My best friend’s cat died last week. Needless to say she was more than a little upset, but then he wasn’t just her cat he was family. He was her companion, her confidant and her friend. She only found out he was ill about a month ago when she took him to the vets in Sussex and they found a lump in his stomach, she would have done anything and paid any amount of money to save him but unfortunately they had found it too late.

In the end the decision was out of my friend’s control, but for a lot of people when their pets get ill or are injured they are faced with a horrible decision. Obviously there is no such thing as NHS for pets, and for those who don’t have pet insurance it’s an extremely costly business (my friend paid almost £90 for a blood test that didn’t even help to identify the problem). Of course most people would do anything to help their pets and money is no issue when it comes to such an important member of the family.

And for those who can afford it there is no end of veterinary help available, from basic medicines and physiotherapy for pets to specific animal cardiology and ophthalmology facilities. If it’s possible for the illness to be treated it will be treated, and there is a good chance that the unfortunate animal will make a full recovery. But what happens when a pet is suddenly injured or taken ill and their owner can’t afford to pay for the (often huge) bill? It’s hardly fair that the life of one animal should take priority over another simply because of the size of their owners’ bank account.

One young cat owner from Brighton took a unique approach to tackling this problem when his cat Mumble was seriously injured in the street and needed urgent treatment to survive. Rory O’Connor had no pet insurance, and Mumble’s treatment at a veterinary hospital in Sussex was estimated at around £1000, much more than he could afford, but he couldn’t bear to just watch her suffer. So as what he called a ‘last ditch effort’ Rory decided to start a group on Facebook called ‘Save Mumble’, inviting all his friends to spread the word about Mumble’s plight and asking everyone to make small donations of £1. At first he thought he’d have no chance but his plea touched the hearts of thousands of people on facebook. People on his friends list told all their friends about it, and within a short couple of weeks he had raised enough cash to pay the bill for all of Mumble’s treatment in full. She made a full and speedy recovery, and all thanks to the overwhelming support of friends and the power of social networking!