Monday, June 3, 2013

Zoubi, famous East Village cat, needs dental surgery — and your help



Longtime East Village resident Leslie Sternbergh Alexander told us about a crowdsourcing fundraiser for Zoubi (aka Lula), the friendly store cat from Village Magazine at 102 Second Ave. ... "now living with East Village hippies Adam Alexander and Leslie Sternbergh Alexander."

Here's the situation via GoFundMe:

East Village hippies' famous 20 year-old cat, known for decades as the friendly store cat at 2nd Ave. & 6th St. before her retirement & adoption by her old friends indigenous east village hippies Adam & Leslie, appears to need dental surgical attention ASAP — including blood work & other prep tests necessary for older cats before general anesthesia's use ... we believe our goal's a fair estimate for her imminent care, we're blessed with fine local vet resources, & we thank you in advance for sharing our love of excellent cats with your generosity.

The goal is $3,500. And what do you get in return for the help? Well, some pretty cool things from these artists. For example, for $50: "Your choice of one of Adam & Leslie's original mid-80's late Punk Era nightclub invitation postcards - Authentic East Village collectible nostalgia!" For $500: "Framed Original Adam Alexander Fractal Art or Photographic Print." Check out his work here.

Find the GoFundMe site here.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

All 3 of my cats have had dental surgery. They are 13, 14 and 19. They also had to undergo tests for senior cats before being placed under anesthesia. My eldest had nearly all of her teeth removed and was treated for gingivitis as well. My bill was never north of $1800. $3500 is hardly a fair estimate. I'm all for helping animals, but come on, let's be realistic. If they would like, I can recommend some local veterinarians that would not charge such an insanely high price.

sam_the_man said...

I know that little guy! He never failed to crack me up with his Zoro mask and the way he would practically talk to you. People should help out.

francesca said...

$3500 seems extremely high. I had to have full mouth extractions with blood work for a cat with FIV and it cost less than $1000.

Anonymous said...

Try the Fifth Ave Cat clinic in Park Slope - the cost is far far lower than what you are quoting, we paid less than a thousand for dental work for an older cat including blood work etc.

~evilsugar25 said...

I agree that the cost seems pretty high. My cat had all those tests and ALL his teeth removed and it was under $1,000 at St Mark's Vet. that said, I tried to donate and wepay needs you to put in a credit card. i think if they used a service that had paypal funding it might get a little better response than asking someone to type in their cc.

best to this sweet kitty.

Laura Goggin Photography said...

Zoubi! I've been so worried as I've not seen her in a long while - such a sweetie!

As someone who has just spent thousands on a sick cat, I feel for Zoubi's caretakers. I would shop around for a better price, though. As the commenters above have said, $3500 seems pretty high for this procedure.

Leslie Sternbergh Alexander said...


Hello from Zoubi's humans -- to clarify, this is not dental work; this is a mass on her palate that's probably cancer, so this fund is probably a cancer treatment & not a typical dental surgery fund -- & we're happy for well-wishes, or even a fraction of the mentioned goal, & very pleased even just to let her "fan club" know of her whereabouts! She's a candidate for surgery as her bloodwork confirmed miraculous recovery from what looked like kidney failure last year, & at our vet's recommendation we're probably going with the Humane Society for lowest-possible cost quality care -- thanks so much for your interest & feel free to reach us via Leslie Sternbergh Alexander's Facebook account if gofundme's format isn't something you wish to accommodate -- with much love to everyone from Leslie & Adam & Zoubi Cat

Anonymous said...

She's a great cat.

But frankly, if I was 140 years old, which she is, in cat years, I wouldn't be wanting any surgery or procedures or overnights in strange environments. I'd be wanting Home Hospice care, period.