This is the whole story on Midnight Moon as of today, July 12, 2023. He was adopted on June 24, 2023, from the Leitchfield Animal Shelter and receives care currently from the Leitchfield Veterinary Clinic.

Last year, I was diagnosed with cancer and was placed on chemo which makes me very weak. As a result, I had to surrender my dog King back to the Leitchfield Animal Shelter where I had adopted him. He was over 60 lbs and neither I nor my mom could handle him for walks on a leash outside. It was horrific, having to surrender him.

He has since been adopted by a very loving family with four kids and a huge fenced-in backyard. He is living his best life and I am so grateful.

For a long time, almost a year, I have been without a pet. Mom did not want a cat in the house. I don’t like reptiles or rodents. Mom has parakeets and that’s her thing, but it’s just not for me. So, I had no pet. My daughter Teresa has been insistent that I get a cat to help with my depression and anxiety. My nurse practitioner also recommended this to me. Finally, Mom relented and I was looking for a cat. Because the Leitchfield Animal Shelter was closest to me and because they had been so kind to me, I decided to look there.

I found Midnight Moon on their website. He was 15 years old so he was a good fit for me, being so weak myself, and he had been surrendered by his owner of 15 years because the owner had to go into a nursing facility. He pulled at my heartstrings and his adoption was approved. At the time, his eye was weeping and I thought that he just had a cold in his eye. I assume now that the shelter workers also thought it was a cold. The photo at right was taken the day I brought him home from the shelter. You can see that his right eye is almost completely closed.

When I adopted him, I was given his medical records. I don’t remember if I even looked at them before I took him home but at some point, I did look at them and noticed that he was not up to date on his rabies shot. I should have taken issue with this at the shelter but I did not. I didn’t want to bother them with it. My big mistake! I opted to just take him to the vet and get his rabies shot.

When I took him to the vet at Leitchfield Veterinary Clinic, I told them that I thought he had a “stress cold.” They said they would do a wellness check. The vet then told me that his eye was gouged at the cornea and that it was very deep. He had an ulcer in the conjunctiva and it was very bad. This showed up after they stained his eye with a fluorescent substance and looked at it with a flashlight with the lights out. Obviously, neither I nor the shelter had been able to tell that his eye was gouged until he was examined. If the shelter had taken him for his rabies shot and a wellness check before I adopted him, they would have known this, but they did not.

I was told that surgery to save the eye would cost $2000 and that he would have to go to a specialist in Louisville for it. I said there was no way I could afford that, so she said it “might” be okay just to treat his eye with medications. It was possible, but not likely, that the eye would heal on its own. The vet told me that if a rupture occurred, he would lose the eye. I assumed she meant that if the ulcer in the conjuctiva ruptured he would have to have his eye removed but I later learned from another vet at the clinic that his eye might still heal in that case. It is if the cornea ruptures that he “might” have to lose his eye.

After that first vet visit, I went immediately to the shelter. When I walked in I said, “I’m not here to ask for money and I am not bringing Midnight back, but….” I explained what was going on and asked if they would share a fundraiser link on their Facebook page if I started one. They assured me verbally that they would and insisted that I just have the eye removed as it would be cheaper. The vet wasn’t willing to just remove his eye since it might heal with the medications, so I started the fundraiser at GiveSendGo. I explained all of my understanding of what that first vet had told me.

Incidentally, I have communication problems because of autism, so keep that in mind. I have trouble interpreting people sometimes. Anyway, I posted what I understood the vet to be telling me and asked for your help. The goal was set at $2000. I explained that if we ended up removing the eye, which would cost a lot less than the goal amount, and if I raised more than his vet bill would ultimately cost, I would donate the proceeds to the Leitchfield Animal Shelter. I raised about $300 (GiveSendGo keeps a portion of what is donated) and that was, at that time, enough to cover his medications, office visit, and a few follow-up rechecks at the vet.

