King Arthur

About the Campaign

King Arthur is a 5-year-old male cat with severe dental disease and a gum infection. He needs a dental cleaning under anesthesia and extraction of the teeth that cannot be saved. His caretaker Tracy has already paid $45 for the exam and can put in $50 to $100 more, but the surgery itself is beyond her ability to pay.

King Arthur was never supposed to be caught. Tracy works with a small rescue and was asked to trap a mother cat in Pomona. She set the trap using the mother’s kittens to draw her in, and King Arthur walked into it instead. They believe he is the father. He was a mess: covered in cuts and abscesses from cat fights, a 12-pound bag of bones on a big frame, and Tracy thought he might die. He tested negative for FIV, so she cleaned and treated his wounds herself because the rescue could not afford a vet visit. He has since gained four and a half pounds, eats mostly wet food, and has settled into indoor life like he was born to it. He looked so regal that the name was obvious.

His teeth were bad from the day he was trapped. Tracy and another rescuer both saw it, but the wounds and abscesses had to come first. Now that he is healthy everywhere else, the mouth is what is left, and gum infections in cats do not stay in the mouth. Untreated, the bacteria and inflammation are painful, make eating hard, and can spread to the heart and kidneys.

King Arthur belongs to Rocky’s Rescue Crew, a 501(c)(3) that Tracy runs by herself and funds mostly out of her own pocket. That pocket is nearly empty. Tracy was a dental hygienist until last year, when she woke up one morning unable to walk or use her left arm. It was a brain tumor. She had a nine-hour surgery, spent a month in a coma, and then three and a half months in rehabilitation relearning to walk and use her arm. She lost her job and her income, and it took a long time to get approved for SSDI. She does not yet qualify for Medicare. The irony of a dental hygienist who cannot afford dental care for her cat is not lost on her.

Dental surgery is a routine, fixable problem for a cat who has already survived much worse. Donations will cover King Arthur’s bloodwork, anesthesia, dental cleaning, x-rays, extractions, antibiotics, and pain medication. All donations are paid only to the veterinarian. Estimate is below, click to enlarge: