Clive after eating

This video is a little hard to watch but I wanted to give people an idea of what Clive is dealing with. This is what happens to him after he eats and this is what would ultimately end his life prematurely if he didn't get the surgery. This frequent regurgitating causes him to aspirate fluid into his lungs which in turn causes respiratory problems like pneumonia. He has already had pneumonia once and would continue to get infections periodically until eventually his lungs just wouldn't be able to handle the abuse and he would die at a young age. Keep in mind that this is a VERY mild attack for Clive. In the beginning his attacks were much more violent but now with the elevated feedings and him only eating canned food (dry food makes him violently ill almost immediately) and also eating a lot of small meals throughout the day, I manage to keep his attacks short and mild. He is currently eating about 5 times a day. The episodes usually last about 5 minutes - I only taped a small part of it.

Surgery Update...

Clive's surgery is now scheduled for the 8th of February which is less than 2 weeks away. You can read more about Clive and his condition in the post below and on the other pages of this blog.

Clive and his family would really appreciate your contributions to help pay for his surgery. We totally understand that many people are financially unable to make contributions of money, but your contributions of prayers, purrs and pawsitive vibes will also help save Clive's life!

If you would like to make a contribution you can do this by using your PayPal account or credit card and the PayPal button at the right, or you can call Carolina Veterinary Specialist and make a donation with your credit card right over the phone and it will go directly into Clive's account. Just ask for Candy and tell her it's for Clive Watts (his mom's name is Emily). The phone number and address of Carolina Veterinary Specialists is in the right column under the PayPal button, and you can also visit their web site to read about all the good work they do. We will keep you updated on the total amount of the contributions we receive and all contributor's first name will be listed as Clive's Benefactors in the side bar at the right. Every one can also "Follow" Clive to show your support!

Surgery Fees

Clive's surgery will be very expensive. So far the estimate for his surgery is $1800 - $2400. We won't really know the exact amount until the surgery is over. There is a charitable fund connected with Carolina Veterinary Specialists for heart patients, and they are going to help with some of the cost but there will still be a big balance left to pay. Any amount will help, no matter how small.

Anyone can leave comments now, and Clive and his mom would love to hear from you so feel free to leave comments!

Thanks and many purrs from Clive & his family, and keep your paws crossed for Clive to make a speedy recovery!

This is Clive...

When Clive's foster mom found out about his condition, her choices were

1. have him euthanized so he wouldn't suffer
2. take him home, add him to the family, and try to fix him

Well, for Clive's foster mom, having him euthanized wasn't even an option to consider...

Little Clive has a condition called Persistent Right Aortic Arch, which is a congenital vascular abnormality which causes vomiting and anorexia in young animals. The diagram at the left gives you an idea of what's wrong with Clive. Congenital means he was born with it and as he grows the condition will worsen causing more pressure on his esophagus which makes swallowing difficult, and if a kitten keeps vomiting food he won't thrive and will eventually die at a young age. This condition is more often found in puppies...in fact it is so rare in cats that most of the information you can find about it is about dogs, and aortic arch abnormalities also occur in human babies.

The good news is that Clive can be saved with surgery!

So far Clive has been doing pretty well with the special care and canned food his foster mom is giving him. You can see in the photo at the right how Clive has his food elevated so the gravity will help his food go down. But Clive needs to have this surgery as quickly as possible because as he grows the "arch" will continue to put more pressure on his esophagus and make it harder for him to swallow. Because this condition is so rare in cats, Clive's surgeon is consulting with the veterinary school in Raleigh so we are waiting for that before proceeding to schedule Clive's surgery. We should know what the vet school has to say within the next couple of days.

I'll be posting more information on the cost of Clive's surgery and the contributions we've already received from Clive's friends and benefactors, so stay tuned...



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