Sir Noggin continues to do well. His scar from surgery is all healed up and mostly covered by fur. He has a small spot of scar tissue front & center on his forehead, or you'd barely know he'd ever had an encephalocele.

Cornell University has published a press release on Sir Noggin, which you can visit here.
 
 
We have been unable to update Sir Noggin's site due to the unexpected death of a close family member. Sir Noggin, however, is in great spirits, and continues to grow and learn. He is healing nicely. His fur is starting to grow back. He continues to fill our hearts with hope and happiness. Thanks for your inquiries and your love.
 
 
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We spoke with folks from Cornell today and had tears in our eyes as we heard that Sir Noggin is doing inexplicably well. He really is doing better recovering from brain surgery than anything they've ever seen. Sir Noggin is eating a lot, and using the litterbox on his own. He is off of the IVs, taking medicine by mouth, and beginning to act like his old self. He is talking to the doctors, purring, seeking out attention, and playing. We hear he has a bald head, but that the surgeon was able to keep his ears on straight (apparently, there was a good chance they'd end up crooked). Thanks so much for all the well-wishes! Here's to Sir Noggin!
 
 
Sir Noggin has a slight fever and is being treated with antibiotics by IV. He is also sedated and being given pain medications so that his body can heal before he gets back to his playful antics. We hear that we'll be getting photos of his time in ICU in the future, though we don't have any to share just yet. The fever is no cause of terrible alarm right now; it is slight and hopefully the antibiotics will fight any infection that would otherwise pose a threat. The surgery was described to us as having gone exactly as intended. We'll keep you posted.
 
 
Sir Noggin is out of surgery and recovering in ICU.

He has a long road ahead of him and we'll let you know when there's more information, but for now all we know is that the doctors were able to remove the encephalocele and place the titanium plate.

Thanks again for all your support!
 
 
For some reason, since we reached the deadline for the last ChipIn widget, we cannot figure out how to update it or change it to offer those of you wanting to donate to Noggin's continued care the opportunity to do so.

I've started a new widget and we really do appreciate all your support. Noggin may need more expensive tests in the future to track his progress. Right now it's a big waiting game. We hear he is doing well in ICU at Cornell, making friends with everybody and finding toys everywhere. He begins a long day of tests and surgery at 9am tomorrow. We'll post an update in the evening once we hear how things go.

Please keep him in your prayers tonight and in the morning!

The Masters
 
 
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Sir Noggin traveled (with Greta) to Cornell today, where they met Dr. Dewey. After meeting a bunch of delightful veterinary students & the other vets, they talked about treatment plans for Sir Noggin.

As the plan currently stands, Sir Noggin will have blood work, CT scans, and his surgery on Wednesday. At this point, there's a good chance Sir Noggin will not need the shunt, as it seems he may not actually be dealing with hydrocephalus. The team will remove his encephalocele and protect his brain with a custom titanium plate. Hopefully, this will allow Sir Noggin to continue to lead a normal, happy life. He's doing well now, staying in ICU and probably meowing his heart out. If all goes well, he'll be home some time next week.

We miss him! Coming home to an empty hallway was hard enough. Waking up without my face being licked as soon as the alarm clock goes off will be a real challenge.

Thanks so much for your kind words and prayers. Sir Noggin is really lucky to have such a big family to look after him. Love to you all.

The Masters
 
 
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Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the individuals, families, and guilds who helped contribute as much as they were able to Sir Noggin's medical expenses, and to organizations like the ASPCA's Bergh-Memorial Hospital, the Port City Veterinary Referral Hospital in Portsmouth, NH, and the Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital in Woburn, MA, Sir Noggin has spent the past few months growing, learning, playing, exploring, and climbing, behaving very much like any other kitten his age.
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Your donations have enabled us to provide Sir Noggin with a quality of care we could never have achieved on our own. Instead of getting his vaccines at a local pet shop's affordable clinics, we were able to take Sir Noggin to specialists who could check in on his brain's development and progress while performing regular procedures, to make sure that everything was alright, and that we were continuing to move forward with Sir Noggin's best interests in mind. Your donations enabled us to get this website, which in turn made securing more donations easier. It has also helped us afford travel expenses to get to the hospitals & doctors willing to help us at a reduced rate, or for free, ultimately saving money for his care. Your donations also helped us buy medicine that we keep in our home which we give Sir Noggin sporadically to block his pain when he has a headache, such as in the video. With this medication, we have been able to vastly reduce his discomfort; he hasn't experienced a day as bad as in the video in well over a month.
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Because of PayPal's international exchanges having fees, and because of several larger donations not clearing for some reason, we haven't actually raised as much as the ChipIn widget indicates. We've had just over $3,800 in donations clear into our PayPal account, and we've spent roughly $1,700 on all of his blood work, testing, medical imaging, and medication, as well as transportation and this website, so far.

Cornell University is going to perform surgery on Sir Noggin next week. They'll be removing the encephalocele, which we thought to be a cyst originally, placing a shunt in his brain to redirect the fluid building up in there and placing pressure on his brain, and then they'll be creating an artificial skull to protect his brain, so that he doesn't risk a concussion or worse while acting like a normal cat (which is precisely how he prefers to act). Cornell will be helping greatly, financially, as well, but these are tough times for everybody and so we find ourselves very close to being able to fix this kitten, but still in need of more aid.
 
 
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Thanks for your continued support of our kitten, Sir Noggin!

We are getting very close to Sir Noggin's surgery at Cornell. The doctors are going to have a lot of careful, delicate work to do on our guy and they're going to keep him with them for a week to monitor him closely. It is an anxious time for us because there seem to be so many things that could go wrong. We love him so much and surgery is what he needs to have a safe and normal future, but there are very real risks, too. Your support has been amazing through all of this.

The new estimate for the brain surgery alone is $4,500, so we'll be changing our ChipIn widget to reflect the new goal. Thanks to all of you who have already donated, helped spread the word, or offered us your kind words and prayers. Sir Noggin has a whole family out there, all over the world, sending good thoughts his way, and if any kitten can overcome these odds, it's him. He is growing, learning, and playing every day. His headaches still come every week or two, and when they do, it is very evident that he needs this treatment. We love him so much and are hoping for the best!

Thanks again!
The Masters Family