By Kate Bonsack
HOSTING a birthday party for a cat may seem unusual, but an extravagant party in Altona this month at $20 a head, will help the Lort Smith Animal Hospital.
Altona couple, Hannah and Chris Hemopo, will host the party for their eight-year-old cat Pretty Girl after the Lort Smith Animal Hospital mercifully amputated her right paw.
The Hemopos adopted Pretty Girl last year from a dog pound in Glen Iris, where she had been overlooked for several months by potential owners, due to her greater age.
But Pretty Girl, who was named Merribelle at the time, gracefully walked into the box the Hemopos had brought with them to the pound, and she was instantly adopted.
Being a Persian cat, Pretty Girl felt she was too good for the name Merribelle and would only answer when Mr Hemopo said “How are you pretty girl?” when he walked into his home.
The name then stuck, but then things turned a bit ugly for Pretty Girl when a lump appeared on her right paw.
Mrs Hemopo said she took Pretty Girl to a local vet, who couldn’t diagnose the illness.
“He said she wasn’t in much pain, but he could amputate the paw and do a biopsy which would’ve cost us $6000,” she said.
“We didn’t have $6000.”
The Hemopos ended up taking Pretty Girl to the Lort Smith Animal Hospital, where a veterinary surgeon immediately said the cat had been in excruciating pain.
“It broke our hearts to think our girl had been in pain for so many months,” Mrs Hemopo said.
Unfortunately, the only way to relieve Pretty Girl was to amputate her paw, which the surgeon did on the Hemopos’ wedding anniversary.
“They were brilliant at the hospital,” Mrs Hemopo said.
“Pretty Girl didn’t want to leave.”
It’s been eight weeks since Pretty Girl’s operation, and she’s already back to running the household.
But her journey has given her owners an extra soft spot for animals.
They have become regular fund-raisers for the Lort Smith Animal Hospital, and will participate in the organisation’s Strays Birthday fund-raising event on 31 August.
Other animal lovers can get involved in the event by hosting a party for their pet or pets.
Money raised from the parties will go towards helping the animal hospital continue its work of rescuing animals.
