in a little bit to help us with Nova's tail amputation.

Why don't we just send him to a shelter and let them worry about the expense? Because during his first visit, he tested positive for Feline Leukemia Virus. It's not likely that any shelter will take him. Even if one would, we fear that it would just euthanize him.

Why aren't we euthanizing him? Because the vet said there's a chance--a small chance, around 25%--that he tested positive because his mother was FeLV+ and that once he no longer has the antibodies from her milk, he will test negative and be safe to be around our other cats. And we're willing to ride it out and see if Nova is one of the lucky ones.

We figure it's at least worth it to keep him safe and give him love for as long as we can. And our hope if he does again test positive is that we can send him to be an only cat in someone else's home, or send him to live with someone who specifically takes in FeLV+ cats. So if anyone reading knows of a reputable, safe way to make either of those options happen, we'd love to hear about it!

We would deeply appreciate any help that might come our way. And should this fund raise more than the initial goal, anything else will be put toward Nova's other medical and living expenses.