Hattie is an ordinary-looking gray tabby cat in Wilmington, NC. She was born and lives outdoors in a trailer park, depending on the kindness of the human neighbors for food, water and shelter.
Luckily, that trailer park is one in which cats, kittens and their caregivers have been helped by Friends of Felines. For almost a decade, the non-profit rescue group has patrolled Hattie’s neighborhood, attending to the needs of the free-roaming cats. Volunteers also transport the cats to clinics where they receive complete vet care, and then are returned to be cared for in their outdoor homes. At this time, almost every cat in the trailer park is spayed or neutered and vaccinated!
Things were looking up for Hattie, who sports a ‘tipped ear,’ as a sign of her spayed and vaccinated status. Recently, though, she apparently had an encounter with a speeding ATV on one of the neighborhood streets. Hattie was hit, and possibly run completely over, by the vehicle. She hid away, experiencing unbearable pain, until hunger drew her out of hiding. Caregivers noticed her limping and saw her wounded leg. They called on Friends of Felines again….
At the vet’s office today, an X-ray showed Hattie has a badly broken pelvis. Surgery will be needed to repair the broken bones and start her on the road to recovery. One of Hattie’s caregivers, an experienced cat owner, has offered this lucky cat an indoor home FOR LIFE. But first she needs surgery and must recover enough to return home.
Hattie’s vet bill today is almost $300, for sedation, X-rays, wound care, antibiotics and pain medication. The surgery will cost at least $1,500 more. Can you help this deserving cat get the medical care she needs? Friends of Felines has only a small medical fund. A surgery of the kind Hattie needs is a real leap of faith by the small all-volunteer group.
The link to donate via PayPal is at www.friendsofelines.org (click on the yellow 'DONATE' button on the lower right of the home page) OR, mail a check to Friends of Felines, PO Box 475, Castle Hayne, NC 28429. Please put ‘Medical Fund--Hattie's Hip’ in the memo line of the check or PayPal donation. You can follow Hattie’s story on the Friends of Felines facebook page. Thank you!