Cat belonging to deployed U.S. veteran seriously injured after swallowing a fishing hook

This article is my latest in what I call my “freak accident” series. We all know cats can get themselves into all kinds of trouble, and Tamarindo is no exception. Curiosity almost killed the cat when Tamarindo tangled with a fishing hook and line and lost. His story was recently posted on a GoFundMe webpage started by Sherry Christy, whose son is deployed overseas and can’t be with his injured kitty at this time.

Tamarindo in happier days
Tamarindo in happier days
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“Hi everyone, my son, Nathan is deployed overseas.  I’m the grand mom of his kitties and I have been taking care of them since he left.  Their names are Tamarindo and Arianna.

tamarindo1

We are asking for help for an emergency we had with Tamarindo.  He is a very inquisitive little guy.  My grand daughter left her fishing pole in the dining room.  Tamarindo knocked over the pole and unknown to us managed to get the hook and line off the pole.  The next morning when we woke up I found Tamarindo vomiting and saw the hook and line.

He was not feeling well at all. My husband and I rushed him to the Mount Laurel Animal hospital and he was seen and diagnosed with a torn esophagus.  They felt it would be better to transfer Tamarindo to the University of Penn Animal Hospital for emergency chest surgery.  Before the Emergency team was called in we had to pay half the estimated bill for the surgery.  It was estimated 6000-7000 thousand so we had to pay 3500.00.   Plus we had to pay 647.00 at the first hospital.  Attached are receipts for you to view.

tamarindo3

Tamarindo had surgery Saturday pm.  He had a thoracotomy (open chest)  They repaired the hole in his esophagus.  He was then transferred to ICU.  He Is currently still there and has a chest tube, feeding tube and IV’s.  He is getting IV pain medications continuously and antibiotics along with oxygen.  Pictures of our little love bug after surgery are also attached.”

One of Tamarindo's receipts
One of Tamarindo’s receipts

The balance of Tamarindo’s estimate must be paid before this curious kitty is released from the vet. The money will go directly to the University of Penn for the remainder of the bill first and if enough is raised they can pay off the amount placed on the credit card to get him out. All of the veterinary receipts are posted on the GoFundMe webpage here.  Please feel free to donate or subscribe to updates on Tamarindo’s condition.

The grand total of this freak accident is estimated as high as $7,000.

Thanks go out to Helen Grant, who works with retired Military Working Dogs, for sending me this story. Helen and Sherry are friends and I trust her on this being a legitimate injury.

Elisa

Please take the time and click here for all of my articles about pet dangers. The lesson to learn in this story is accidents DO happen, no matter how careful you are. Treat your home as if you have a two-year-old curious toddler roaming the home and searching for things to get into.

Please search using the search box at the top of the site. You are bound to find what you are looking for.

21 thoughts on “Cat belonging to deployed U.S. veteran seriously injured after swallowing a fishing hook”

  1. Terribly sad and how strange but well done the owners for acting so positively and getting it fixed. Do we know how he swallowed something so damaging? I presumed he swallowed it or tried to. Great story Elisa but Wow that would scare me to death if my cat did it. I guess there is a moral here. There are hidden dangers in the home.

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  2. he is now HOME and doing good, feeding tube still in but he is home and thats what counts, thank to those who commented caring about him, i will not tolerate any nastys

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  3. this is helen, i helped sherry put together the fundraiser, and yes it is legit, iam from the mwdog world and have done enough adivising on fundraisers and yes i cked it out, and sadly vet hospitals do cost lots of monry, example, i have helped many mwd, cwd, sar and police k9s with cancer, and the treatment can be as high as 10,000. these herso have no nothing after they retire as well as our pets, on the fundraiser it shows they have care credit which also was used, any questions please pm me and i will help explain more, thank

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