Adorable "Bottle Baby" Cal Needs Your Help

Things have not started out well for Cal. As one of a litter rescued from Chicago Animal Care and Control, they were motherless and only about a week old. Chicago Animal Advocates is one of the only groups in the Chicagoland area that will take on “bottle babies,” as they require so much time and care. The organization has some wonderful fosters who take on this critical task.

Angelica, Founder and President of Chicago Animal Advocates, shared that Cal’s foster noticed he was having issues urinating. Instead of a stream of any kind, it would just dribble, and when Angelica went to check on him and his littermates, she noticed he had a deformity on his penis, the opening significantly smaller than that of any of his siblings. Cal was taken to three veterinarians for opinions and, sadly, euthanizing him was recommended as the surgery required to correct his issue was expensive. And because Cal is so tiny, it requires a surgical specialist. Estimated costs are upwards of $2500, with the doctor estimating surgery to be between $1900-$2300, and additional funds required for blood work monitoring to make sure Cal is a good candidate for the perineal urethrostomy, also more commonly known as a PU surgery.

Typically, this surgery is performed on adult males who have narrow urethas as part of their normal physiology, making them a higher risk for urinary track infections that block the urine stream. For kittens, like Cal, this issue often results in a painful death.

“Everyone is too invested in Cal to just give up” Angelica wrote. “He is so sweet and playful and catches the hearts of everyone he meets.”

Presently, his foster is helping Cal to express multiple times a day and his kidneys need to be monitored to make sure they are not becoming damaged or that he becomes blocked as he grows. He needs to be at least three months old for the surgery to be performed and the older he gets, the higher the chances for success.

CAA’s Mission Statement is clear:

Chicago Animal Advocates is a humane organization assisting in the rescue of animals that have been abandoned by their owners or society. Our goal is to promote proper and responsible animal care, with a focus on the importance of sterilizing animals to help our country become a No-Kill nation. We are committed to finding the best homes for all the animals that enter our organization.

And they support that with a strong No Kill Mission Statement:

We do not believe in euthanizing animals due to a lack of space or health issues. We also do not discriminate (or euthanize) against an animal’s age, breed, or color or appearance.

Cal is a primary example of the care and concern this organization provides and, as such, they are reaching out to the cat community-at-large for assistance in helping to raise funds to cover his surgery and any inforeseen medical emergencies. To learn more, please visit CAA’s website, Facebook page, and to help Cal directly, Cal’s You Caring page. Were it not for such a good, attentive foster, this baby may have already been lost.