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.

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.

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.

We have just enough, right now, to make our initial payment for the surgery at Cornell on Monday. Greta will be driving down there on her own (I just began work at a new job and cannot take the day off) to drop of our guy and leave him in their care. The surgery, which we once estimated would cost around $3,000, is now estimated to cost about $4,500 (including boarding Noggin in intensive care). This is all still an estimate, and we won't know anything more specific until the surgery is complete. They may need to take additional images or something, adding to the cost. We would love to raise about $500 more, at least, before we pick Sir Noggin up after the surgery, to make sure we can cover the fees without breaking the bank. That being said, we are very close. We are close to raising the money and we are also very close to proving yet again how much good can be done if everybody helps a little bit.

It's difficult to say exactly what the future looks like. Sir Noggin is certainly a fighter and if any kitten can come back from such odds, I believe it is him. The support you have all shown still amazes us. You gave us hope by the bucketful, as if it were not such a big thing to ask for. In many ways, it has trickled down to affect the very core of our family. I even spoke of Sir Noggin's adventures in my last job interview, and I now have a great job now and can slowly begin paying off debt, preparing for the future, and eventually, giving back. I will always appreciate this experience. The world has a willingness to be helpful. This isn't a story about one cat. This is a story about hundreds of people, from all over the world, from all kinds of different economic backgrounds, and the furry little terror in a tuxedo who brought us together.

With love & hope
Greta, Fatty, & Sir Noggin of Loxley