On July 8, I thought his ulcer had ruptured, so I took him back to the vet and posted the following update on the fundraiser page:

Hello, everyone! You may have noticed that I changed the goal amount and that the goal has been met! When I tell you the good news and bad news you will understand. The bad news is the vet thinks that the ulcer has ruptured, though she can’t be 100% positive because she is not the same vet (but in the same office) who looked at Midnight’s eye before. The good news is that the eye can possibly heal even with a ruptured ulcer. I just have to keep giving him the medications, which I have already paid for with your help, and take him in for re-checks every week which costs $21.20 per visit. He could still lose his eye, and they are working on an estimate for how much that would cost me, but for now, I am pausing this campaign as I can now afford to go for re-checks and I am hopeful that his eye will heal. I understood the other vet to be saying that if the ulcer ruptured that he would definitely lose the eye, but that is not the case. So! Since everything is covered so far and I still have a little more to help pay for the re-checks, I am pausing the campaign. I will, however, continue to keep you updated on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you all so much for giving and for praying for Midnight! He is the best cat ever!

At that point, the total donations were $310. Again, GiveSendGo keeps a portion of that. The total bill up to that point was $208.23 for that first visit and $21.20 for the second visit on July 8 for the re-check.

I sent the link to the Leitchfield Animal Shelter on Thursday, July 6th, via Facebook Messenger. No response. On Saturday, July 8, I sent the following message to them via Facebook Messenger:

I think the ulcer in his eye has ruptured. I’m taking him back to the vet this morning.

No response.

After that July 8 vet visit, I sent them this message via Facebook Messenger.

It’s looking like Midnight’s eye is getting better and I can afford the re-checks at the vet. Just letting you know. He could still lose his eye but for now I am pausing the fundraising campaign as I have all the meds I need now and I can afford the re-checks at the vet.

Still no response.

I posted on my Facebook page the link to the fundraiser. In the comments, I tagged the Leitchfield Animal Shelter and mentioned that proceeds would go to them. They never responded to that, either.

Yesterday, July 11, I took him back to the vet for a re-check. By now, I had decided not to donate the proceeds to the Leitchfield Animal Shelter. People were saying to me that I needed to hold the shelter responsible for the vet bill. I had an attorney friend helping me. He recommended I get the copy of the contract that I signed with the shelter, so I called them and asked for that and his medical records. They emailed both to me. Having said that, the “medical record” was not a vet record. It was an itemized accounting of vet records done by the shelter. In other words, it was a shelter document, not a vet document.

It was clear on the shelter document, as well as the vet record that they had given me in the beginning, that he did not have his rabies shot at the time that I adopted him. So, I sent the following email to the shelter.

Do you realize that Midnight Moon was not up to date on his rabies shot when I adopted him? That’s why I took him to the vet after adopting him and it was at the vet that they told me his eye was gouged. They are saying it will be $2600 to save the eye or $730.34 to remove the eye. I asked if you would help me with a fundraiser and was told that you would but no one responded when I sent the link to it.

I have an attorney friend looking into this.

Lisa

They replied with the following message:

Hey Lisa, This is Savannah. I am the assistant director at the Leitchfield Animal Shelter. My employees had seen your email and wanted me to touch base with you! I had done some digging regarding your adoption for Midnight Moon and have found that Midnight Moon was in fact due for his Rabies vaccination a month before his adoption. With that being said, this should have been done before his adoption so you are more than welcome to take him to the Leitchfield Vet Clinic for his vaccination and we will be willing to pay for that! We are sorry about any miscommunication during your adoption, the employee that took care of you that day no longer works here. In this instance, the employee should have informed you about him needing his Rabies (as we still would have paid for it). As for his eye, we are willing to share your fundraiser on our Facebook. However, you did sign a contract stating “I understand that the pet I am adopting is, as far as determined by the Leitchfield Animal Shelter and/or contracted Veterinarian, to be in good health and that the shelter is not responsible for any medical fees incurred AFTER the adoption date.” Midnight was not a free-roamer at our facility, nor was he in physical contact with other cats due to his age and stress level of being surrendered. We have pictures of Midnight Moon a couple days before his adoption where his eyes were fine… If there were any concerns and if you had noticed an issue with his eyes during his adoption it should have been brought up before you took him home. Again, we are sorry this has happened but we are not responsible for any medical fees after adoptions. We are still more than happy to share his fundraiser if you could just send it to us through messager so it would be easier for us to find.

