SAVE SPARKS!
Sparks needs your help! Sparks is a beautiful medium hair flame point Siamese boy, just under a year old, with incredibly soft, rabbit like, fur and sparkling blue eyes. He also has the cutest overbite that leads to his tongue tip poking out when he is concentrating on something. He is a perfect cat for someone who wants a nightly bed companion as well as someone who is good with other cats and can live with a dog (he will need regular brushing to keep his coat from getting matted). There has been interest from several people already who were willing to adopt both him and his (almost identical looking) brother, Sizzle... but there is a hitch.
Unfortunately, Sparks has a problem... he has been diagnosed with bilateral luxating patellas. This is commonly seen in toy breeds of dogs, more rarely in older cats of some breeds (although Siamese are not noted for it), and hardly ever in cats this young. His is so severe the vet had never seen anything this pronounced, and called in his techs and the other vet to witness it. Basically, his hind leg kneecaps frequently "pop" out of alignment and he limps severely until they "pop" back into place. This happens in both hind legs, and is exceedingly uncomfortable. We can't give him pain medication for this, and although it isn't constant, it does happen several times a day, and it is heartbreaking to see him shuffling after a catnip toy or wincing as he tries to pounce on the laser pointer light. Clearly, his adoption potential is limited while he is like this, and we can't expect him to continue in this discomfort for long. The good news is that this can be surgically corrected, with an excellent prognosis for complete recovery, no complications, full return to function, and no chance of reoccurrence or shortening of lifespan. The bad news is this is a specialty surgery, preformed at only 3 clinics in Michigan, and very expensive. Conservative estimates are in the $1800-2000 range. We have an appointment for him in mid February with the orthopedic specialist up at Michigan State University Veterinary School. Although this is a wonderful, wonderful cat, we just do not have the resources to cover this up front, particularly since we have had so many extreme vet bills from very sick cats lately.
Update 2/20/03: Sparks has been evaluated by the specialists at Michigan State University Veterinary School and, after X-rays, have confirmed the diagnosis of the original vet: Bilateral subluxating patellas. They also have identified a heart murmur, but a cardiology consult has cleared Sparks for surgery, apparently that's just some mitral valve regurgitation. Now we have a price tag associated with fixing Sparks as well: $1,550.00! As you can see below, there have been some extremely generous people helping Sparks out, but we're still short.
Update 3/26/03
Michigan State University Vet School told us that a spot on the surgical schedule was open and that if we didn't take advantage of the spot then there might not be another one for weeks to come. We just couldn't stomach Sparks limping around for so much longer, so we used all of the donations from Sparks' wonderful supporters as a down payment and put the rest on a credit card. We are a young rescue, less than a year old, and there is no "rainy day fund"... we are all keeping our fingers crossed that enough people will come along to help Sparks out so that in 30 days when the credit card bill comes due that we have the money to pay it off. The information below is up to date... the second we hear of another donation, it gets added to the list. As of this update that means that we have $895.00 and need another $655.00! Please help!. We'll let you know how Sparks is recovering from the surgery!
Update 6/22/03
If Sparks were able to show everyone, he would hop for joy at the wonderful support that he received from all the generous donors. The surgery was a complete success and he now has a gait that is normal in all respects. The hair is growing in nicely and he no longer has pain just on getting up and moving around. As of this update there have been 32 wonderful people that have donated a total of $1105. While Michigan Siamese Rescue still would be happy to receive more support for the remaining $445, we would be even more delighted to have someone come forward and be able to adopt the two snowflakes (as we call Sparks and Sizzle). They have come a long distance since joining MISR and, once comfortable with someone, seek out human attention. Sizzle especially loves being brushed and will purr up a storm while being groomed. Please consider a place in your home for this special pair....
If you are that special someone who could adopt Sparks (and his bonded brother, Sizzle)... don't waste time, contact MISR immediately. The adoption fee for the two of them together is $275, a small sum compared to the close to $2000 that MISR has spent on their combined Vet care. Cruise on over to our home page immediately to download an adoption application!
If you can't adopt, please consider donating to support Michigan Siamese Rescue in its mission to help cats just like Sparks.
If you can't donate, but do shop online, please consider clicking through to
iGive. iGive is a portal to over 400 merchants that will donate a portion of your purchase price back to Michigan Siamese Rescue. You pay nothing extra. It's an easy, free, way for you to get what you want and for Sparks to be able to get the surgery he needs!
Sparks would like to thank the following wonderful people for helping him out:
| Art Sholty |
$100.00 |
| Sylvia & Mike Paddy |
$100.00 |
| Jennifer Horvath |
$100.00 |
| Melissa Emery |
$75.00 |
| Paul Garay |
$50.00 |
| Margaret Thompson |
$50.00 |
| Lynne Ellen Kaiser |
$50.00 |
| Amber Sitko |
$50.00 |
| Dave Galanter |
$50.00 |
| Cynthia Mezydlo |
$35.00 |
| William & Laurie Chundrlik |
$30.00 |
| Denise & Thomas Pruneau |
$30.00 |
| Jennifer Hilston |
$30.00 |
| Josh Lothridge |
$25.00 |
| Mary Kate Bohman |
$25.00 |
| Gerard Robinson |
$25.00 |
| Helmut & Heidi Attlfellner |
$25.00 |
| Andrew Mau |
$25.00 |
| Marya Gutek |
$25.00 |
| Zi-one Moon |
$25.00 |
| Dennis & Sandra Kinnen |
$25.00 |
| Cynthia Cook |
$25.00 |
| Laurie Brenner |
$20.00 |
| Kathleen Gray |
$20.00 |
| Peggy Messing |
$15.00 |
| Sandra Partlan |
$15.00 |
| Kathlene Lentz |
$15.00 |
| Brenda Mondragon |
$10.00 |
| Debra & Bruce Byers |
$10.00 |
| Bradley Miller |
$10.00 |
| Kimberly Krestick |
$10.00 |
| Anthony McIntosh |
$5.00 |
About Sparks |
- Status: Adopted!
- Species: Cat
- Rescue ID: 02-61
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