Kittens with Femoral Head Necrosis: Ron Needs Surgery
My name is Courtney Bennett, and a week before my 21st birthday (September 2013) I adopted two adorable ginger tabbies. A family in San Marcos had a cat give birth to a large litter, and they couldn’t care for all of them. I picked up the female kitten, and she immediately climbed up and perched on my shoulder (It's still her favorite spot to snuggle up when we're laying down). I fell in love immediately. I couldn’t bear to break her up from her brother, so the three of us became a family. As a Harry Potter fan at heart, I decided to name them Ron and Ginny.
Ron (left) and Ginny (right) just after being brought home.
A week before Christmas, Ginny had an accident while my boyfriend, roommate, and I were out of the house. I came home to find her hiding under my bed terrified, and upon coaxing her out, we noticed a severe limp. The vet confirmed our fears, and then some—she had a fractured femur that needed FHO surgery. The day after Christmas, I brought Ginny to the Blue Cross Pet Hospital in North Hollywood to have her surgery done because my cousin works there. Even with the “family discount,” I had to charge $1900 to the Care Credit card I applied for. She had her staples removed in San Diego at the Eastridge Animal Hospital, and recovered spectacularly. Her fur is almost completely grown back, and she only has a slight wiggle in her walk. She’s bounding, playing, jumping, and back to her usual cheerful self. My kitties are part of my family. Ron plays fetch with a ball of foil; Ginny asks for kisses. We snuggle and sleep together, and they greet me when I get home from work. Relinquishing them is just absolutely not an option; I know for certain that they would be better with me than in a shelter.
Ginny (left) and Ron (right) hanging out in the Crippled Kitty Cage
Last week, I was at work and my boyfriend heard the kitties play fighting in the other room. He didn’t think anything of it. I came home after work, and as Ron walked out of the back room, we noticed he was limping. I was shocked, and so was my boyfriend-- he had spent the earlier morning coming into the living room and telling Ron to get off the table! I brought him into Eastride Animal Hospital yesterday, and could not believe my eyes when I was confronted with a nearly identical x-ray of a broken femur. Ron broke his hip in the exact same way as Ginny, and needs the exact same surgery. The vet now believes that my babies have femoral head necrosis, which causes the head of the femur to be brittle and weak—thus breaking easily.
Ron’s consultation, x-rays, and pain medication topped $200 and used the remaining balance of the Care Credit card that I have. I graduated from SDSU in May 2013, a year early, and was able to get an amazing job working full time at SDSU in August-- I’m the Merit Scholars Coordinator. I recruit local high-achieving students and fund their education for them. I make about $35,000 per year. Well, I will once I've actually worked here a year-- I only made about $16,000 in 2013. As luck would have it, I am also battling an ongoing medical condition. Starting on Thanksgiving, I’ve been vomiting at least once or twice a day, every day. My doctors are clueless, and I’ve already spent hundreds just since December on appointments, prescriptions, and procedures. I was also recently approved for FMLA intermittent leave of absence, put this only protects my job-- it doesn't give me additional absences, so I start getting docked on my pay.
Unfortunately, between student loans bills, the Care Credit bill, my medical bills, my car payment and insurance, rent, and so on—there is just absolutely no way I can afford a second FHO surgery. I have nowhere else to turn. Without this surgery, Ron will never be able to walk normally and he will live in pain for the rest of his life. Ginny has made an amazing, full recovery. I couldn’t bear to deprive her brother of the same opportunity at a full and healthy life.
