Mighty Mouse is a 3 month old Siberian in South Portland, ME, who needs $2,000 for Pectus Excavatum Surgery.

Meet Mighty Mouse—a 12-week-old Siberian kitten who lives up to his name in courage if not yet in size. When I heard about his predicament, I learned about a soul too sweet and determined to give up, even as his little body struggled to do the most basic thing we take for granted: breathe.

Mighty Mouse was born with pectus excavatum, also called flat-chested kitten syndrome.

His tiny rib cage is sunken inward, forcing his heart to the left and compressing his lungs. Because of this, he tires quickly, struggles to grow, and at twelve weeks old, weighs just over one pound—barely half the size of his littermates. Without surgery, the prognosis is grim: his organs will remain compromised, his growth stunted, and his life tragically short.

Right now, as you read this, he is in the hands of Dr. Jacob Rubin at Maine Veterinary Medical Center in Scarborough, Maine, undergoing life-saving surgery—a specially designed splint to gently reshape his chest, allowing his heart and lungs to move freely. The splint must stay in place for four to eight weeks, during which during which Mighty will need pain relief, antibiotics, and X-rays.

This kind of specialized care is expensive, but it is also transformative: it offers Mighty Mouse a real shot at a normal, healthy life full of play, companionship, and love. I am reaching out to you to help cover some of the cost. He's a swell little guy.