5 years ago, a little black cat showed up at our back door demanding to be adopted by us. We named her Lola and made her part of the family. A few months later, she had a litter of 4 kittens in our bedroom closet. We found homes for two of them and kept two of them, Fabio and Dudley. Dudley is the fluffy gray and white one.

From the beginning, Dudley had his own unique personality. He grew into a beautiful sweet cat. He is the mayor of our neighborhood and makes his rounds daily. Several neighbors have told us he hangs out in their yards, everyone loves him. Dudley is clever and dexterous. He figured out how to open our sliding screen door. He scoops food out of his dish with his paw. He often drinks water by dipping his paw in the bowl and licking it clean.

He was the favorite cat of our son, Jake. Jake passed away two years ago, so Dudley is even more special to us.

Last year, we noticed a limp, he was favoring his right front leg. Our vet thought it was tendonitis. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory and Dudley seemed to get better. His limp returned on and off over the past several months, we chalked it up to an injury he may have suffered during one of his neighborhood jaunts.

Six weeks ago, he was unable to put any weight on his leg, so we returned to the vet. X-rays and further tests revealed cancer in the top of the bone in his leg where it meets the shoulder. Cancer has eaten away at the bone causing it to fragment. The good news is that it hasn’t spread to the rest of his body, and the recommended treatment is amputation of his front leg.

Thus far, the diagnostic tests have cost more than $1,600, and the estimated cost of the surgery is $2,000. I have been unemployed for nearly 4 years and our financial resources are strained to the breaking point.

Please contribute what you can so Dudley can live. The prognosis for his survival after surgery is excellent. Cats are marvelously adaptive, and we expect Dudley will enjoy many more years as the three-legged mayor of our neighborhood.

Here is the link to our crowdfund campaign. Please share the link if you can to spread the word.

https://www.youcaring.com/ed-and-terry-colman-582547

Thank you for your kind-hearted generosity.

Ed and Terry