Please help save Runty the Magnificent!

Meet Runty the Magnificent, the world’s most handsome and friendly cat.
He even instantly wins over non-cat lovers!

But he has a painful, unusual and awkward problem that is potentially life-threatening without further specialist investigation and surgical intervention.

It’s something that is also difficult to talk about politely, so I’ll choose my words carefully and spare everyone the graphic photos, and leave it to your imaginations to recognise how traumatic and serious his condition is. If you can imagine having permanent haemorrhoids, you have some idea of what poor little Runty is dealing with, in his amazingly tolerant Ragdoll way.

So Runty and I are looking for Save The Amazing Runty Supporters that we will recognise with deep and eternal gratitude as absolute super-S.T.A.R.S.!

Here's the long version of his Runty's saga: Bred by my brother and sister-in-law, the runt of his Ragdoll litter of six proved to also be the sweetest and smartest (including the quickest to toilet-train!). He followed me around like a little lamb, so when his siblings went to other homes, I couldn’t let him go, and Runty became the purrfect Christmas present for a bachelorette living alone.

Having my first pet in 25 years soon turned into a nightmare however. My fastidious little boy developed a when aged only five months. The vet diagnosed a prolapsed rectum. The part of his bottom that should’ve stayed on the inside was everting after he toileted. Initially after the vet tried unsuccessfully to manually push the tissue back in, she advised me that if it didn’t retract, he would need surgery.

I left with a quote for $800 that I knew I couldn’t afford due to my limited income as a freelance writer. So I was really relieved when Runty’s bottom went back to normal a few hours later. After that it recurred only intermittently and resolved of its own accord.

But when my elderly mother suffering Alzheimer’s Disease was hospitalised after a serious fall, I flew to Cairns 1700km (1000 miles) away and left Runty with my wonderful neighbours, who with their kids had also fallen in love with him. Two weeks later though, Runty’s bottom had come out and hadn’t gone back in for several days.

I made the decision to fly Runty to Cairns and took him to a vet there, who after being unable to push the tissue back in, did a pursestring – anaesthetising Runty, replacing the tissue and putting in a stitch to hold his bottom closed to give the inflammation time to subside.

But $206 and just 24-hours later, just after we’d arrived back at my brother’s, we were back to square one.

The cheapest option would have been to put him down, but I couldn’t face that, since he was so young and such a sweetheart. Because I’d been told colopexy surgery, in which the colon is fixed to the abdominal wall, would provide a permanent fix to the problem, despite the cost being more than I would spend on anything for myself, I bit the bullet and immediately organised the surgery. Since my mum was still in hospital unable to walk or feed herself, I sent Runty back to Brisbane unaccompanied for the specialist surgery (a lovely friend ferried him from the airport to the clinic).

The surgeon told me based on the history I’d given him, he believed the colopexy would be 100 per cent successful. So I was extremely disappointed then when told a couple of days later his rectum had everted again.

Having committed so much emotionally and financially already to Runty’s recovery, I found myself on a slippery slope of throwing good money after bad… Another pursestring was done for an additional $100 but this time left in three days. A faecal PCR screening test for $148 was also recommended to determine whether any parasites or bacteria were causing the problem. All that was found was a bacteria that causes diarrhoea (which he’d developed after the surgery), so antibiotics were prescribed - it didn't provide a reason for the prolapse though.

Sadly, after the pursestring sutures were removed the issue continued to recur after Runty toileted, so then corticosteroids (Prednisone) were prescribed. They kept it under control for a while, but it still meant poor Runty had a bottom that was everted for hours or days at a time, so he also has to virtually live in an Elizabethan collar to stop him irritating the area more by trying to clean himself. This also causes him further distress because he can’t groom any other part either (he definitely was one of the cats that spend a third of their day grooming!). And I was cleaning up after he dragged his bottom around instead - not a good situation when you have carpets!

Compounding the stress for me has been the situation’s dovetailing with my mother spending 10 weeks in hospital and now requiring extra care at home that we are struggling to provide, so I have had to begin the onerous and depressing search for a suitable aged care home.

While Runty’s situation was far from ideal, it was manageable, but now three months after the surgery, and despite doubling the Prednisone dose, his rectum has remained prolapsed for the past week, and become increasingly inflamed and engorged, a situation that can’t be allowed to continue. On top of the discomfort, the longer the tissue is exposed the greater the chance of infection and it dying.

The surgeon said this is the first time he has experienced the colopexy, which cost all up $1195, failing. I asked if he could revise the surgery but he declined and because he couldn’t offer any answers, referred me to a specialist.

I am now looking at $185 just for the consultation, and starting over with hefty expenses if further surgery is required. I’ve been told that the fees for the initial surgery were actually exceptionally low, and that any surgery by a specialist is likely to be around $3000.

Since this is more than I earn in several months, I am appealing to the kindness of strangers who also feel that a beautiful, affectionate and adventurous kitten deserves a pain-free life – and to grow up – rather than having to be put down. I don’t want to give up on Runty who is still only 10 months old – he has been an adorably loving pet and brought so much joy to my life through his cuddles, antics and conversations (he is such a talker!) It would break my heart to euthanase him and I am desperate to avoid this choice. I hope you can help. I (and Runty) would be deeply and eternally grateful.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INTEREST AND ANY SUPPORT YOU CAN OFFER.

Kind regards,

Olivia & Runty the Magnificent