Help CAWS Keep Mouse in the House!

Sweet little Mouse was brought to a local shelter all by herself at 9 weeks old. When she was under anesthesia during what should have been a normal spay at 12 weeks old, her breathing became compromised and her heart rate increased to a dangerous level. She was brought out of anesthesia immediately and stabilized. Not knowing what caused the issue but that she would need more medical care than they could provide, the shelter reached out to the rescue community to place Mouse.
CAWS pulled Mouse & her foster mom took her directly to our regular vet to have problem diagnosed. Unfortunately, it isn’t an easy fix. During gestation, Mouse’s diaphragm did not close, allowing a space for her liver and gallbladder to migrate up and develop next to her pericardial sac, the membrane that protects the heart. A very big problem, for a little kitten to bear.

The next step was a consultation with a surgical specialist, Dr. Terry. We were told that to make Mouse well she’ll need a very complex and expensive surgery. If she doesn’t have the surgery, she’ll appear fine…until she isn’t…because as she matures and grows, the defect will most likely develop into a life threatening one.

Mouse has some very positive things going for her if we are able to do the surgery. First, she’s young and healthy. The organs have more than likely not completely adhered to her pericardial sac, and her diaphragm is still elastic enough to repair once the organs are back in place. Dr. Terry has actually performed this surgery with a great success rate.

The other thing Mouse has going for her is she is a CAWS kitten and we always try to do whatever it takes to make sure our cats are healthy and happy as they wait to find their forever homes. That being said, the cost of her surgery is estimated to be between $3400-3800. In order for Mouse to have her life saving surgery, we need our supporters to donate to this fund created just for her.