Help me help my kitty 'Flea'

Everyone who knows me knows how much I love my kitty 'Flea'!! He is my pride and joy, the apple of my eye, my little ray of sunshine who brightens my every day... and for those of you who don't know me quite so well, just take a look at his MySpace page at www.myspace.com/fleakitty1 and you'll get the idea!!

Well, the other night, to my horror, as I went to give him a kiss goodbye on my way out the door to go to work, my little baby cried out in pain as I ran my hand down his back! I looked down to see that his tail was swollen to three times it's normal size right at it's base and that it was bent at a funny angle =(

I felt like dying just seeing him like that and instanly felt that I'd failed to protect him and keep him safe... like I was the worst Mommy in the whole world. I know he doesn't blame me, but I feel awful about it anyway =(

Today I took him to the vet and although I couldn't afford to get Xrays done, the veterinarian seemed quite convinced that his tail is not broken as I 'd suspected. He'd actually been bitten by another cat when he got out and ran off for a few hours two nights before that. Apparently it take a few days for a bite to become infected and swell up like that. My poor baby!!

If I thought that money was tight before, I had no idea just how much worse it could get! I spent $150.00 at the vet today and if Flea's condition doesn't improve in the days to come, I will need to come up with another $150.00 for Xrays... not to mention that he needs to get his shots and has yet to be neutered. I've been on the waiting list at the Upland Animal Shelter for free neutering services for about four months now, and they say it's possible I'll get in before the end of the year... but who really knows for sure.

My Vet Hospital charges around $200.00 for that service and they also provide pain medication and after care, which is nice. I'd like to get it done there if I can get enough of you to support my cause here! =)

So here is what I'm asking of you... If you find that my cause is worthy and/or you would just like to help me out with these expenses because you've seen and fallen in love with Flea too, won't you please consider making a pledge to help me meet my goal of raising at least $500.00?

Any anount you can pledge would be greatly appreciated, and get this..... if I fail to raise my minimum amount of $500.00 in pledges before the time is up, noone pays a penny! Only if I reach my goal amount will your pledge be processed. How cool is that?!

Thanks for your time and consideration in this matter, you have no idea how much this means to me!!!

....and Flea thanks you too =^..^=


===UPDATE = 7/20/2008 = UPDATE===

Thanks to everyone for helping out!

Let me just say that Flea is feeling and looking much better! Looks like Xrays wont be neccesary after all.

So far this seems to be going quite well! I just wanted to make clear that any money raised through this fundraiser will be used for the cause stated.

If I am able to raise more than the $500, let me assure you that I will use it to purchase pet insurance for Flea!

Anything beyond that will be donated to HOPE (Helping Out Animals Everyday).

I'll report everything to all contributors in am email when it's complete.

Thanks again, you guys are awesome!

Tonya & Flea

If you can help, please visit:

http://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2008-07-19.2562165772