Tobias the Brave's Femoral Head Ostectomy Fund

Hi-

I'm Ashleigh. In October, my partner and I had a kitten run through our legs while walking in the park. He wouldn't stop purring and wanted to follow us home. He was very thin and had a noticeable limp. We called local shelters, 311, and park services. We were informed park services could pick him up the next day, but, with a limp, he would probably be euthanized.

We decided to take him to a local vet and get him checked for a microchip. The vet told us the cat was healthy, except for his limp.

We took the cat home with us. It was clear from the first evening we were keeping him...although it took us several days to admit it and finally name him. We named him Tobias aka Tobias the Brave Lord of Hamilton Grange (near where we found him).

One of the reasons we hesitated on keeping him was the cost. We knew his hip would most likely require surgery, and we couldn't afford surgery.

We explored a few options, but the most common response was to tell a shelter we were fostering him. have them pay for the surgery, and then keep him. While this would solve the problem, it felt like the wrong thing to do. We knew we wanted to keep Tobias, and lying to save money didn't feel right.

The pandemic has deeply impacted our finances. We live in New York City, and I work as a group fitness instructor and actor. Many of the gyms I taught in have still not reopened. My income is still at about half of what it was pre-pandemic life. I was excited to start at a new gym this month, but even that was postponed. I also have medical expenses not covered by insurance that keep me from recovering financially. My partner is contracted at his job through June, so the rest of the year is very uncertain for him.

Tobias, or Toby as we usually call him, is a brave cat. He's very protective of his humans. Despite his limp, he loves to chase balls, watch birds in the window, and bite cardboard. He's never sat in our laps but loves to lay touching us on the couch. We think his hip makes being a lap kitty too painful. He also can only be held one way. We can't touch his back legs at all without causing him pain.

We have pet insurance, but this is considered a "pre-existing condition" since we found him injured. Insurance didn't pay for the initial x-rays or any of his fees for the surgery. The veterinarian recommended a FHO (Femoral Head Ostectomy), which removes his hip's femoral head (or ball part of the ball-and-socket joint). His right side is severely atrophied and, he may need additional therapy post-surgery. The surgery costs just under $6000.

He is such a fighter, and we had the opportunity to do the surgery the day of our consult. We are both working from home for the next two weeks, so the timing was good for us to provide him with post-surgery care. This does mean we charged all of his surgery on our credit cards.

We would appreciate any financial help for our brave little kitty. He's probably been in chronic pain for months now, so we're happy to help him, but we could use some support. The surgery comes in at just under $6000. Our goal is $6000 (minus any fees collected from GoFundMe this covers our expenses).

If any additional money is collected OR insurance pays for some parts of the procedure, we will donate all extra funds to organizations that help rescue animals like Toby.

He says pleeeeease. And thank you for your support!