Three more donations have come in this week through Paypal. Thank you's go out to Katherine, Luka, and Orange-Haired Boy! You guys are awesome! Be sure to check back tomorrow for Wampi's 2nd Cast call ... I'll be adding your names as well as a few more people who have been daily supporting this site.

Also, I know I posted this pic yesterday but I played with it some and have added our beloved "I love NY" to Wampi's pic (thank you for the suggestion, OHB). Everyone seems to love this one so I've decided to make some buttons and other images out of it, so that people can use to link to their site. I should have them done tomorrow too.

Peace.

Wampi is now using the side of his cage as a scatching post.

Wampi standing up despite the cast! He's healing! Next vet visit & cast change: Saturday, July 2.

Almost 200 visitors to the site yesterday! w00t!

Wampi showing off his autographed cast. Tthe lower shaved leg is the one that he had surgery on.

Last night, Wampi sat up and looked out his cage, through the screen and out the window. He must have mewed and mewed for at least 10 minutes. He wanted to get OUT and play. Yep, he's definitely getting better! I pet him for a long time and he calmed down. =^..^=

So in the spirit of looking ahead to Wampi frisking around the apartment once again, I wanted to show two of his "pre-accident" play spots.

Evenflo Activity Center -- he loved to hang out in this activity center that we got for our daughter, Avalon. Minutes after I brought it home from the store, Wampi thought for sure it was for him and immediately descended upon it.

Wampi also loved laying on her play mat. It's ironic that the mat in this picture is laying exactly where his cage is right now. Instead of laying on a colorful mat under baby toys staring out the window, now Wampi is laying in his dog cage, with a cast on, and longing to get a closer look at the world. (makes me sad)

Last week, I made flyers and cards with Wampi's picture and url so I can help spread the word about this website. You can help by spreading the word and getting your friends and fellow cat-lovers to bookmark and visit the site daily.

It really does help!

Last week, the site earned a little more than $100 with almost 600 visitors. That's petty amazing since this site has only been up 2 weeks. Thanks again everyone and please, spread the word! With your help, I can get Wampi the care he needs and pay off these vet bills. =)

My sister sent the above get-well card for Wampi ... on the inside it reads "See, some one else knows how you feel." It was just too cute so I had to share it with everyone. When Wampi gets a bath, that's just about how he looks too!

The recycling can day went well ... 124 cans, bottles, and 2-liter plastic containers in all. Let me tell you, they felt a lot heavier in that hefty bag. Maybe I'll build up some muscles while I'm raising funds for Wampi. =)

Recycling cans day! I'm going this afternoon to turn in cans ... I have a hefty bag stuffed full of cans and bottles that people have been giving me through the past 2 weeks. It's such a cool thing to open my apartment door and see a bag of cans hanging there! There must be at least 150 cans, maybe more.

I'll have an update on my recycling trip tomorrow.

And thanks go out to Jeanette in Oregon for her donation! You are awesome!

Welcome to Wampi's 1st Friday Cast Call ... in the following 2 pictures, I tried to showcase all the names of people I knew had donated, are daily visiting the website, or are recycling and donating to help Wampi. If I've left anyone off, please email me at savewampi@gmail.com or just leave a comment and let me know. I know there are A LOT of you out there visiting ... the site is getting around 100+ hits a day! We would love to hear from you!. Have a great weekend! =)

Showcasing many donors, and recyclers, and Wampi supporters ...

showing more of you wonderful people! (Please note that I started to run out of room so not everyone has their state showing next to their name, especially in the former photo.)

Wampi is definitely getting better. He's able to move around a little bit in his cage and he's trying to groom himself. I think the antibiotics are really helping and of course, all his bedrest!

Another donation came in yesterday ... $50 from Katherine ... Thank you!

Already a 188 cans have been recycled in Wampi's honor. Pretty cool!

The doctors say he needs to wear it to keep him from biting the surgical scars as they heal. He looks like he hates it, but he seems to be tolerating it really well. I swear he looks like he's almost smiling in this picture!

Two more donations came in ... $25 & $65. Thank you Lily and Sandra! The donation section to the right is updated.

