<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.fark.com/goto/11313254/www.ktvu.com/news/after-house-fire-blind-woman-needs-help-paying-for-cats-care%3Futm_source%3Dfark" target="_blank" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; color: rgb(25, 25, 25); text-decoration: none;">The race is on to help a woman in the East Bay who's lost almost everything she owned in a house fire except one of her beloved cats. "Stuart is the only thing she has left. It breaks my heart seeing this." Welcome to Caturday</span></a><span style="color: rgb(25, 25, 25); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">. </span><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Courtesy of KTVU (San Francisco) at:</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.ktvu.com/news/after-house-fire-blind-woman-needs-help-paying-for-cats-care?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark">https://www.ktvu.com/news/after-house-fire-blind-woman-needs-help-paying-for-cats-care?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark</a><br><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div dir="ltr"></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">————————————————-</span></div><div dir="ltr"><h1 class="headline" data-v-0ec27b1e="" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto 16px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 60px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 66px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); letter-spacing: -1.2px; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">After house fire, blind woman needs help paying for cat's care</h1></div><div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><br></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><br></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">SAN PABLO, Calif.</span></b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"> - </span>The race is on to help a woman in the East Bay who’s lost almost everything she owned in a house fire except one of her beloved cats.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">The trouble began for Ostrout, 54, when a fire broke out at her San Pablo home on March 30 leaving it badly damaged and uninhabitable. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Besides leaving Stuart in need of major medical care, another cat Isabella died from the fire and a third, Mouse, is missing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">"I'm numb," Ostrout said. "I don't even know what to think. It's all lost. It's like death."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Ostrout said of the cat that died, "I had to look at her laying in the street, dead for a while, until somebody covered her up. It's like looking at my child."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">At one point, Ostrout said she considered putting her injured cat down because she couldn't afford the vet bills.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Touched by Ostrout’s heartbreak, a veterinarian in the East Bay is looking to help.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">"Stuart is the only thing left Laura has," said Desiree Owen, who works at the clinic, said in an email to KTVU. "It breaks my heart seeing this."</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Ostrout, who is legally blind, has been living in a motel while her insurance company looks for a permanent place. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">The fire at Ostrout’s home appears to have been caused by a tenant’s discarded smoking materials, the Contra Costa Fire Protection District said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Ostrout’s homeowner’s insurance only provided $500 for the treatment of Stuart, whose bills are above $10,000, and the cremation of Isabella.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">"I only see the bills getting higher and higher," said Owen.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">The silver lining to the story is that Stuart appears to be recovering.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">"I am hoping to bring some relief to this owner who loves her cat dearly," said Owen. "He is not out of the woods but looks positive."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Owen has set up a <a href="https://t.co/YKyvZmMLUP?amp=1"><span style="color: rgb(0, 20, 78); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none;">GoFundMe</span></a> to help pay for Stuart's bills.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">But that marmalade cat, Stuart, is racking up steep medical bills, so a concerned veterinarian is trying to raise funds for his care and get owner Laura Ostrout back on her feet.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><h1 class="gnt_ar_hl" elementtiming="ar-headline" style="margin: 6px 0px 0px; color: rgb(48, 48, 48); font-stretch: normal; font-size: 36px; line-height: 38px; font-family: "Unify Sans", "Helvetica Neue", "Arial Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18); color: rgb(18, 18, 18); font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: -0.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">—————————</span></h1></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Video . . .</span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.ktvu.com/news/after-house-fire-blind-woman-needs-help-paying-for-cats-care">https://www.ktvu.com/news/after-house-fire-blind-woman-needs-help-paying-for-cats-care</a></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Photo . . ,</span></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_041021.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_041021.jpg</a></div><div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">This photo shows Stuart, a cat who was badly injured by a San Pablo house fire. His owner Laura Ostrout needs help paying for his medical care.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div dir="ltr"></div><div dir="ltr"></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">————————————————-</span></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><div><b>“Caturday”</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> by Linus Petit</span></div><div><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_by_Linus_Petit.mp3">http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_by_Linus_Petit.mp3</a></div></div><br><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/">http://www.moscowcares.com/</a></div><div><br></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><br></div><div>“A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met.”</div><div>- Roy E. Stolworthy</div></div></div></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>