More Good News

The Wife writes to tell me:

"Just spoke to Dr. Bob - he says she looks MUCH better today.
The swelling is down and she dove for her water bowl when they gave it
to her. She is purring too. aaawwww. He says the specialist will be
down to see her tomorrow night as well, but things are looking better.
He also says they're going to try giving her baby food today to see if
she'll eat."

We'll be seeing her tonight around 4:30, so more info after that.

Testing

Blog isn't loading right, for some reason. We'll see if this works...

UPDATE: Seemed to work. Odd.

More Updates

So we went to see Savannah on Saturday, and got to talk to Dr. Bob about her as well.

First, Savannah. She's been getting more and more responsive to us (and people in general). They've been backing off on her pain medication so she's been more aware. She seems to really enjoy being brushed and didn't like us touching her back legs/flanks. She even purred a bit, or at least we think she was - it could've just been raspy breathing, it was hard to tell with the noise in the vet's office. I tried to get some pictures of her looking at us, since she had her eyes mroe open than any time I've seen her. Not sure how well they came out, though, haven't had a chance to look at the pics yet. I'll post those later if they're any good.

Talking to Dr. Bob: he's confident that once we bring the specialist on board (which we should be able to afford now - more on that later) he should be able to guarantee her a decent quality of life for the rest of her life. Yay! We asked him some of the more common questions people have been asking us, as well.

• "How old is she?" Hard to tell, since her mouth is all screwed up, but as far as he can tell from the amount of tartar in her mouth, she's around 5-6. He's guessing, though. That puts her at a lot older than I expected! She's only about 5 pounds, I figured she was a young cat.
• "Is she suffering?" His response to this was (roughly), "She's probably not happy, but suffering? No. I don't think so. You've got to remember, she was hit by a car, in the head. People who are hit by cars like this, we're happy when they can sit up in bed after a week or so. She's recovering, and it probably isn't pleasant, but she's not in ongoing pain." So that's a big comfort to us.

As for the specialist (and costs), the hospital has directly received over $1600 for her care - wow! That said, our bill as of the weekend was over $2K, before we bring the specialist in. We've been doing great with donations and I know we should be able to afford the specialist, but we don't know how much all of this is going to cost us. Please, if you're thinking about donating, send some money, even if it's only $5.

Pictures later!

Savannah Update

Well, the specialists (there are now two of them - a surgeon and a radiologist) weren't available today for the consult after all, so they've got to wait until Monday or Tuesday.

Savannah was more responsive than she's been before, though! I was able to brush her fur (which REALLY needed it) and scratch her and such, and she seemed to really like it. I don't know if I've mentioned before, but I've never had a cat and my interactions with them have been limited, so I'm not sure about kitty body language (unlike dog body language, which I think is pretty easy to read), but she arced her back and kneaded her paws a bit. The vet was encouraged, so that's good! She looked a little better, too, although her face is still messed up. The doc said her jaw would heal quickly, but we still don't know when she'll be okay and ready to come home. (Then we get to introduce her to the birds, and vice versa, and find out if I'm allergic or not)

She had some visual acuity and actually visually tracked people in front of her a bit with her eyes, so she's got some eyesight. We're not sure how much, though, and they were thinking for a while that she might have a detached retina in one eye. [How many things does this cat have to suffer from?] Now it appears that may not be the case, and we know she can see at least a little bit.

Big thanks to the Incredible Hulk for running a Savannah donation drive over at his blog - they sent us $243.97! One of the techs at the hospital said they'd received $750 in donations just today! This cat is going to get absolutely world-class care! My wife and I (and Savannah, of course) can't thank you all enough!

We're going to see her tomorrow - more updates after!

Word Gets Around

• My friend Danielle Corsetto has been keeping readers of her webcomic, Girls with Slingshots, up-to-date on Savannah.
• The Incredible Hulk has been taking donations from his weblog.
• The Adam Hughes Catwoman art auction has info and a link here.
• Comic Art Fans, the website where I post my art collection, has this article.

Thanks everyone!

We've also gotten a TON of donations - over $700 so far! One person sent in $500 - ONE PERSON! The veterinary hospital doesn't tell us specific dollar amounts that they've been donated, but it's more than $500 as well! We were happy to tell them yesterday that we could go ahead with whatever course of care they thought was best, because we could now afford to pay for it! No idea what it's all going to cost, though.

Speaking of the hospital, they'll be doing a group consultation today with a number of specialists, so we should have news to post about her care soon - and it can't be soon enough. We saw her yesterday and she's still groggy from the pain medication. She needs to get use of her jaw back - it's just not comfortable for her to have it wired open all the time.

I can't thank everyone enough for spreading the word and making donations. The response has been absolutely amazing - thanks everyone!

Kitty Auctions

Adam Hughes and Allison Sohn (a well-known comic book artist and his girlfriend, in case you're not in the know) are auctioning off one of Adam's Catwoman cover prelims on eBay.com. Proceeds are going to help Savannah - check it out!

THANKS ADAM AND ALLISON!

A BIG thanks to everyone else who has donated, as well!

UPDATE: Scott Hamilton is auctioning off a custom pinup for Savannah as well.

THANK YOU SCOTT! (whom I don't even know!)

Complications

We went to see Savannah tonight; there've been some complications from her surgery.

Since we didn't have the $1500+ required for a specialist, Dr. Bob attempted to do the reconstruction on Savannah's jaw himself (results of which can be seen in posts below). We had thought it worked, but it appears now that she's having some problems and the bolts in her face are causing an undue amount of swelling. He's going to attempt to remedy the problem but if his fix doesn't work, we're left with two options: find the money for the specialist or put her to sleep.

