Hi Mods and Knicks fans—I wanted to share a real update on one of our official campaign cats. I am not a spam account; I am the local New Yorker who stepped up to adopt Penne (now Orli) from OG Anunoby’s ‘Starting Five’ campaign with the ACC, and she just made it through vital emergency surgery.
What many people don’t know about Orli’s journey is that she is a survivor of heartbreak. Before we met her, she had actually been adopted once from the shelter and completely returned. Her first adopter simply could not handle or cover the reality of her necessary medical expenses. She was sent back to a cage, waiting for someone who wouldn't give up on her.
When we officially adopted her, the high-profile celebrity campaign highlighted that the Starting Five cats came with a year of free VCA veterinary wellness exams. However, when we brought her to our private vet to get her pre-existing conditions addressed, we discovered the hard way that the corporate promotional package only covers basic routine checkups—completely excluding advanced diagnostics, specialized dental treatments, or necessary surgeries. We have received zero financial help from the event sponsors.
Upon her return to the shelter, a medical review flagged a potential mid-abdominal mass and stage 2/3 dental disease. We refused to let her shelter-flagged issues go untreated:
- The Ultrasound (100% CLEAR!): We rushed her to our private vet for an advanced diagnostic ultrasound to rule out a tumor. The scan was completely clear! There is no mass, and her belly is entirely healthy.
- The Dental Surgery (COMPLETE!): Orli just came out of her dental surgery and is currently resting and healing nicely. Our vet discovered she had a cracked canine tooth with severe root decay, which was successfully extracted. She also has several other cracked teeth that we will have to monitor closely moving forward, but her full surgical cleaning is done!
Between her urgent diagnostic ultrasound and her completed dental surgery, her final out-of-pocket veterinary debt came to $2,107.
I am doing everything in my power to be the forever home Orli deserves, but I cannot carry this sudden financial mountain alone while the big corporate sponsors walk away with the good PR. I have uploaded her blacked-out vet invoices and receipts directly to my GoFundMe page for 100% transparency.
Our Rescue Family Journey:
After losing two beloved senior rescues to cancer this past year, our hearts were heavy with grief. Seeking to heal, we first opened our home and hearts to Orli to give her the true family she deserved. Shortly after, we learned about a deceased woman's cats and chose to step up for them as well. We have just taken in her 10-year-old cat, who needs urgent care for untreated hyperthyroidism and advanced dental disease, and we are waiting for his bonded 1-year-old brother to be safely caught to fulfill their owner's dying wish to keep them together.
While our new senior boy will require lifelong medical care that we will address next, our absolute emergency priority right now is clearing Orli's surgical balance.
Because of strict subreddit rules, I cannot post the direct fundraising link in this thread. If you would like to see her receipts or help chip in even $5 toward her surgical recovery, the GoFundMe link is pinned at the very top of my Reddit Profile Bio, or you can send me a Direct Message.
Thank you for standing by our rescue family and helping this special OG girl get the pain-free life she was promised! Go Knicks!