Thank you,
Savannah Miller
Leitchfield Animal Shelter Assistant Director.

I discussed this with my attorney friend and sent them the following in reply:

His eye was weeping when I adopted him. I assumed it was a cold, as I’m sure your employees also did. It was gouged before I adopted him. I found out about it when I took him for his rabies shot, as I said.

I am going to be doing my fundraiser on my own and any proceeds over and above what I need will be donated to the Leitchfield Veterinary Clinic.

Thank you.

Lisa

Then, that same day, July 11, yesterday, I called the clinic and asked if they would accept donations for people who cannot afford pet care. They said they would, so I posted update #4 on the fundraiser page as follows:

Dear Everyone,

Thank you so much for everything you have done so far. Here is the verdict on Midnight Moon’s eye. To save his eye will require taking him to the eye surgeon recommended by my vets at the Leitchfield Veterinary Clinic. The cost for this was confirmed today by my vet after he texted the surgeon. It is $2600 to have the conjunctiva(?) sewn over his eye to protect his cornea. Therefore, I am updating the goal amount today by adding the $310 already donated, which I have spent already on vet bills, to that $2600, plus a bit more because I will have to make follow-up visits as we are trying to save his eye with medication in the meantime. The new goal amount is $3000, of which $310 has already been raised as I write. (I hope you all are good at math.) The cost to remove the eye (if we don’t raise enough to save his eye) is between $624.34 and $730.34 according to the vet. If the medication works to save his eye, anything donated in excess of what I need for his follow-up visits and medication will be donated to Leitchfield Veterinary Clinic to help the pets of people who cannot afford their care. I had originally said that it would be donated to the Leitchfield Animal Shelter but since they are not cooperating with the fundraiser as they pledged to do, I have changed my mind. I do not blame them for his injury, which happened while he was at the shelter, but told them to be more careful in the future before letting people adopt pets that are not healthy. If the cornea ruptures, the eye MIGHT have to be removed and, again, anything received over the amount to pay the bills will be donated to the Leitchfield Veterinary Clinic. Friends assure me that we can quickly raise the money to save his eye. Time is of the essence here. I will do whatever you all want me to do short of asking the cat to suffer. I cannot bear the thought of him suffering. He does have pain medication, by the way. Thank you all again from the bottom of my heart!

Currently, as I write, the grand total GOAL for the fundraiser is $3,000. Someone donated $50 through my blog so I updated the goal to $2950 to reflect that. That was update #5. (Thanks, Ken. And thanks to Linda for donating the $21.20 for the re-check visit on Saturday.) The total raised so far is $575, as I write. I currently owe ScratchPay $208.23 for that first vet visit. My mom actually financed it for me so I owe her for that so that she can pay ScratchPay off.

Midnight appears to be doing okay. He has pain medication and other meds to help his eye heal. We’re monitoring his eye. The vet told me to bring him back in two weeks or if/when his cornea ruptures, whichever comes first.

I thank you all for your love, support, and patience. If you can give via GiveSendGo click here. If you, for whatever reason, cannot use that platform, you can donate on my blog here and I will update the goal amount as I did for Ken’s donation.

I apologize if I’m not correct on cat anatomy or for miscommunication with the vet because of that. I’ve explained everything as well as I can, according to my understanding.

If you can’t give and just want to see a nice “cat video” of Midnight, you can see that below.