Let’s help Mr P!

I believe you are all well over due an update, so here goes!

*Drum roll* ……. Mr P is finally home! The three-legged specimen we call Percy is safe and sound! However, his new lifestyle & lengthy recovery journey has only just begun.

After a thorough inspection of the boys injured leg the vets explained there were (skip a few lines if you’re squeamish) “well established maggots eating away at Mr P’s dead flesh” from his open wound. As a result, I was given three options:

1. Keep the damaged leg & sew together what little flesh there was remaining with a slim chance of that even working and pain continuing with a bung leg for life.

2. Keep him alive & happy amputate his back-right leg.

3. Euthanise.

The decision was obvious & his amputation was performed on New Year’s Eve – sheeesh, what a way to end a year!

After what had been a massive week and the longest game of hide & seek OF MY LIFE, it was beginning to look up. That was until NYE afternoon. Percy was recovering from his successful amputation but we received a phone call from the incredible Vets at ARC (Animal Referral Center) to say that unfortunately Mr. P had too dislocated his left hip… his now only back leg. This could not be left ‘as is’. The poor thang couldn’t walk. Cue, the catheter.

Two options this time:

1. Operate.

2. Euthanise.

I decided to proceed. I mean, we we’re almost there, there was no way I was giving up on him! Adam & I spent NYE in bed with a cup of tea crossing our fingers & toes sending Mr. P the bestest, biggest healing vibes we could aka, me having a biiiig ol’ sob.

A few days later once he’d had time to rest after his leg amputation (just casually!) Percy went back under the knife to add to the growing number of bald spots & stitches on his wee nude body. His hip dislocation surgery was performed on the morning of Jan 5th (happy new year?) where a pin was placed in the hip to encourage muscles/tissue to heal around the repositioned ball in socket and will be removed in 5ish weeks.

Obviously, the vet bill was creeeeepin’ up rapidly I has to begin to act if I was to actually pay this bill & keep this wee Tri-Pawed boy alive. I was going to have to put my big girl pants on and ask those around me for financial help. Being an independent woman *clicks fingers with sass* that I was raised to be… this is something I’ve not had to practice in my adult life… and boy oh boy what a humbling practice it has been.

I am blessed to be in a position where I felt brave enough that the community around me wouldn’t scoff at my outreach. I must pinch myself daily that the community I live in is shaped SO beautifully that people would willingly make generous donations to me and the darling Mr. P to aid his medical costs!? Thank you. Thank you ALL. Donations big and small… each time I look at your names one by one my eyeballs start to leak with happiness, overwhelm & with the feeling of support & love. I see you all & I am so fond of you all. You have significantly helped with surgeries & specialist care which has officially cracked passed the $10,000 mark.

On the morning of my birthday (Jan 6th) the phone rang, and Mr. P was ready to come home a day earlier than anticipated! Yeeeehaaaa! We spent the day mostly looking at him in his cage in the lounge and speaking gibberish in those lunatic baby voices that people do. We are THOSE people now hahahah. We opened a bottle of champagne & danced in the kitchen to celebrate his return while Percy’s wee smile was undeniably as big as ours.…. Easily one of the best birthdays ever.

These days Mr. P spends his days snoozing like a boss in a cage he is borrowing from his Labrador pooch cousin, Coral. As you can imagine it is lovely & spacious, he has kitty litter, snacks, a personal fan, a view of the street and endless cuddles. He wobbles his way to the toilet a few times a day & has a ‘once a day couch sit’ or a big sprawled out snooze on his favourite dressing gown on the lounge floor. He has 4-5 weeks of strict rest, then the pin in his hip removed, then back to cage life for a little longer. Eventually he’ll be able to walk around again unaided and further than about 5 – 7 steps. Soon after that I dream of him to be able to spring up onto the couch the bed, maybe back to his favourite windowsill when he’s mastered the art of Tri-pod life. Life in the slow lane won’t hold him back. This cat is next level strong; he’s beyond brave & I can’t wait for him to continue to teach me wonderful things in life.

There is something to be said for the generous outpour of coins to a girl & her cat. It says worthiness, it says gratitude. It says loved. This event has cost an arm and a leg – literally (!!!!!). Though I may be cash poor for now I am always rich with is love from you all and to you all. Thank you so much for easing the pain in what has been a grief-stricken surprise. I never believe something like this would have had quite the impact on me like it has – for which I wouldn’t change a thing for this has been one of my greatest learnings.

Jo, these funds couldn’t have been raised without you paving the way here with this Give A Little, thank you so much for helping, lots of loveeee.

To each member of staff who has cared for Perc, to each one of you who have cared for me – much love to you all.

Stevie & Mr. P aka Mr. Three.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox