Many thanks to all that contributed to Scruffy's Fund.

Because of the generosity of friends and perfect strangers, Scruffy was able to get his Ultrasound yesterday. We owe you all a debt much greater than mere money and one we can never hope to repay.

Unfortunately, the news for Scruffy is not good. I am posting the results here for those that want to read them as well as the vet bills we incurred so far. But we will seek further counsel and we'll leave no stone unturned to make sure Scruffy will live as long and as happily as he can.

This is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do and if you know us you know that we have had our share of bad things happening to us. Yet, when we are the victims of fate or health complications, we are often more able to cope than when an innocent is involved. Scruffy, like all animal and pets, is an innocent and it makes it so much harder to understand why he should suffer so soon in his short life.

Thank you again for your splendid generosity and your humanity. We will keep you posted on Scruffy's health and the next steps.

Scruffy is closer to getting his ultrasound. Thank you so much!

This morning Scruffy is much closer to the goal of $350 that will allow him top have the ultrasound that will begin his treatment.

I am frankly overwhelmed by the generosity of friends and perfect strangers that pledged what is surely hard earned money to save an animal few of them know and that is to them , just a cat like many million others. (not to us though)

One pledge in particular left me stunned (and a little bit embarrassed) as it represents more than %50 of the total we are raising in this round and it was pledged by someone that we don't know.
I have already called the vet to set the appointment, as it will take 3 or 4 days for the ultrasound to be scheduled. I should probably have set the appointment yesterday, but I never would have thought we'd be so close so soon.

As I opened the page this morning, I could not even make sense of the pledges. I got so emotional that I could not see the screen very well. When I finally composed myself, I realized that some of my dearest friends had pledged a lot more than I would have liked them to and a that a person I did not know pledged $200!

My first impulse was to email this person and ask them to reduce his/her pledge. My hope has always been to reach the goal with small amounts of money from many people. I don't want our present financial situation and Scruffy's needs to be a burden to any one person and we know that unfortunately this fund raiser is only the beginning. We'll need to raise much more than this in the future if Scruffy is to have a chance.

But I will at least ask this person to let me know of any other causes I can contribute to in his/her name in the future.

As far as Scruffy is concerned, he seems to be doing well. Last night and this morning he seemed more affectionate then usual and he is not leaving our bedroom except to eat and to use the litter box.

In the days building to his vet visits he had taken to sit in the kitchen on a perch and did not come to us at night, which was unusual. Since we came back from the vet he has come back to sleeping to us. It really makes you wonder if he can sense how upset we all are...

Thank you again for reading this and for supporting our dear Scruffy.

Welcome to "Help Save Scruffy the Cat" Homepage

This is an online collection to allow "Scruffy the Cat" to get a Ultrasound to see what is wrong with him and try to save his life. Scruffy is a 5 year old longhair that looks a lot like Sylvester the Cat. He is funny, affectionate, independent and very lazy. Like all cats.

Scruffy has a large mass near his hearth and Xrays are not enough to see what it is. Vet thinks it's a hernia and needs to schedule a Ultrasound to find out more. The ultrasound will cost $350.
Veterinary visits so far run us over $500. We are working on applying for a Vet Credit Card and saving what we can, but Scruffy needs help as soon as possible.

Scruffy is one of the over 15 cats (and a couple of dogs) that we rescued over the past 20 years at our home. They just seem to know they can just show up and we will take care of them, give them food, care, neuter them (they may not like that much) and give them lots of love. They fill our lives with love and joy.

We love all our animals, but Scruffy has always been special to us.
He was a 4 month old kitten when he showed up at our home. I just had major surgery and I was suffering from a dark, deep depression. Scruffy took to sleep with his cheek in the palm of my hand and his paws around my forearm. In the morning he woke me up with little love bites on my nose. He has a way to make you feel priviledged to be around him. A week later I realized my depression had lifted like a fog in the morning sun.
To this day I believe Scruffy saved my life by giving me someone to care for..

We always knew Scruffy had a bad hearth. The vet thought he suffered from a hearth murmur. He told us to wait and see.
5 years have passed and Scruffy has slowed down, but he seemed OK.
The other night, he was panting and short of breath so we took him to the vet and that's when we got the bad news. His murmur is worse and there is a mass near his hearth of unknown origin.

Our vet bills average $2000 a year, including some emergencies, but we plan for that. This, we did not plan for and it already has exhausted our limited funds. I am on Social Security and my wife's salary has been cut in half due to the economy.

What is almost unbearable to me is that this is not a terminal illness but most likely just a very expensive procedure.
If Scruffy dies will be because I could not afford to provide him with the right care.

That's what this money is for. It is to help diagnose Scruffy's illness and prepare a plan of action. Scruffy may need to rely on more generosity before we can say that this is over. Even the rosiest diagnosis says that it is going to take a lot of money to cure him. If that's at all possible.

Thank you for reading this. Your help will be appreciated more than you'll ever know.