It’s been a tough week with the loss of Vincent. On the 27th we sent a email to our financial supporters through GiveButter describing our last moments with Vincent. For all our friends and supporters who we do not have an email address, We want to share the same email with you this morning:
Dear Friends of Vincent and donors to Mandarin’s Retreat,
For those of you who do not know, our wonderful fighter and go getter cat Vincent died at 2155 at the El Paso Animal Emergency Center on Tuesday, 25 February. That afternoon, Vincent had undergone an MRI as a final diagnosis procedure to identify what was causing his sinus congestion, as a well as assess the potential spread of his cancer.Â
We decided on the MRI because Vincent had crashed on us the night before with symptoms that hinted at a stroke or, perhaps, a blood clot.
The procedure was done by a board certified cat neurologist, Dr. Antonio Bowens. Vincent stormed through the MRI without any issues, but we did learn that his cancer had returned with vengeance and was likely causing him the symptoms we’d observed.
When the procedure was completed, Vincent did not want to wake up. His heart rate was all over the place and he wasn’t very interested in recovering. The staff at the ER center watched, waited and provided all the support our kitty needed to recover. Dr. Bowens stayed with Vincent and when it appeared that Vincent would not pull through, he called Mrs H and we came to the ER.
When we arrived at the ER, Vincent was surrounded by a team of nurses, attendants and doctors. One surgical nurse was constantly stroking Vincent and taking to him. We spoke to Big V, petted him and said our goodbyes. Vincent had fought so hard and had tried so hard, but he indicated to Mrs H and myself that he had run his race as long as he could. We agreed with the surgical team and Dr. Bowens that it was time to ease him over the Rainbow Bridge. This we did with everyone of his team in attendance, each saying their own farewells.
The staff moved us to a private room and we spent some time alone with Vincent, telling little vignettes and how Vincent had won the hearts of every care giver who had spent time with him. Of note, the ER staff was jaw dropped when we mentioned that Vincent’s fans and supporters had raised over $13,000 for his care.
My wife and I would like to thank everyone of you for your inspiring generosity, engagement, care and love you have sent to Vincent and to Mandarin’s Retreat. The fact that Vincent and Mandarin – our founding cat – were so alike in their loving nature only strengthens our resolve to carry on the fight to care for the abandoned and unloved cats. We will carry on despite the heartbreak, with the firm knowledge that in the two months and six days Vincent was with us, his was loved, cared for and cuddled not only by us, but by you.
Because Mr H loves doing financial stuff on Saturdays (that weirdo), here’s an update on Vincent’s medical bills. As of Friday 21 Feb, the total cost for Vincent’s medical care is $16,646 (more of less – medicines ordered via Chewy and covered by gift cards haven’t been easy to track). We paid off all of the American Express and made some payments on the Care Credit card – both were opened so that we could get quick access to funding to pay for V’s surgery while we were getting money out of the Retreat’s nest egg to cover it should we not get any 0% interest offers. The balance left over on the Care Credit card is $7,300 and we paid a total of $9,381 towards Vincent’s bills.
The charges for 2025 look like this:
Veterinarian
Date
Charge
Desert East Animal Hosp.
01/02/25
$35.00
Desert East Animal Hosp.
01/10/25
$187.20
Sun City Veterinary Surgical
01/14/25
$295.00
Desert East Animal Hosp.
01/22/25
$522.00
Desert East Animal Hosp.
01/24/25
$43.00
Sun City Veterinary Surgical
01/27/25
$8,195.00
Sun City Veterinary Surgical
01/31/25
$4,101.75
Sun City Veterinary Surgical
02/04/25
$81.00
Sun City Veterinary Surgical
02/07/25
$26.25
El Paso Animal Emergency
02/13/25
$2,684.37
El Paso Animal Emergency
02/15/25
$118.86
El Paso Animal Emergency
02/16/25
$25.96
Eye Care for Animals
02/19/25
$276.50
Desert East Animal Hosp.
02/21/25
$115.00
Total to Date
$16,680.93
Charges Paid to Date
$9,380.93
Uncleared Charges
$9,300.00
Total Cash Donations 2025 to Date: $8,543.00
Total Donations in Kind 2025 to Date: $1,588.39
If you have any questions, please contact us at: Meow@mrhwc.org
The week started out simple enough with a trip to see Dr Silverman for a surgical checkup. Vincent’s wound looked great and everything was on track. Mrs H followed up on Tuesday with a visit to her own doc and I had to go see the dentist, so we had a family doctor’s week. Everyone was home for the evening when Vincent started breathing in little gasps with his mouth open. Cats have absolutely no business breathing with their mouths open, so we took him to the Animal ER at once.
We are frequent flyers at the ER and the staff greeted us as old friends. The doc on duty was Dr. Flores, a friend and a magnificent veterinarian. She figured out that Vincent’s pain killers had worn off and his pain was affecting his breathing. They drew some blood and began treatment. Dr. Flores wanted to keep the kitty overnight for further tests and an X-ray. Overnight turned into two nights Vincent’s heart turned out to look a bit funny on the x-ray and Dr Flores wanted to do a heart echo. Dr. Koplos, another amazing physician and someone who has helped us heal many cats, came in and did the test, then sent it off to a cardiologist for a looksy. As it turns out, Vincent had some heart disease but it was in such an early stage and so mild that V’s Doctors suggested we watch and wait, count his breaths and monitor his health at home.