My neighbor Judy signed Wampi's cast tonight and that gave me an idea. "Friday Cast Call" ... I'm going to write down the first names of all the donors on Wampi's cast and post the picture of his cast on Fridays. He'll get his cast changed about every 2 weeks, maybe once a week so the names will keep changing. If you are a DONOR, RECYCLER, OR A WAMPI SUPPORTER IN GENERAL just email me or leave a comment here with your first name and state, and I'll add it to the cast so you can see it on Friday!

I figure decorating his cast with the the first names of "Friends of Wampi" might cheer him and me up ... besides, it's a reminder of how beautiful and generous people can be.

Peace.

Wampi is beautiful. And so are all the people out there that have visited my site in the last 10 days ... there have been almost 500 hits since I started this site! Thanks to my neighbors, friends, family, and everyone else who considers themselves a friend of Wampi. May you have a beautiful day!

Wampi has a bone infection and has to be on antibiotics for another 6 weeks. (The shaved leg is the one he had surgery on, while the cast is protecting the other break for which we couldn't afford surgery.)

Wampi has to live in a dog cage for 2 months to heal from his injuries. If he isn't kept very still, his body might reject the steel plate implanted in his leg to keep the bones together.

Some people have asked me why did I put ads on Wampi's blog. Well, the answer is simple. I hope to make some money to help pay off Wampi's vet bill which is in the ballpark of $5,000. Some people have made PayPal donations, others have sent cans my way ... but the other simple way to help is to visit this site's sponsors.

Thanks again to all you good-hearted people out there ... after what happened to Wampi, I was so disheartened. But so many people have opened themselves up and expressed concern ... and are helping! THANK YOU ... THANK YOU ... THANK YOU.

UPDATE 7/19/05: Due to malicious ad-clickers I have suspended the Google Ads. If you want to help out, consider donating through PayPal (it accepts credit cards too), recycling cans, bottles, old cell phones (www.oldcellphones.com), or just giving up your cafe latte at Starbucks for a day and sending the money to Wampi. Check out my E-Bay auctions in the sidebar too.

I may put some ads back on the site later, but for now until I can make sure that they won't be abused, www.savewampi.blogspot.com is AD FREE.

UPDATE 8/9/05: I put some CrispAds on the page at the bottom of the sidebar, but if it looks like anyone is abusing them I will pull it right away to conserve the account. Please don't abuse my ads!!!

The vet called and said his bone culture showed a serious infection and he needs to stay on antibiotics for a full month. Originally, they said he would only need to be on them for 2 weeks. And his appointment is for Sat. at noon, not today.

Another donation has come in! $50 closer to the overall goal. =)

I think I will assess my belongings and start E-Bay auctions next week. I live in a small NYC apartment. I don't need that much stuff! I have my wonderful husband, my beautiful daughter, and Wampi on the road to recovery. I just need to pay for everything.

Thanks to everyone who has been emailing me and sending in donations. If you want to help but can't financially, please send out this url www.savewampi.blogspot.com and ask people to visit my site. RECYCLE CANS! HUG YOUR KITTIES!

Wampi goes back to the vet Friday to have his cast checked. We also find out about the bone culture. His leg feels warm ... I'm calling the vet later today. I hope he's ok.

OK, so I have no idea how much these things cost ... probably the entire amount I need to pay for my cat's surgery... who knows. But I just had to post this picture here to show how some people really pamper their pets. This one here is called the "harem" one of a bunch of "pet tuffets" that I had no idea existed.

Some people are sick, sick, sick.

In the past few days, I've received emails relating horror stories of cats being thrown out of cars and onto busy highways; feral cats with a bounty on their heads; pet cats and dogs stolen and sold into animal medical research (the notorious "free to good home" scam); and used to "live train" fighting dogs .

And of course, there are people that will throw cats and dogs off of roof tops. Sick bastards.

Here you can see the cast which is protecting the leg we couldn't afford to have surgery on, and the shaved leg which is the one that had an open fracture and was corrected with surgery. The surgical scar runs from the inside of the shaved thigh all the way down to his ankle. In a few days when he starts itching from the scar, I'll have to put one of those Elizabethan animal collars on him...oh he will not be happy! Anyone have tips on how to help a pet cope with one of these??

OK, things are going well with Wampi. I have to hand feed him and help him drink water throughout the day. And since his back two legs are recovering, I have to help him make it in the cat pan. But you know, I'm so glad to do it. I'm just so frickin happy that he's alive.

