Today is #GivingTuesday—a day of online giving supporting the essential contributions nonprofits make in our communities. Your #GivingTuesday gift will help SNAP continue to make spay/neuter and veterinary wellness care accessible and affordable for animals like Ralph, reducing animal overpopulation and suffering.

THIS IS RALPH

Ralph was found wandering around an apartment complex. He is a male domestic short-haired cat, about three years old. Ralph’s new family had been feeding him and wanted to bring him inside their home, but they could not afford to get him neutered. They found out about SNAP and took him to our San Antonio clinic for his neuter.

At SNAP the team noticed his right eye had some crusting, and he was diagnosed with entropion. Entropion is a genetic condition where the eyelids curl in causing the eye lashes to rub on the cornea. It’s like always having an eyelash in your eye; it’s very painful and eventually causes corneal ulceration. Ralph already had some corneal inflammation in his right eye. Dr Lawler, SNAP’s Executive Director and Surgeon discussed the condition with Ralph’s new family and explained the need for surgery. One of the family members expressed her concern for helping Ralph but admitted that she would not have the funding to take him to a full-service clinic to get the costly entropion repaired. Dr. Lawler agreed to perform the surgery to repair the entropion to allow Ralph to live his best possible life. Though the right eye was the immediate concern, Ralph also had mild entropion in the left eye, which would have become a problem in the future if not repaired. Dr. Lawler removed a small amount of tissue from the lower lid of each eye, and then sutured the skin closed. This procedure caused the eyelid edge to roll out to the correct position and gave Ralph immediate relief in his eye.

Ralph’s family was grateful because it enabled them to help their kitty. Now that Ralph is neutered, he happily lives inside a home without spraying and leaving male cat urine odor in his family’s apartment.

UPDATE: Ralph’s mom said he’s doing great, and is even more cuddly.

Please consider partnering with us this #GivingTuesday. Your support makes it possible to help more people and pets like Ralph and his new family, creating stronger bonds between humans and our animal companions and empowering our community to learn about keeping our pets healthy and happy. www.snapus.org/partnerup2savelives/