Sam is a 3-year-old Domestic Shorthair in Monticello, GA, who needs $1,092 for a full-mouth extraction due to stomatitis.

Sam and Frodo were my first official bottle babies when I volunteered to foster in 2016; they are brother's whom I got when only 48hrs old. They were also my first 'foster fail' as I simply bonded with them and could not possibly leave them behind (being black cats, it's difficult to adopt them out and the place I was fostering for had a room full of black cats whose residency ranged in ages from a few months to several years; I love them too much to leave them to such a fate).

Fast forward to June 2018. Sam started hissing, growling and lashing out during mealtime. At first I thought maybe one of the foster kittens bopped him on the nose, as I only heard rather than witnessed. I didn't think anything of it until it began to occur on a regular basis, always around feeding time. I decided to move his dish higher, still of the mindset he was being bullied by the tiny fluffballs (at the time he weighed 13lbs and is of the 'Gentle Giant' nature but has since dropped to 8lbs); I happened to be standing nearby when he burst out in cries of pain followed by rapid licking and pawing at his face. Bright and early the following morning a vet visit was scheduled immediately, and by that afternoon I had a name to this mystery: feline stomatitis.

Sam is currently on a full soft food diet and medications to help keep the inflammation down, while controlling the pain (oral everyday, injectable every 6 weeks); however, all are short-term fixes, buying me time to raise money for the extraction that will alleviate his misery. If I cannot get his teeth fixed the only other option is euthanasia, a road I don't want to find myself going down. If I have to put him to sleep, a large part of my heart will die alongside, and his brother, whom he is bonded to, may suffer the loss just as bad, if not worse.

Due to my own disabilities and family situations, I am in a tight budget and am forced to ask for the kindness of strangers to step in and assist. If he were a foster cat, this would be easier as there are a lot of vets out there who'll workout a payment plan, but since he is a personal owned, every vet I've contacted wants payment upfront. And until I can take care of Sam I cannot foster any kittens, as the money I'd otherwise spend on their care goes towards his wellbeing, which hurts the rescue I foster for as we rapidly approach kitten season.

The estimate for his extraction is attached. If Sam only requires partial extraction, the the cost will be 772.33, and if it turns out to be a full mouth extraction, the price jumps to 1092.99; the vet won't know for certain which outcome awaits him, as it can only be determined once they can get him in, under and examined. I'm hoping for the former but bracing for the worst case scenario.

Please help Sam; I already had to send one of my cats over the Rainbow Bridge (Dec 1st, 2018), I'm not ready emotionally for that talk with my vet; he's still a baby.