All the bills aren't in on his surgery and there are more coming for his follow-up care, but a few donations have come in. Thanks to everyone who is recycling and donating!

Check out www.kittenwar.com. It's addictive. Sorta like that hot-or-not site but just for cats -n- kitties.

Once Wampi's approved for kitty battle, you can view him and his competition at: http://kittenwar.com/kittens/17912/

I just wanted to say thanks to April, my next door neighbor who came with me to the Animal Medical Clinic last night to pick up Wampi. She's an amazing person who cares deeply about Wampi and like many of our neighbors, was horrified at last Saturday's accident. With so many wonderful people rooting for Wampi, I'm sure he's going to recover quickly.

Thanks again, April.

Wampi had his surgery yesterday and I brought him home tonight. I got him set up in a small dog cage because he has to stay as still as possible for the next 2 months so his bones can heal correctly from the surgery. I'll post more later with all the details (I have to take care of the baby now ... she's teething) but basically they put a steel plate in the leg with the really bad break. The other leg probably should have had surgery, but they said it could probably heal on its own. I took out a loan and got a small grant but even with all that, it couldn't cover the care of another leg.

So Wampi is home ... all bandaged up and on his way to recovery. Now, we have to raise the money to pay off the surgery bill and we need money for his follow up care.

More later. Avalon needs me now!

This xray really shows how bad his back right leg is compared to the left one. Ouch.

Here you can see both the tibia and fibula are broken. Snapped like twigs.

The surgeon will call in the morning to let me know how he did over night. Also, I'll find out exactly what time his surgery is today.

I saw Wampi for the first time today since his accident. He's lost a lot of weight and his fur is matted. As you can see from the photo, his back 2 legs are in casts. The closer one that looks bent has a simple fracture and it will heal on its own. But the middle cast, which is on his back right leg, well it holds his bones in place so they don't break through the skin again. That leg is broken in 7 places and is in really bad shape. His front leg is bandaged but it isn't broken ... it holds an IV catheter in place.

Before his accident, this was his favorite place to sleep. I think he wanted to be near me while i worked. Even though I had no room for my feet anymore, I never had the heart to move him. He was so adorable watching me from below. Now I miss that furball warming my toes.

We live in one of the biggest cities in the world, Manhattan, and yet there are only a small handful of board certified orthopedic surgeons who can do the surgery Wampi needs to survive. I am in shock. And the surgeon that was going to work on Wampi, well, she's on vacation for the next 3 weeks.

So tomorrow morning I am going to the vet hospital to pick up Wampi and take him to a new vet hospital uptown where the surgeon will evaluate him and decide on when to do the surgery. And of course, give us an estimate on the bill.

They told us to expect this place to be "a lot more expensive." But we have no choice, do we? There is no surgeon at the ASPCA who can do the operation, this lower-cost doctor is going on vacation, and Wampi's life hangs in the balance.

Meanwhile, he sits in a cage with his shaved legs, casts & splints, IV in his little kitty arm, and pain medicine to keep him from going mad. I can't even stand the thought.

I'm really hoping we can fund raise to help off set this bill. The current vet said they would look into a program with NY Saves to see if they could help. I'll keep everyone posted.

Wampi before his accident.

Wampi -- our beloved Maine Coon cat -- was thrown off the roof of our apartment building in NYC on June 4.

He fell a total of 6 flights.

I don't know how he got there. I don't know how long he layed on the ground bleeding before a neighbor found him. I don't know how he survived, but he did.

His right back leg was basically shattered, broken in 7 places while his back left leg has a simple fracture and his leg was dislocated. He's been at the vet hospital in Alphabet City since Saturday and initially they thought he might be able to heal his leg on his own with the help of it being set with splints and a cast.

But the break on his right leg is so bad, that when they took off the bandages this morning to put a permanent cast on (I was planning on taking him home today) they said the bone broke through the skin. Now they are worried that he will get an infection ... he may lose his leg ... worse ... he may die.

They said he needs surgery to put the bones back together and even though we can't afford it and we just had a baby girl almost 5 months ago, we said go ahead. We'll figure out a way to pay for it. Wampi is part of the family. We love him so much and it breaks my heart to see him suffering. They say the surgery should correct it and save his leg and his life.

I'm waiting for the vet to call now.