The 18-year-old Baltimore cat who underwent a $19,000 kidney transplant in November 2017 has died after suffering from internal complications.
Stanley The Cat Developed Peritonitis
Stanley the cat's owner, Betsy Boyd, said that she decided to put her pet to sleep on Friday. Boyd, a part-time professor at the University of Baltimore, said that her feline friend was sick a few weeks ago. She took the cat to various veterinarians where he was given fluids and stimulants but nothing worked.
Dan Petrus, an internist at Atlantic Veterinary Internal Medicine and Oncology, eventually found out that the cat developed peritonitis, a severe inflammation of the abdomen typically caused by bacterial infection.
The cat, however, was no longer a good candidate for surgery because of his age and the kidney transplant required him to take drugs that suppress his immune response.
Boyd did not want to lose Stanley but she had to make a hard decision to let the cat go. Stanley would have turned 19 on March.
"I believe he would have suffered more if we hadn't done that," she said. "Stanley was the most important friend I've ever lost, and he's a family member. I really love him on the level that I love my parents, husband, my children."
$19,000 Kidney Transplant
Boyd has spent around $30,000 to keep the cat well since last year. This amount includes the expense for his transplant, blood-work, and emergency care.
In November 2016, Boyd learned that Stanley was suffering from renal insufficiency and likely had a few months left to live. She and her husband nonetheless decided to use the $19,000 they had been setting aside for a new car to pay for the cat's kidney transplant.
Boyd said she was criticized after news of Stanley's transplant made headlines, but she said that her priority was to make sure her cat had a comfortable life.
"Anything could happen. If Stan did pass away sooner rather than later, I'd know I had done what I could for him. We've already had a few really good weeks," Boyd said in March, a few months after Stanley underwent kidney transplant in November 2017. "He's really happy, and that alone is worth the price."
