Willie Gets Help for His Cleft Palate

Chele’s Cat Care got the call... “Can you help me? My landlord needs my cats and me gone.” I asked how many cats? Well, he had no idea. Skip to 6 months later and we took around 60 cats and kittens. A few were near death, but we managed to cure most of them. Then in the second wave of “Ok they really need me gone,” we amped it up. That’s when we trapped Willie and Giermo, aka “Little G.”

Willie was Little G’s protector—he sat on him like a mama hen trying to hatch her brood. But there was a problem. Every time Willie ate, mucus and food shot out of his nose. We started by treating him with antibiotics, but it was clear in a short period of time that Willie needed more.

We took Willie to a vet who found that Willie had a cleft palate, not something you would typically look for in cats. There was a gaping hole in the roof of his mouth. The vet said it looked like he bite into an electric wire. And yet throughout all of his discomfort, Willie has always been the best boy.

It took a $6,000 surgery to start the healing process. The veterinary oral surgeon used tissue from the top of Willie’s mouth to create flaps that she sutured over the cleft. Then after some months of healing and a recheck, the surgeon told us there was still a small hole that did not entirely close and Willie would need another surgery to heal completely. This time it would be $3,000. Willie needed an allograft (cadaver bone) to provide support for a new flap that was sutured over the remaining hole.

Now Willie is doing great, thanks to Dr. Magnolia Jucan at Carefree Dentistry and Oral Surgery for Animals! He’s one of the nicest cats we’ve ever met. Willie will be looking for his forever family soon--a family willing to nurture, love, and pay attention to his health and needs.

He’s our $9,000 boy and we really want him to have the absolute best future! If you’d like to support our work helping Willie and other cats in need, you can use the donate button on this website or Zelle us at Chele Ford 602-290-0563.