**please ignore any suggested donation, any amount is immensely appreciated!!**

I wouldn't normally do this, but I am overwhelmed and reaching out for help. Many of you know my cat, Oscar, who I adopted three years ago as a kitten from a rescue in Chicago. Oscar is a sweet, cuddly, chatty boy who loves to play and watch birds through the window. Last fall, Oscar was diagnosed with diabetes. Thankfully I was able to work with my vet and my pet insurance to treat the diabetes with daily medication, tests at the vet and at home to measure blood sugar and blood ketone levels, and a special diet so that Oscar can hopefully live a long and comfortable life.

Unfortunately, at one of these vet visits, I was informed that Oscar has a rotten tooth that needs to be removed. I took Oscar to a veterinary dentist who confirmed that the tooth needs to be extracted, which requires Oscar to go under anesthesia in order to perform x-rays, tooth cleaning, and the extraction surgery. Under this option, the vet would clean the rest of Oscar’s teeth and remove any others that look to be deteriorating so that Oscar would have the optimal chances moving forward of a healthy mouth. The alternative to treatment is to allow things to progress naturally, which would likely lead to the tooth falling out on its own, and then hoping that Oscar’s gums would heal naturally without infection. In a worst case, an infection would lead to an abscess that would leave Oscar in severe pain and at risk of sepsis, which would risk his life.

I truly hate to ask for help, but I am hoping to go through with the tooth surgery for Oscar to minimize his pain and avoid chances of infection. Unfortunately my pet insurance does not cover dental treatment, and I am overwhelmed at the cost which I have been quoted at between $1,000-$1,500. After paying out of pocket to treat his diabetes, this is unfortunately more than I can afford.

Many of my friends and family know or have heard about Oscar, and if you would like to contribute to his treatment I would be incredibly grateful. This GoFundMe would help alleviate the costs to the point where I would be able to move forward confidently with Oscar’s treatment.