What price do you put on a beloved family pet?
Andre Gonciar, his wife, and their cat, Oki, flew from Buffalo to Pennsylvania for a transplant after Oki was diagnosed with kidney failure.
The surgery alone cost more than US$16,000, plus airfares, hotels, medical tests and follow-up appointments.
Mr Gonciar says he hopes the final cost won't be more than US$30,000 – money he had initially set aside for a down-payment on a house.
The University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Hospital has done 155 of these operations since 1998. On average, the cats live for another three years.
Shelter cat Cherry Garcia donated the healthy kidney for Oki. Cherry would likely have been euthanised if not for the deal, as the owner of the cat that receives a kidney must adopt the cat that donates.
Watch the video for the full CBS report.
