Help Put Monkey’s Guts Back Where They Belong!

Meet Flying Spider Monkey.

This chunky monkey was facing euthanasia in a New Jersey shelter due to overcrowding and medical issues that prevented her from being immediately adoptable. Lucky for Monkey, The Philly Kitty Rescue (who has a huge heart for special needs kitties) stepped up and saved her from what was likely a sad final chapter in her Book of Life!

Once Monkey was safe with us in foster care, it wasn't hard to see the severity of her medical issues. What the shelter reported as large inguinal hernia really should have been called a SUPER GINORMOUS hernia. This "hernia" actually turned out to be a congenital defect of her abdominal wall. In regular person language, Monkey has no abdominal muscle to hold her guts in. They just hang freely with no protection from the crazy everyday dangers of the world.

That ain't cool!

She also was born with only half of her back right foot (she only has one toe pad) which gives her a limp, but as you can see, she jumps and flies with the greatest of ease!! Nothing, not even missing toes and abdominal walls, slows this kid down.

After an ultrasound and surgical consult at Metropolitan Veterinary Associates, the amazing veterinary team gave us a couple options for Monkey's next few chapters in her Book of Life.

1. Do nothing.

Monkey would continue to grow, her guts and bladder would continue to bulge and hang. Other organs would start to push down into the space where her guts should be. She wouldn't be able to be spayed because there would be no abdominal wall to sew back together (and if she ever got pregnant...holy moly...that would be awful in so many ways). She would have the very real possibility of injuring her organs by just being a cat...running, jumping, etc. She also faces the potential of having her intestines and bladder get twisted since they are unsupported, which could cause a blockage that could end up being deadly. Needless to say, we weren't fans of this option.

2. Do surgery.

The surgeon is fairly sure there will not be nearly enough abdominal wall to close up this SUPER GINORMOUS defect so Monkey will likely need to have a surgical mesh sewn in. Before she sews the mesh in, she would "tack" Monkey's organs to her insides so they wouldn't twist on themselves, decreasing the possibility of that happening in the future. She would also spay Monkey. There is always a possibility that Monkey's body will reject the mesh as a foreign material, but this option is still worth trying...because it could be super successful! The best time to do this surgery will be when Monkey is about six months old when her tissues are not so fragile. Her other organs will continue to push down as she gets older, so it is important to do the surgery before it is too difficult to push them back where they belong.

Surgeries like this don't come cheap...but we are committed to providing her with the best possible chance at a long and happy Book of Life. We know there are a thousands faces out there that need help. They show up in our news feed every day, too. And when we can, we help! We save some of these faces so they aren't euthanized, which is so rewarding for both the rescue and for our supporters. For us to keep saving kids like Monkey and giving them the best chance at life, we need help.

Monkey's surgery is estimated to cost from $3200 - $4400 depending on the complexity and how she recovers (estimate in photos). We know this is SUPER GINORMOUS...just like the hole in her abdomen, but we HAVE TO TRY.

One dollar. Two dollars. Five dollars. Or more. All donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE because The Philly Kitty is a 501c3 doing what they can thanks to donations from folks like you.

Can't donate right now? We are running this fundraiser up until the tentative date of Monkey's surgery which is in early September. Donate later. We will remind you. :)

Can't donate at all? That's okay! Can you share for Monkey? Maybe some of your friends will see it and share (or donate) so that we can help Monkey continue to FLY HIGH for many, many years to come.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this whole story, and for taking the time to share for our Flying Spider Monkey. Her future depends on us.

MAKE. IT. GREAT.

xoxo