Brooklyn is a one-year-old Domestic Shorthair cat in Huntington, WV, who needs $600 for emergency surgery.

Brooklyn had several brushes with death that were so severe she may be pushing her nine lives!

She got brought to a shelter as a mama cat with her litter of newborn kittens. Brooklyn was malnourished, emaciated, and suffering from a horrendous respiratory infection. Then in a heartbreaking turn of events, all her babies passed away.

Brooklyn stayed at the shelter to recover both physically and mentally. Then one day, she began struggling to breathe. The staff took her for an X-ray and learned she needed extensive surgery that a county shelter could not afford. They contacted One By One Animal Advocates, who came to Brooklyn's rescue. "We knew she was in extreme distress," Heather A., from the nonprofit group, tells Waggle. "To see video of her gasping for breath clued us in that we were in a quick fight for her life."

They raced the Tabby cat to Proctorville Animal Hospital, where the medical team discovered Brooklyn's condition was far worse than anyone knew. She had likely been hit by a car *before* she came to the shelter. The trauma created an opening in her body that allowed her stomach, liver, small intestine, and even a portion of her large intestine to migrate into her lung cavity. Her organs were crushing her lungs. Brooklyn was starting to suffocate from the pressure and was moments away from dying.

"The fear was that some of her organs would start to attach to the cavity wall, having been up there so long. If they were unable to separate them, they would have had to have let her go on the table. It was very touch-and-go and frightening. She had already suffered being hit by a car, losing her kittens, and then fighting to live. We wanted to do everything we could," Heather says.

The rescue group hopes to raise enough money to pay off Brooklyn's medical bills. Then finally, she will have a shot at a happy, pain-free life."We are often asked to help animals in severe medical crises," Heather adds. "We are just so thankful for the Waggle community and their support."