Eris is a 6 month old Domestic Medium hair kitten in Fort Collins, CO, who needs $2,000 for PDA Surgical litigation and placement of a Amplatzer vascular plug.

Lucius and Eris became brother and little sister last November. They spend every day cleaning each other and every night either playing or finding a cozy spot on the bed. Every time Eris has to go to the vet, Lucius yowls in discontent followed by randomly dashing around the apartment hoping that she'll pop out and catch him. Their bond has surprised us.

Eris fell in love with my husband (Markus) in the shelter. After getting used to the loud noises of cabinets, drawers and rowdy neighbors, she happily sleeps on Markus' hand when he plays games on his PC, even with guttural yells and destruction behind her. She visits my desk multiple times an hour when I'm working from home for some pets.

Eris has a few nicknames, none of which she comes to. She goes to where the food is, no matter the obstacle. This is why we call her "squirrel." She gained the nickname "goat" after we came home to find that we left a bag of bagels on the counter which she took a little nibble on every one. My favorite is when she walks away with her fluffy butt, she looks like she's wearing "sweatpants."

Eris has a 5/6 heart murmur. The first operation failed and we almost lost her. Her vascular wall ruptured during the operation and the doctors had to perform life saving measures. They had to abort the mission of closing up the PDA, she was in an oxygen cage for 2 days. The second operation next week will be less invasive and should close up her PDA so she can avoid congested heart failure.

Markus and I work full-time and I've also gone back to school. Eris needs your help. We want to give her the best chance. We made a commitment to her and we're not giving up. She's so young (6 months) and we want her live the healthiest life possible.