MSPCA Raising Funds to Care for One-Year-Old “Avatar”
BOSTON, Dec. 20, 2023 – One-year-old Avatar’s short life has already been an adventure. He was brought to the MSPCA’s Boston Adoption Center as a stray with a leg injury on December 15. Thanks to a microchip, the shelter team was able to track down his owners, who were understandably quite worried about him.
Unfortunately, they were facing their own challenging life circumstances, so they were not in a position to reclaim the sweet cat.
“This is a really unique situation,” said MSPCA-Angell Director of Adoption Centers and Programs, Mike Keiley. “The owners wanted what was best for Avatar, so they made the incredibly hard decision to surrender, and we appreciate that they trust us with the responsibility of rehoming him.”
“Now, we’re focused on getting him the care he needs.”
Surgery on the Horizon
Before Avatar was surrendered, he suffered a broken hip, likely the result of falling from a significant height or an object falling on him while he was on his unexpected outdoor adventure.
“We’ll likely never be sure how Avatar was hurt, but we do know that his injury requires surgery to repair,” explained Keiley.
Veterinarians in the MSPCA’s Boston Adoption Center clinic will perform a femoral head ostectomy, or FHO, surgery to remove the “ball” of Avatar’s hip joint as soon as possible, likely this week.
“Like most animal welfare organizations, it’s been a long year for us,” Keiley expounded. “We’ve helped thousands of animals in need, which is really wonderful, but it puts a strain on our resources.”
“Regardless of that, poor Avatar is in pain, so we need to get this surgery done and the sooner the better.”
Avatar’s procedure and related care are expected to cost $5,000. The MSPCA asks that anyone able to donate to help offset that cost do so at mspca.org/avatar.
A Rare Occurrence
“It’s extremely uncommon for ragdoll cats to end up in shelters. They’re purebred, so people often pay a thousand dollars or more for them,” Keiley said, estimating the MSPCA has had fewer than 10 ragdolls in its shelters over the last five years.
Avatar’s recovery is expected to take about two weeks, but clinic veterinarians believe that he will need several weeks—possibly months—of physical therapy before he will regain full function of his injured leg.
“Ragdoll cats are having a moment,” Keiley added, alluding to Taylor Swift’s cat joining her on the cover of Time’s Person of the Year magazine cover. “And Avatar is really special cat. He’s sweet and playful. We know that he’ll be a great pet when he’s ready to find his next home.”
The MSPCA asks that interested adopters fill out an adoption inquiry at mspca.org/bostonadopt.
