So, this is a long post, so TL, DR: The neighborhood cat had a serious infection over her eye, Montrose Veterinary Clinic took her in right away, performed surgery and saved her life- and didn’t charge a cent. 
Backstory: The cat in question, PK (‘Porch Kitty’) wandered into our neighborhood about 5 years ago. Both my parents and our neighbors feed, care, and look after her, but she refuses to come inside for any length of time, preferring to roam the neighboorhood.
Last week, as I’m home visiting family, PK shows up acting more lethargic and needy than usual. I try to comfort her, and go to scratch the top of her head. She leaps up and shies away. I look closer at her head, seeing what I thought was maybe a big mosquito bite. Two days later, the ‘mosquito bite’ is a huge, oozing wound, half the size of her head with the swelling forcing her right eye shut.
She is in a lot of distress, and the wound progressed so rapidly, we needed a vet right away. With no car, no cat carrier, and no local vet of our own, I stay with PK while my mother takes off on foot for the only vet in walking distance. She arrives around 8:15 am, explains the situation, including how PK is a neighborhood cat, we know little of her age, what caused the wound, etc, and we don’t have a way to get her here. They immediately said they’d see her, gave us a carrier to borrow, and let us bring her in right away.
Felicia, at the front desk, was so cheerful, positive, and kind, when we all were exhausted, upset, and scared. As promised, we were seen right away. The first vet we saw, a young woman whose name I sadly didn’t get, set the tone by treating our angry little half-face with the utmost kindness and professionalism. Next, we saw Dr. Valerie McDaniels, who was absolutely wonderful. She was professional, kind, and so gentle to our scared and hurt kitty. I was immediately put at ease by the way she treated this street fighting alley cat with all the love of a human who truly cares about animals and wants to help.
She explained that PK’s abscess was most likely caused by another street cat, but not to worry, she will drain it, cut away the infection, give antibiotics and fix her up. Felicia assured us she’d call as soon as we could pick up PK, and we collected a half shaven, annoyed little gremlin with blessedly no remaining abscess on her face.
Here is the most amazing part of this story. We ask, with some trepidation, how much we owe. Dr. McDaniels shakes her head: no charge. She actually thanked us for keeping her healthy and looked after, and all she asks is that PK comes back in a few weeks to make sure her shots are all up to date, and be kept indoors for a while so she can heal. We couldn’t believe it. Felicia again expresses how glad she is that PK is well, and gives us some hard cat food to take home.
The vets did a wonderful job with her surgery, and PK got better in no time. Now, one week after the surgery, PK is back to her old self. Both her eyes are fully opened, her wounds healed nicely, with only a small shaved patch to show for her recent adventures. Her days at the Kitty Fight Club are hopefully behind her, too.
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