Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids

11/25/2025

Stop by our friends at Culver's in Hiawatha and pick up a $5 calendar! Proceeds support medical care for homeless pets through Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids!❤️🐾

11/24/2025

An absolutely devastating injury. Meet Hank.
‼️Donation Needed‼️

We say this is the year of the cat for good reason. In almost eighteen years of operation at Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids, we have never seen so many kitties in desperate need of help.

Hank is from the Boone Area Humane Society. They called us for help. This sweet boy who is approx. 8 months of age was hit by a car several days ago. The damage to his hind limbs and pelvis is significant. In the xrays, we have circled the fracture sites. Hank has been admitted to Iowa State University Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital through the ER Service and tomorrow he will undergo a surgery that will cost many thousands of dollars.(Estimated 10K). Hank will need a CT prior so the surgeons can plan their way around all of the damage.

The doctors tonight said that Hank is just so loving, purring his way through the pain. Dr. Moore could not believe how he is trying to walk, and it was hard for them to watch. These animals want to survive at all costs. Hank is a testament to that.

If you are so fortunate to donate to Hank’s care, we would be so very appreciative. Yes, it is an enormous amount of money. It makes our heart skip a few beats when we hear these amounts, but without surgery, Hank’s life and mobility will be very limited. This boy survived for a reason and we have to give him his chance of a lifetime.

100% of donations will go directly to pay Hank’s surgical bills. Donations can also be accepted through our secure website at:
CritterCrusadersCR.Org with your choice of financial platforms at check out. We thank you.❤️🐾

11/24/2025

An epic moment. A mastiff that could not walk. Thirteen days of critical care hospitalization at Iowa State. Thousands of dollars. A monumental battle won. He remains at ISU but will be coming back this week. We love you Sirloin❤️.

11/21/2025

A new day…a new face❤️
Sable went into a life-changing surgery through Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids one week ago. Tonight we had him evaluated at Blue Pearl Cedar Rapids, and he is doing great!

The pathology report from UW Madison Vet Teaching Hospital is back. The type of cancer will predict our next steps for treatment. We will keep everyone posted on this sweet boy. As a reminder of this crazy tumor, we have posted it again in the comment section.

11/19/2025

Critter Crusaders silent auction is open at Sally's On Broadway and will run through 8:00 p.m. this Friday night! From 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Friday night Nov. 21st, stop on in at Sally's in Springville for some amazing food and drinks, 50/50 raffle and silent auction all to benefit homeless pets with Advanced Medical Care through Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids 🐾

11/18/2025

Join Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids at Sally's On Broadway FRIDAY NOV. 21st From 5-8pm! Help support our lifesaving work for sick, injured and abused homeless pets in Iowa!
🐶 Enjoy the most amazing drinks, menu and food in Iowa!
🐱Huge Silent Auction starts on WEDNESDAY NOV. 19th at 4pm and runs through Fri.Nov. 21st at 8pm.
🐶50/50 Raffle during the event with drawing at 8pm!
🐱Meet your friends at CC along with Sally and her incredible
staff. They do so much for our Non-Profit Community.
Make the quick trip to beautiful Springville Iowa and have a great time saving the lives of disadvantaged dogs and cats!🐾

11/17/2025

💥2026 Calendars have arrived💥
Get yours here: https://www.crittercrusaderscr.org/category/all-products
Want to pay with cash or check? No problem! Just stop by our Cans for Critters program at 710 Center Point Rd. NE during their open hours of Tuesday 5-6pm, Wednesday 10am-Noon, and Saturday 10am-Noon. Our volunteers there will be ready to help!

The production costs of this calendar have been provided by our sponsors, so that 100% of your purchase can go directly to our pet's medical bills!

11/17/2025

And in a moment….it was gone.
Sable was tranferred emergently to UW Madison Vet Teaching Hospital by Critter Crusaders this past Thursday. Sable was admitted through the Emergency Service and then transferred to the Soft Tissue Surgery Service.

Friday morning Sable underwent a CT Scan and a blood transfusion. His body condition shows the challenges he faced in surviving outside with a huge tumor impeding his food and water intake.

Friday, while still anesthetized from his CT scan, they rolled him into surgery, beginning the incredible transformation you see in the photo below. I traveled to Madison this past Saturday and picked Sable up. The surgeons wanted him home as soon as possible to avoid the chance of contracting an infection in the hospital.

We went over all of his after care and medications with Amy, his S.A.I.N.T. Rescue (Saving Animals in Need Today) foster mom. The biggest immediate risk is what we call wound dehiscence or the break down of the surgical site. They believe the tumor originated on the inside of the right nostril and then attached itself to his lip. This is cancer and when the pathology report comes back this week, we will let you all know.

We will be making a recheck appointment for him in two weeks at UW through the Oncology Service. From there, the second portion of his treatment will begin to address the cancer and our best options for further treatment. This will depend on the type of malignancy it is. We have our fingers crossed for a soft tissue sarcoma!🙏

We thank each and every one of you for your wonderful donations that will go directly to his large veterinary bill at UW. Your thoughts, prayers and well wishes are of equal importance. We can only imagine what Sable thinks. He can now see without an immense lesion obstructing his view. He can eat and drink normally. He can carry his head in a different position and it will take time for him to adapt to this new face….but what a blessing! The absolute miracles of veterinary medicine. ❤️🐱🐾

11/17/2025

‼️Donations needed and very much appreciated‼️
We have an update tonight on Sirloin, the Mastiff hospitalized at Iowa State University Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital through Critter Crusaders.