We picked Vincent up from the ER on Thursday and took him back to Dr. Silverman (the surgeon) for a wound check on Friday. Later on Friday afternoon, one of our little FeLV+ cats crashed. Pearl, a very young kitty, had been hit with lymphoma and we’ve been keeping her comfortable for as long as she wanted to be with us. That day, she just absolutely crashed and the kind folks at Desert East helped her over the Rainbow Bridge. We will miss this sweetheart forever.
Pearl died from FeLV on 14 Feb 2025
Saturday morning found me working on finances and sending “Thank You” messages to some new donors. As of 15 Feb, $5,039.75 has been paid on Vincent’s medical tab. And then I was grabbed and told we needed to take Vincent to the ER again – his breathing had gone really bad again. Three hours later we got back to the house with a small ER bill and a referral to Dr Hibbs, a fantastic cat eye doctor who we know very well. Dr Flores at the ER figured out that Vincent’s funny breathing was coming from congestion in his nose instead of anything more serious. She began to wonder whether he had an abscess behind his left eye, perhaps a remnant from his major cancer surgery.
Vincent on his heating pad with curled paws. Happy Kitty!
Mrs H found the pet heating pad and introduced it into Vincent’s kennel. Boy, was that cat in heaven. After his meds and a snack he slept on the heating pad, curled up like a kitten. We both collapsed – her into bed and me into my chair with the heating pad and a heated soaker for my feet. We were absolutely exhausted.
While we weren’t going to focus on fund raising for Vincent’s surgery costs, events have conspired against us. Mr V is spending time back at Dr. Silverman’s clinic and this may indicate an increasing costs for care and medicine. What I want today is to provide you with an insight into where your donations have gone and are going.
The 2nd Annual Report for the Retreat has been posted here. However, I want to provide the funds portion of the report here for your review.
Summary of Major Expenses for the Year 2024:
Expense
Total Spent in 2024
Vet Expenses
$21,185
Food Costs
$10,248
Support Items
$4,843
Admin Expenses
$2,311
Total
$38,587
Summary of Donations
# Grants Awarded
1 for $2,000
# of Monthly Donors
2
# of Quarterly Donors
1
# of Donors over $250
3
# of Donors > $250
52
Cash Donations
$4,589
In-Kind Donations
$3,206
Total Donations
$7,795
As you can see from the numbers, total donations cover only 20.2% of the costs of operating Mandarin’s Retreat. The grant provided only 5.1% of expenses and the grant funds were restricted to specific categories of costs. All and all, Mrs H and I provided 74.7% of the Retreat’s budget from our salaries, pensions and credit cards. The Mandarin’s Retreat credit card is tapped out as are our personal credit and emergency funds. For us to continue to helping sick and injured kitties we need to pay off the loans taken to pay for Vincent’s surgery. The donations put into Vincent’s Surgery Fund only go to pay off his bills. The other campaigns – Keeping Promises, Continuous Support & DAF provide easy links to single donations, monthly or quarterly donations, and Donor Advised Fund donations. These last three campaigns support general costs, upkeep, and medical care for all out cats.
As of 8 Feb, 2025, Mandarin’s Retreat has received $1,478 in cash donations through Give Butter. This was made by 15 donors in 20 transactions. Of these funds, $1,201. went to pay down the Care Credit card bill of $9,001. The remaining amount was paid on the $1,111 charges made on Mandarin’s Retreat visa card for Vincent’s pre-surgery care and tests at our vet and for his medicine and bandages. We have also received $1,043 worth of food, gift cards, and other items from our wish lists. From the gift cards, we purchased Vincent’s food, safety donuts and cones, as well as his medicines ordered from Chewy.
If anyone has any questions or requires further clarity, please use the Contact Us form and we will answer any questions you may have about Mandarin’s.
And now for the plea. I hate asking people for money but the Retreat is deep in the red with this surgery. We covered the 12K cost of Vincent’s surgery with personal funds, but those funds are simply our hospice’s backup money or emergency funds. Without replacing it, we will not be able to care for other very sick cats. You great gifts over the holidays have provided food and funds for Vincent’s previous surgery and vet visit, but when you’re feeding and caring for 60+ cats money vanishes like a Marine’s on leave.
We need 500 folks to donate just $25 to Vincent’s Surgery Fund. This would clear his surgery costs and coupled with the other donations put us back on a solid financial path. All the Retreat’s costs and expenses for 2024 are now published in our Annual Report. We are an open book and every penny is accounted for. Mandarin’s Retreat pays no salaries or personal expenses – we do this all on our own, with our own funding (and sometimes credit) and all the money goes to the cats.
Help us get this one last push through, so that we can continue helping the cats that truly no one wants!