We really don't want to put her to sleep.

If you've been thinking about donating but weren't sure, now's the time. Want something for your money? I'm auctioning off two pieces of artwork from my collection - one by Adam Hughes, one by Alan Davis and Robin Riggs. Email me your bid, the highest bidder as of Midnight EST on Saturday October 28 gets the piece. Proceeds go towards helping Savannah, of course.

If you've already donated; thank you, thank you, thank you.

North Laurel Animal Hospital
9105 Suite P All Saints Rd.
Laurel, MD 20723
(phone: 301-953-7387)

or go to this post to donate via PayPal (I can't make the buttons work again, for some reason).

Frankenkitty Photos

This poor cat.

You can see the bolts in her jaw that are holding it together (and open). She's going to be stuck in this miserable state, with her jaw wired open, tongue hanging out and drooling, for at least the next several weeks.

More Kitty

Just a thought

We encourage everyone wanting to help out with Frankenkitty to send money to:

North Laurel Animal Hospital
9105 Suite P All Saints Rd.
Laurel, MD 20723
(phone: 301-953-7387)

(with "Savannah" or "Savannah Fogg" (but probably not "Frankenkitty") in the memo line on the check)

However, if you want to help out Heather and I directly (or don't have checks, or can't or won't send money to the vet for whatever reason), you can use the button below to send us money for the cat via PayPal. Any payments sent in this fashion will be used for ongoing care for the cat, be it bills or medicine or food or the like.

For payments from a PayPal balance or checking account
Miracle of miracles - I've hit my receiving limit for the month on this account. (I didn't even know there was a receiving limit on PayPal accounts, but apparently the personal accounts have them) If you still want to donate (and don't let this stop you), please send it to the account below or directly to the veterinary hospital address above! THANK YOU ALL!

For payments from a credit card

(If your payment is denied, it likely means you tried to send a credit card payment to the account that doesn't take them)

Thanks again - everyone has been really, really supportive!

Frankenkitty

Cat updates:

She made it through surgery yesterday! This was a big hurdle, as the veterinarian wasn't sure if she was going to survive it with all the trauma she's been through.

Currently, she's got a bunch of bolts and wires holding her jaws together (and open) - her jaw was broken in at least three different places, and they had problems finding solid places to anchor the pieces to, so a lot of it is essentially glued together. Her tongue was displaced during the accident as well, and is swollen as a result of the surgery. She's also lost at least one tooth. What all of this means is that she's eating through a tube for the next few weeks. She may also have suffered some damage to one eye, although we're not certain about that yet.

We don't know how old she is - the vet should be able to tell from her teeth, but given the amount of mouth trauma she's had to deal with he didn't want to root around in there more than necessary, so we're not sure yet. We also don't know if she's been spayed yet. We're pretty certain she was someone's cat at some point, since she doesn't act feral, but she's been neglected.

Now that all of that depressing news is out of the way - support from friends and family has been AMAZING - the vet's office reports they've taken in over $400 for her care since we got the word out, and many others have said they'll send more in. You guys are the best! She's going to need a lot of ongoing care, so if you were thinking about sending some money and aren't sure, please do! (End of shameless begging)

The best news of all? She may be able to come home as early as this weekend!

Help Save This Cat

A plea from my wife:

On my way in to campus on Tuesday morning, October 18, I found
this sweet kitty on the road I live on in Columbia after she had been hit
by a car. I have taken her to a veterinary hospital in Laurel where I
am told she will require major reconstructive surgery (i.e. expensive) to repair her jaw which has been fractured in three places. She is a very sweet cat, who still tries to purr and knead her blankets when you pet her even though she must be in incredible pain. I am willing to take her in as a part of my family (although my 8 birds, or the Fogg Flock as I call them, may have strong objections!) but I cannot afford the expense of the surgery she requires and I hate to have her put down if she is able to be saved. The in-house veterinarian, Dr. Bob, is not able to perform the complicated surgery required and is waiting to hear back from a specialist who can. Dr. Bob estimates that her surgery alone could cost $1500 or more.

The veterinarian is doing all that he can free of charge in order to help save her and has started a donation jar in his clinic to help see to her further expenses. So, now I am doing the same by placing a donation box at the CCJS front desk in an effort to help save this sweet kitty. Anything you are able to contribute is very gratefully received. Even if it's the change we keep handy for the vending machine, any amount would greatly help. Attached are photos of Savannah (as I have dubbed her) before the doctor taped her head and jaw together. And, just in case she finds herself unable to resist my birds, if you know of anyone who would like the company of a sweet, sweet cat, please let me know!

For those who have asked, to send a check for Savannah, please make it out to: North Laurel Animal Hospital and indicate on the memo line "Savannah Fogg".
Donations may be sent to:
North Laurel Animal Hospital
9105 Suite P All Saints Rd.
Laurel, MD 20723
(phone: 301-953-7387)

Anything you can do would be greatly appreciated.

The Law of Highway Name Conservation

The area I'm in has the following highways:

• 95
• 295 (Baltimore-Washington Parkway)
• 395
• 495 (DC Beltway)
• 695 (Baltimore Beltway)
• 795
• 895

How hard would it be to pick a number that didn't end in 95? Maybe just a little less confusing... I'll admit, I have no idea how highway nomenclature is decided upon, so maybe there's a big formula I'm missing that decrees that all major roads out here must end in 95.

Serenity

Have you seen it yet?

Go see it and let me know what you think.

Seen it? Comment below.