Sully is a 3 year old American Shorthair in Tampa, FL, who needs $4,000 for Disimpaction, De-obstruction, Feeding Tube.

Sully is such an amazing, sweet, selfless boy. When my last cat passed, I thought I could never have that bond again, but I still loved cats and care deeply about the homeless cat community. After a few months I began researching organizations in my area, and I told the rescue I was talking with I wanted to adopt two cats, one kitten and one senior or cat that was otherwise difficult to get adopted, I told them the rest was up to them, that I wanted to help as much as I could and wasn’t picky, whoever they thought needed a home most. They suggested Sully, who was only 2 and a half at the time, but who had been with them over a year with little to no interest, unfortunately Sully had a rough life on the streets before they found him, despite being docile and gentle, he’d ended up contracting FIV, given his submissive nature it was likely from being attacked, which sounds sad enough on the surface, but once you get to know Sully and really see his personality it becomes absolutely heartbreaking. I now have three younger cats (2 around 1y/o and 1 around 2y/o) and the two babies are, of course, very energetic and playful, and still learning their strength and what’s okay and what’s not, but Sully never loses patience with them, never gets rough or aggressive, he hardly even flinches. He’s a true pacifist. Yet, he also cares very deeply for them all, you can see by how he is always grooming them, despite that none of them ever groom him in return, he doesn’t mind, he just wants to take care of everyone else. One of his siblings, Malik, is REALLY, bonded to Sully, we all sleep together but Malik has to be nestled as close as possible to Sully. Sully can be in the middle of a nap and Malik come over, stick his nose right under Sully’s chin, buck his head up, and squeeze himself under Sully’s arms, up against his chest and neck, and Sully will just go right into grooming Malik until Malik falls asleep before going back to sleep himself. Sully is everything I can hope to be as a pet parent, and I know people say this a lot, but seriously I thought I was saving him, but truly, he has saved not only me, but our entire fur family.
Me, I’m a single woman in my 30’s living alone with all my cats (yes I know, cliche) and my Pom who thinks he’s a cat (he’s also adopted, I would never buy from a breeder of any kind when so many pets are in need), I struggle with GAD, MDD, and a seizure disorder, and for the last year I was without the proper medications and treatment to deal with these conditions and my babies were genuinely the only thing that kept me going. That’s a long story but to make it short, I had to move away to find work, where I moved the mental health care is mediocre at best, I was too far from anyone I knew who could help, and I was too ill to get help on my own. Fortunately I am back in Florida now, and receiving the proper care, unfortunately I was in a predatory lease that made moving out almost impossible, it cost all of my savings and then some to get back and get myself well again, and my main motivation for putting myself into debt to get better, was to be able to continue providing for my babies and to provide a better life for them: if I’m mentally healthy I can advance in my career and make more money and give them more toys and treats, if I’m healthy I don’t have to work as long of hours to make that money so I can give them more of my time, if I’m not constantly anxious or depressed I’m not putting off a bunch of hormonal cues that will cause them stress. It really is all for them.

So you can imagine how hard it was when then the very thing I did to try to make things better for them in the long run was the thing that prevented me from being able to make one of them better in the short term, when Sully got sick. For all his many strengths, Sully is not the most fit cat (which still isn’t necessarily a flaw), he is (or was, before this) what we in the cat community call a “chonkers”, a quite plump rump roast, he like his naps and he LOVES food. I tried various diets, feeding tactics, toys, exercise tools and techniques, etc to stimulate his activity level and reduce his food intake, but none of it took, at least not enough for him to lose any real or significant amount of weight. My other cats and Pom are all well within normal range, maybe even a little on the small side, but Sully was happy being thick, which of course as a parent I worried about long term, but it wasn’t causing any acute issues, so I figured we’d keep trying and find something that worked eventually. I don’t know if that contributed to what happened or if I’m just catastrophizing, thinking of everything I could’ve done differently or what I did wrong to get here. Sully suffered with occasion mild constipation, which was never a big deal, some miralax and phylum husk powder in his wet food and it’d pass in a day or two. But this last bout that was not the case, days passed and only small watery bits were making it out. Then he lost his appetite. I knew things would go downhill fast from there but I didn’t know what to do or who to turn to. I knew hospitalization was more than I or any close friend or family could afford, I don’t have social media, I’ve never been in financial distress and had an expensive emergency simultaneously to know anything about charitable organizations or flexible vets, so I had to ask around and do research, which took time that Sully was running out of. Between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day I finally had some solid information and resources, and the day after Christmas I called the vet I’d been recommended to first thing in the morning. I told them Sully’s situation and my situation and they agreed to see him. They’ve started treatment because he was critical and they’re amazing people and weren’t going to let him die or do financial euthanasia, but under the stipulation that I apply for Scratch Pay (which requires diagnosis and treatment estimate) and grants (which require first applying for Scratch Pay and Care Credit) and make payments and that 50% payment would be due at discharge. Well, I wasn’t approved for scratch pay or care credit, and grants are pending but even if approved for all three wouldn’t cover it, so I’m turning to the public. Please help us! Every little bit counts and is greatly appreciated.