r/rescuecats • u/Jehoseph • 13h ago
Veterinary Care Needed Donation Request 3 weeks ago she was starving in a garden. Now her urgently needed dental surgery is days away. We need your help! (Eugene, Oregon)
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Three weeks ago, my partner and I found a senior cat living outside in our Lane County, Oregon neighborhood. She was skin and bones, spine and hips showing, drooling, and in so much pain she would cry out and back away from her own food.
Her previous owner, after becoming a single mom through some very hard years couldn't care for her anymore and made the heartbreaking decision to let her go to someone who could after I approached and located them. We stepped in and had her at a vet within about 48 hours. Her name is Boots.
What we learned about her:
We tracked down her original records. She was born September 21, 2016, originally named Peppa, spayed as a kitten with proper early care, and then the records simply stop in 2017. She went roughly eight years without seeing a vet. Her previous owner told us her mouth trouble began around December 2025, when feeding time started making her cry. She also clearly had been riddled / infested with fleas for many years. Leading to her being anemic.
Her diagnosis:
Advanced dental disease (this is the big one) the whole reason she was starving. She wasn't refusing food; eating just hurt too much. The good news from her workup: negative for FIV and feline leukemia, healthy kidney, thyroid, and blood sugar values. Her mild anemia (fleas plus being run down) is the one thing we've been rebuilding as she's been under our foster supervision and care here indoors, and it's the final gate before surgery.
How she's doing now (video attached):
Her coat has come in smooth and full again.. the rough, unkempt look of a cat too pained to groom is slowly going away. She's eating well, filling out, and grooming more often. And her personality has arrived: a deep, low little voice, a permanent blep, strong opinions about the sunny spot, and an instant purr the moment you touch her. Her old family says she's wonderful with children. For a cat who had every reason to give up, she has decided very clearly that she wants to live.
What's next, and why I'm posting now:
July 17th (tomorrow) is her bloodwork recheck to confirm her anemia has resolved enough for safe anesthesia. If she's cleared, her dental surgery is scheduled for the following week at Echo Hollow Veterinary in Eugene: full-mouth x-rays, anesthesia with full monitoring, cleaning, multiple extractions, periosteal flaps, nerve blocks, and pain management.
The estimate is approximately $2,700 (range $2,405–$3,362) — the full itemized, redacted vet estimate is attached in comments. The time-sensitive part: the full amount is due at discharge on the day of surgery. No payment plan. If she's cleared on the 17th (tomorrow), we have days, not weeks to get this settled.
How to give:
💛 Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/u/Jehoseph
💛 PayPal: paypal.me/TheDivines
💛 Directly to the clinic: call Echo Hollow Vet Hospital & Urgent Care in Eugene, Oregon anytime after 2PM PST July 17th or the days that follow and reference "Boots" Divine — they can take donations toward her account, and they can verify everything in this post.
I've completed the mod verification process here (vet bill, ID, photos), and Echo Hollow has been in contact with the team here. Happy to answer anything.
If you can't give, sharing genuinely helps, truly, it's how she got this far.
She went from dying in a garden to a purring girl with a smooth coat and a big personality in three weeks. She did the hard part. This surgery is the last stretch. Then she may get placed with her best forever home. Thank you for reading and thank you to this community. 🐾