We weren’t supposed to go get Vincent at all in the first place. We expected to pick up an FIV+ void girl, but we were told that she got lucky and went to her new home for Christmas with a loving, understanding family. Then, this happened:
Vincent’s 911
Vincent was nameless then, FIV+, badly banged up and holding on for dear life. “Now, please!”, so we went and were soon on our way back with a carrier full of a very sick cat, a bag of meds and a whole lot of uncertainty.
(I’d like to leave a side note here about our Animal Services. The staff are magnificent and they work tirelessly every day to find love, care and homes for an absolutely overwhelming number of cats, dogs and occasionally other furry creatures. Unfortunately, there’s only x-amount of space and hands available and sometimes an animal makes it to there whose health had deteriorated to a point where keeping them alive without extensive resources available would be just straight up cruel. The staff still try to find placements for them; we’d know, Vincent is not the first kitty we got from there under emergency circumstances. In the end, it’s the staff that saved Vincent’s life by looking for and finding aid for him with utmost diligence, pretty much against all odds.)
Kitties with FIV have a lot more trouble with healing than healthy cats and their status can severely impact prognosis. You have to plan their care carefully under the best of circumstances and the sheer amount of injuries on Vincent made for a bit of a nightmare in that regard. His guesstimated but rather obvious old age made it even worse.
Next day’s visit to our vet brought some peace. Vin had a mad upper respiratory infection, his left ear was decimated, infected and bleeding, his coat was utterly filthy and his general attitude was “whatever.” Meaning: it was all treatable, even for a kitty with FIV. He was, however, not in any shape for anesthesia at the time, so any sort of cleanup would have to wait. He did clock in at 7 pounds, which is a decent weight for an old dude that’s been out on the streets for a while.
Dr Marquez set up a plan – treat the URI and infected ear, control the immense pain Vincent was in, let the kitty catch a breath and re-evaluate on Monday.
The weekend was hell. It always is. You can have the best doctors and meds in the world, but that small, furry thing is sitting in your house, fighting a battle against odds, infection, pain and a chronic disease ever so quaintly referred to as “cat AIDS” and all you can do is make sure they’re comfortable, medicate them, feed them and hope it is enough to keep them going.
Thankfully, the big guy took in all in stride and kept going all the way through to Monday, when we went to see Dr M again. Vin was better but still not all there for any major work, so we set him up for surgery and cleanup on Friday after Christmas and added another antibiotic to his ever growing list of medications. We also told Dr M that we were pretty sure that Vincent had lost most of his ability to hear – at home, he quite visibly relied on vibrations to locate the source of anything happening around him.
The new prescription combo definitely pushed his healing along; the mangled ear stopped seeping ugly stuff and began scabbing off and his breathing became easier. And so, here we are, on Christmas Day. Vincent is eating wet food (he’s really taken to Rachel Ray’s Nutrish Tuna Purrfecion) with a huge appetite, attempting to munch on moistened dry kibble, saying good morning and requesting pets and last, but certainly not the least, watching TV. We’re on season two of The Tudors now.
The change in him since the first day is nothing short of amazing. His old bones and joints definitely appreciated his new prescriptions, as he began to slowly relax his body and sleep with his chin up and front paws curled. He also became a lot more alert, saying good morning and actively asking for food with tiny, still a little scratchy meows. We also found out that in addition to chin scratches and back pets, he loves belly rubs!
We are, however, now facing the biggest hurdle in his treatment. His ear is in shambles and needs to be cleaned up and stitched, the filth from his paws needs to be cleaned off, his teeth are an absolute mess and we’ve also noticed that he has a wound on his nose that’s looking concerning. We will drop him off at the vet Thursday afternoon so that he can get some prep done and IV fluids and he will have his surgery this Friday.
He is not a great candidate for anesthesia. He’s old, still sick and a little frail, but we have little choice in how we’re going to proceed. We cannot just medicate him till kingdom come with an open wound on his head and the surgery is a necessity.
We’re hopeful and we know Dr Marquez is a beast at what he does, but we’re scared too. Vincent has curled up in our hearts and we want him to celebrate the New Year and live out the rest of his cat lives loved, cared for and spoiled like a fantasy princess.
Y’all have caused nothing short of a miracle to occur – you managed to let Santa know that Vincent has a new address! We read each and every comment you left to Vincent and we told him about and showed him all the gifts he got for his first Christmas in his new digs. We’re pretty sure that the cost of all of his most urgent medical care is fully covered thanks to your likes, retweets, tags and unbridled generosity. To say that we are overwhelmed would be an understatement. And so, we will honor each and every one of you in a blog post over the next weekend, because the world needs to know that there is still so many good people in it.
Please send Vincent the best of vibes on Friday morning, so that he gets through his surgery and comes out on a clear path to healing.
Here’s the big boy today, sleeping soundly after having gotten his meds and a hefty helping of holiday ham. Let’s be hopeful and say that his glowup pictures will be amazing!
(The white gent in the back is Casper the Friendly Cat, a young male with cerebellar hypoplasia aka a “wobbly cat”. He’s a survivor himself, having successfully battled concurrent panleukopenia and calcivirus infections as a tiny baby. )
