Hecuba Lovelace is a 19-year-old Mix in Vancouver, BC, who needs $1,500 for Dental Extraction.

Hecuba was found on the street and surrendered in September. The SPCA was able to identify her from a faded tattoo. She had been adopted as a kitten 19 years earlier. How could such a sweet natured 19 year old cat find herself utterly alone in the world? Unfortunately, no owners could be located. The SPCA waved their adoption fee. We took her home to live with us and our two other senior cats.

It was rough for Hecuba at first. She had spent quite some time on the street and wasn’t used to having other cats in her life. But she has adjusted so quickly. She now has her own toys, her own type of food, two heated blankets and a ton of love. She has discovered bacon and loves nothing more than sitting on a warm lap. She has slept between us every night since she arrived.

Our other two cats have had insurance since they were kittens which help waylay vet costs, but there are no insurance companies that will cover a 19 year old adopted street cat. We want to give our golden girl a chance at a pain free retirement. She deserves this chance.

Our vet, Dr V at Vancouver Animal Wellness, feels that Hecuba needs to have teeth extracted. Because she is 19 and has other medical issues, she may not survive the anesthetic but at this point, the risk of infection by leaving her teeth in may kill her too. She is in significant pain and is currently taking pain medication so she isn’t too uncomfortable, but it’s not a permanent solution.

When we adopted Hecuba, the SPCA told us not to expect her to live too long. She has stage 3 kidney disease, she was hypertensive, she has very bad teeth, and was underweight, and she was already 19! It’s been six months since we brought her home. She’s gained two lbs, is no longer hyper tense, and every morning she insists on tearing through the house chasing after her favourite scrunchy ball.