09/05/2025
Pet Angel currently has 8 cats with 3 different cases of medical needs, and we are humbly asking for your assistance in providing Sunny, Bunny, Sesame, Bert, Ernie, Grover, Elmo & Rocco the care they need. This post is going to be long, as I want to explain each cat’s individual medical concerns and what we have already done for them, as well as what we plan to provide for them moving forward, but I will be breaking down prices for everything at the end of this post to help donors better understand where every cent of your donation is going.
To donate, please visit: https://givebutter.com/CircleOfCareFor8
Sunny is our 9 year old orange tabby, and he has been with Pet Angel since 2022. Sunny has periodontal disease and is a bonded pair with Bunny. At the end of August, Sunny started drooling. Thinking it was something related to his periodontal disease, we took him in for a check-up. It wasn’t his periodontal disease; Sunny has ulcers in his mouth. Our vet kept him overnight to do bloodwork and to give him sub-q fluids. He came back to the rescue while we waited for his bloodwork to come back, but since the ulcers in his mouth are making it hard for him to eat, he spent the weekend in a foster home with one of our volunteers but ended up hospitalized again for more sub-Q fluids. On September 3rd, Sunny’s bloodwork came back, confirming the diagnosis we feared:
Sunny is in Kidney Failure.
Sunny is on a slew of medications, scheduled to go back to the vet for more sub-q fluids, and is on a special diet to give him the extra boost he needs. We have decided to remove Sunny from being up for adoption, and he will be entering hospice care in a foster home with our amazing angel of a volunteer, where Sunny will get to spend all the rest of his days in a home, loved, and with the ability to have more hands-on care than we can provide in our facility.
Bunny is our 12-year-old Tuxedo, and Sunny’s best friend. He also joined our rescue in 2022 with Sunny. Bunny also has periodontal disease and is blind in one of his eyes. Since Bunny is bonded with Sunny, we have decided that Bunny will go with Sunny to his foster home, and have decided to take him down from adoption at this time as well. However, we have noticed that Bunny is showing a few signs that give us a bit of concern. He drinks a ton of water and is fairly skinny. Granted, he is 12 years old and has periodontal disease, but we want to confirm that Bunny is well otherwise, so we have scheduled Bunny to go in and get some bloodwork done on Monday, September 8th. If the bloodwork shows Bunny needs extra vet care, we will be able to provide him that care while he is in the foster home with Sunny. Bunny is violently obsessed with cat trees, and since he may be spending the rest of his days in his foster home, we are also fundraising a fee to purchase a brand new cat tree to send with Sunny and Bunny to their foster home for them to enjoy all the rest of their days.
So to summarize, Sunny is in Kidney Failure and entering Hospice Care. Bunny has bloodwork scheduled. And the two will be entering foster care through our organization later in September to live out the rest of their days together, in a loving home, with supportive care, and hopefully a cat tree of their very own (which would be their DREAM come true- they love cat trees!)
Now, let’s move on to the Sesame Street Gang.
In the middle of May, Sesame and her litter of 6 kittens (Snuffy, Bert, Ernie, Rocco, Elmo & Grover) were inhumanely dumped outside our rescue. Sesame was locked inside a teeny tiny cat cage, while her 1 month-ish old kittens were shut inside a rubber tote with no airholes. They were left in the sun in our parking lot on the first 80 degree day in Frankenmuth, Michigan (where we were located). After discovering Sesame and her kittens, they entered foster care until they were big enough to be in the rescue, and they came back to our facility about a month and a half later. Sesame weaned her babies, and went to go get fixed, while her babies awaited to hit the proper weight so they could go get fixed as well. In July, one of Sesame’s sons Snuffy, suddenly fell ill. We rushed him to the vet for immediate vet care and our vet discovered his lungs were filled with fluid. Even with receiving immediate vet care, Snuffy devastatingly passed away within 48 hours, leaving us all heartbroken. At the time, with the knowledge we had, we believed this was a sudden case of walking pneumonia. Snuffys sudden passing prompted us to take the rest of the Sesame Street Kittens to the vet to receive X-Rays to see how they were doing.