This big boy was diagnosed with Immune Mediated Poly Arthritis (IMPA) through a series of diagnostics including CT Scans and joint taps where the fluid is collected and examined. Sirloin was started on prednisone and the doctors and staff have seen improvement.

At 103lbs, Sirloin has not been able to walk for over a week. He has been hospitalized at ISU through CC for the past six days. He is appearing less painful in his joints and muscles. He is now able to keep himself “sternal” meaning in an upright position and no longer “recumbent” on his side. Before, they were needing to prop him up with blanket rolls.

He seems less reactive to pain but he is still not walking. His steroids were stared last Thursday when they obtained the diagnosis. This will be a long haul for Sirloin that includes many days of hospitalization and nursing care to help this boy recover. He still has a urinary catheter in place until he is able to support his own weight and begin to walk.

We are once again asking for your help with such a lengthy, expensive case. The average cost of each of our pet patients is $6000. Sirloin has already exceeded that and we are looking at potentially $9000. Each animals life is an investment in their medical care and their future. Critter Crusaders specialized in taking the most most complex cases. It is these pets who are the first to be euthanized and the ones that we focus our efforts on. More to come on Sirloin’s journey to health and mobility.

If you are so fortunate to help us with Sirloin, we would be so very appreciative. Donations can also be accepted through our secure website at CritterCrusadersCR.Org with your choice of financial platforms at the time of checkout.
We thank you❤️🐾

11/14/2025

‼️Donations desperately needed‼️
‼️Please help us save Sable’s Life‼️

Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids received an urgent call for help from a wonderful lady named Beth, in West Union Iowa. She was feeding a kitty who had a massive tumor attached somewhere on his little face. When she sent us photos, we knew we had to help this animal. His survival would be very limited due to the size and location of this mass.

It is disturbing to look at, but this is the reality homeless pets live with every day. Abandoned and tossed out like garbage to survive on their own. It is not the photo that bothers us, it’s knowing their silent struggle that does. This is also the reason Critter Crusaders exists. Very few organizations, if any, would take a case like this. Until “Sable” could be transported to Cedar Rapids, Beth kept Sable safe with her.

When he arrived, we could see the emergent nature to this case. The tumor had the potential to obstruct Sable’s airway. The kitty could not effectively eat or drink. Early this morning, we transported Sable to the University of Wisconsin Veterinary Teaching Hospital and he was admitted through the Emergency Service. We had already been in contact with UW’s Oncology Service as well as the Surgery Service and ER.

With complex cases, there is a lot of communication and multiple steps that happen prior to transport. When we arrived today, the transition was seamless and all services that will be involved in Sable’s care, were on the same page. Sable is very dehydrated and thin. He is anemic. This mass appears to be attached to a nostril and perhaps a portion of the lip but the doctors will make a better assessment tomorrow when he is under anesthesia. The chest X-rays were good.

Most likely this is cancer but CC treats cancer routinely at UW with tremendous results. Sable will undergo surgery tomorrow. He might need a transfusion prior too, but they will make that determination tomorrow. The goal with a tumor like this is to resect as much as possible. If the margins aren’t clean, then radiation therapy will most likely be the next step to kill the remaining microscopic cells.

Three years ago we treated a similar case with a kitty named Naezy. She is doing just great with no cancer reoccurrence and that is our hope for Sable.

If you are so fortunate to donate to Sables case, we would be very appreciative. Our estimate for surgery and hospitalization is approx $7000. We feel very good about helping this kid. When I met with the doctor after the full evaluation, he just shook his head and said this is absolutely the sweetest kitty in the hospital! We believe it! More to come on Friday’s surgery. Please keep Sable in your thoughts.❤️🐾

Donations can also be made through our secure website at
CritterCrusadersCR.Org with your choice of financial platforms to choose from at check out. We thank you.❤️🐾

11/14/2025

A BIG medical problem on a BIG boy!
Meet Sirloin. This 103lb. Mastiff was surrendered to Ross Veterinary Clinic for an overwhelming illness. Sirloin‘s legs started to swell and he became lame. Dr. Kathy Ross called Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids for help.

Sirloin was in a lot of pain, even on medication. He had a transient fever and Dr. Ross exhausted her diagnostic resources. This past Tuesday, CC’s Pam Gibney transported Sirloin to Iowa State University Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital for evaluation and admission through the ER Service. He has been hospitalized ever since.

Sirloin was transferred to Internal Medicine and yesterday they performed taps on his swollen joints to examine the fluid. They sent out tick and fungal panels, did chest X-rays and a cardiac evaluation with an echocardiogram. He has been on fentanyl and ketamine to control his discomfort. This poor kid.

Today we received news of a probable diagnosis and we were expecting this to be the issue. Potential Immune mediated polyarthritis. (IMPA). This is where the body flips a switch and begins to attack the joints, causing profound lameness and swelling. This is significant for Sirloin, due to his giant size.

The doctors have started immunosuppressant therapy with steroids to knock down that crazy immune system. Sirloin’s prognosis will be based on his response to steroids and the hope that his joints have not been permanently damaged. Critter Crusaders has had many of these immune mediated conditions over the years and most have very good results. We are hopeful that Sirloin will as well. We will be getting more information tomorrow from the doctors and will update you all.

The photo below is heartbreaking because you can see this sweet boy’s level of distress and discomfort. Better days to come, buddy. We gotcha, Sirloin.❤️🐾

11/13/2025

A moment of love!
Sweet Dakota from our friends at Animal Welfare Friends in Monticello, shows his true feelings for foster dad, Dave Weekly!

Dakota has been one of our most difficult and challenging cases in 2025 being treated extensively through CC at UW Madison Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Wisconsin. He continues to do well and shows Dave his appreciation for life, and love❤️🐾