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Strangers from near and far offer to help Utah kids get their cat an operation

Associated Press

Last update: June 6, 2008 - 10:19 AM

OGDEN, Utah - Strangers from near and far are offering their help to Patches, the Ogden cat who needs an expensive operation. Patches suffered a spinal cord injury that paralyzed her rear right leg when she was a kitten.

It's a disability that could lead to Patches' premature death.

To help pay for an operation, Aspen Granath, 10, and her brother, Skylar, 8, opened a lemonade stand. The surgery could cost more than $500.

"Although only one of her legs is paralyzed, it drags along behind her and trips up her good leg," Aspen's father, Blue Granath, told the Standard-Examiner in a story Monday. "Now when she walks, she just uses her front legs and drags the back part of her body behind her. It's really sad."

The cat has been in the family since it was born.

A news story first published in the Ogden newspaper led to donations and offers to help from readers around the country. The newspaper said it was contacted by people in New York, North Carolina, California, Texas and Arizona.

Ogden resident Theresa Pilarczyk has offered to pay for the procedure.

"I've always had a soft spot for stories about children and animals," she said.

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Information from: Standard-Examiner, http://www.standard.net