Their X-rays looked strange. Their hearts are enlarged, and we were concerned they all had walking pneumonia. So we treated them all as such, under our vets care, and brought them back 2 weeks later for another round of X-Rays to see how they were fairing, taking their mom Sesame along with. These 2nd set of X-Rays showed their hearts still looked strange. Enlarged. Not how they should look on an X-Ray. So one of the kittens, Bert, along with their mom Sesame, stayed for bloodwork and ultrasounds to check for a condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM.) HCM is the most common heart condition in cats, causing the heart muscle, particularly the left ventricle, to thicken, leading to stiffness and impaired heart function.
On September 3rd, we got the results back on both Sesame and Bert.
Sesame is negative for HCM, but she does have an enlarged heart. She is cleared to go up for adoption, but will need vet check-ups twice a year and potentially may need bloodwork and another ultrasound later in life if she is showing signs of HCM. When she goes up for adoption, we will be looking for a family for her that can give her all the care she may need in her future if she does develop HCM down the line. (Keep an eye out for her adoption post soon!)
Bert, one of Sesame’s sons, tested positive for HCM. Our vet is exploring care for kittens with HCM for us to begin with Bert, but in the meantime, we would like to test his 4 brothers for HCM to confirm their diagnosis as well. The way our vet will test them for HCM is an ultrasound on their heart, meaning Ernie, Grover, Rocco and Elmo each need their own ultrasound. Once our vet figures out the care for the kittens heart condition, we may need funds for that care, but for now we are just looking to raise the funds for the 2 ultrasounds we already done, as well as the 4 we need to have done.
The Sesame Street Kittens will be going in to get fixed in October (which we already fundraised for back in may) but we did hold off on getting them fixed until we confirmed a heart condition so we knew the risk before putting them under. It is not only Pet Angel’s policy that all of our cats are adopted already fixed, but it is also required by Michigan State Law, so all 5 will be getting fixed later in October.
To Summarize. Sesame, the mama cat, has an enlarged heart and all 6 of her kittens inherited it. Sesame does not have HCM, but is at risk for developing it in the future, and will be going up for adoption, looking for a family that will provide her any care she may need moving forward. Her son Snuffy passed from HCM, but we thought it was pneumonia because we did not know HCM was a concern for this litter of kittens at that time. One of her other sons, Bert, is positive for HCM, which has prompted us to decide to test the remaining 4 kittens (Elmo, Rocco, Grover & Ernie) for HCM via ultrasound. They will be getting fixed in October, but we already have the funds for their neuter.
To better understand the funds we are raising, and so you as a donor know where every cent of your donation is going, I have broken down everything we need for all 8 cats care below. Anything with a * is something we have not done yet; anything without a * is something that has already been done.
The breakdown is as follows:
• Sunny’s medication: $235
• *Sub Q Fluid Fees for Sunny: ($35 per drip, 10 trips) $350
• Sunny’s hospital stay from 8/30- 9/3: $500
• Sunny’s Tiki Cat liquid diet food: $80
• *Bloodwork for Bunny on 8/8: $100
• *Fund to purchase a brand new cat tree for Sunny & Bunny’s foster home: $200
• Sesame’s Vet Fees (popped stitch after spay, bloodwork & Ultrasound): $337
• Bert’s ultrasound and bloodwork: $366
• *Grover ultrasound fee: $250
• *Ernie ultrasound fee: $250
• *Elmo ultrasound fee: $250
• *Rocco ultrasound fee: $250
Total: $3,168
Back in 2023, Pet Angel changed our specialization to care for the cats that require extra care, bonded pairs, shy, elderly, and obese cats. However, nothing can prepare us for 8 cats being diagnosed with 3 unique medical cases all at once. As a licensed non-profit, we often ask for help, but we need assistance now more than ever to be able to provide all 8 of these precious souls with the medical care they require.
You can make a donation online at: https://givebutter.com/CircleOfCareFor8
Every cent of any donation made through our fundraiser link above comes back to Pet Angel Adoption & Rescue, and will go directly toward Sunny, Bunny, Sesame, Bert, Ernie, Grover, Rocco & Elmo’s vet care. The website we use for this fundraiser, givebutter, does NOT keep a percentage of the donations raised, as long as you (the donor) choose to cover the processing fee when you complete your donation. Meaning every cent you donate will help us provide the care for these 8 precious souls.
As always, We thank each and every one of you so much for not only taking the time to read this very long message, but for your support, your donation, your shares, and your love.
