Full story
Roger was that special, once in a lifetime cat. He spent the last three months of his life disabled, but he remained feisty until the very end. He touched many lives through his Facebook page and continues to do so today.
The special needs babies always seem to find me. I currently have three kitties. Danny is seven years old. He's a large, goofy, long-haired ginger boy who thinks he's the king of the house. (More like the court jester. Just ask his sisters.) He deals with skin allergies every now and then. Melissa is the true queen of the house. She's my sweet little 18 year old calico, who is a bit of a tom boy. Even at her advanced age, she will put Danny in his place. She dealt with interstitial cystitis several times in her younger days. Miss Kitten is the Grande Dame of the house, a true lady. She's an 18 year old, long-haired ginger who also has skin allergies. Hers are a bit worse than Danny's. Her favorite activity is cuddling under a blanket with me. If Melissa is the Queen, Miss Kitten is definitely the Princess. Unfortunately, both girls are starting to show issues with their kidneys.
Now, the main reason for this shirt campaign... Sonjay.
I first met Sonjay in April of 2017 when my dear friend (who has a sanctuary) brought him by one day. Of course, I fell in love with him immediately. He was a Siamese Snowshoe mix kitty with the most gorgeous ice blue eyes. He had been rescued from a feral colony where he had been dumped. There was a kind gentleman who put food out for the colony every day. Clearly, though, this kitty was NOT feral. That's when my friend stepped in and took him to her sanctuary. He wasn't thriving there. He needed a real home and she thought that he would be perfect for me. Fast forward to October of 2017. My husband surprised me with Sonjay for our anniversary. Best anniversary gift EVER!<3
My friend was so grateful we were adopting him that she got all the medical appointments done for me. This poor little guy had a lot going on. His blood sugar was off, kidneys were a little wonky, mild anemia, his blood pressure ran low, high cholesterol, slight case of microphthalmia with possible neurological issues, chronic upper respiratory issues, teeth were so-so, AND his right front leg was full of pellets where somebody had shot at him while he was living in the feral colony. For those of you who don't know me that well, this was the perfect cat for me. The special needs babies always seem to find me. Anyway, within about six months of being with us, ALL of his numbers had improved and he was absolutely thriving here.
In May of this year I noticed that he had lost some weight and wasn't eating quite as much. It was enough weight to be concerning. It turned out that he needed some dental work because his mouth was a mess. I was scared to put him through the anesthesia because something told me that it wouldn't be good for him. However, his blood work was good enough for the surgery so we went ahead with it because he really needed it. His surgery was July 2nd. Everything went well, or so we thought. We almost lost him twice in July. His kidneys took a HUGE hit from the anesthesia. It was nothing the doctors could have predicted before the surgery. Even a specialist was consulted and he agreed that this came out of nowhere. I was doing 'round the clock care at home for him - sub-q fluids, B12 injections, syringe feeding, you name it. His recovery was going very well until about mid-August when he started to lose weight again. I tried a different mix of food that was very high in calories. The anemia was getting worse. We tried an injectable drug that promoted the growth of red blood cells. It was starting to work. His kidneys, however, were getting a lot worse. There was nothing more that could be done to help him, so we had to help him make that final journey to the Rainbow Bridge on August 31st.
Over the past two months, Sonjay racked up over $5000 in medical bills. I'm hoping that this campaign will help offset some of that. Thank you in advance for your orders! We appreciate it more than words can say.