Elderly Baltimore cat gets $19,000 kidney transplant

March 14 (UPI) -- A 17-year-old Baltimore cat can add an additional life to his allotted nine after his owner shelled out $19,000 for a life-saving kidney transplant.

Betsy Boyd, a part-time professor at the University of Baltimore, said she was devastated to learn in November 2016 that her cat, Stanley, was suffering from renal insufficiency and likely had only months left to live.

Boyd said she and her husband decided to use the $19,000 they had been saving for a new car to pay for a kidney transplant.

"He's seen me through the worst moments of my life," Boyd told WJZ-TV. "He's an old cat. He doesn't run around as much as he used to."

She said she doesn't see Stanley as just a pet.

"He seems almost human to me," she said. "He's a friend, and I believe that this friend wanted to live, so I paid for the surgery."

Stanley celebrated his 18th birthday on Saturday thanks to his new kidney.

"He purrs all the time. He begs for poultry. He wakes me up at 4 a.m. for a snack. He's happy, and we're still very good friends."

Boyd said the story also had a happy ending for the 2-year-old donor cat, Jay, who has now come to live with her family.

The pet owner said she is hoping Stanley can now live a long life.

"Twenty-five would be great. I had always hoped for 30," she said.