- That’s one expensive kitty tooth.
Most pet owners are prepared to go above and beyond to keep their dear critters happy and healthy. That said, there is often a limit on just how much you’re prepared to sacrifice.
For instance, buying a gold tooth worth thousands of dollars might be outside some pet owners’ ballpark (never mind their budgets).
But that’s what Clarrisse Bosman did. Her kitty cat, Tofu, was sneakily chewing on things she wasn’t supposed to and broke one of her canines.
Bosman took the cat to the vet, who had grim news for her. The tooth was so badly damaged that it had to come off — unless Bosman shelled out for a golden tooth cap.
It wasn’t even a question for her. Tofu was too young to go without a tooth, so Bosman forked over the cash.
Now, Tofu has a new piece of bling in her mouth that she can flash. And it also shouldn’t break in case she gets up to no good again.
A Rough Start
Let’s rewind back to the very beginning of Tofu’s story. She is an ex-stray kitten from Golden, Colorado.
No one knows where she came from, but she was found on the streets when she was only 10 months old. The kitten was taken to the Foothills Animal Shelter.
Soon after, Bosman and her fiancé came in for a visit. Tofu immediately caught her eye.
“We were visiting the shelter just browsing, while she was in the lost-and-found section. She caught our attention by rubbing against the cage bars and flopping into her water bowl; that’s how she got the name Tofu, by plopping and flopping,” Bosman told Newsweek.
The odd little kitten stole Bosman’s heart, but she couldn’t take her home right away. According to the shelter’s rules, recently found animals have to stay for a number of days in case their owners come looking for them.
No one came for Tofu, though, and so Bosman took her to her new home in Denver.
“Since then, she has been a rambunctious member of our family for almost two years now and has a brother kitty named Skwinkle,” said Bosman.
Naughty Kitty
Now, fast-forward to December 2024. Bosman was out of state visiting her family, when she got a surprise call from her fiancé.
He told Bosman that one of Tofu’s front teeth had shattered, leaving the tooth pulp visible. When her fiancé’s attention lapsed for a moment, Tofu swiped Bosman’s decorative music box made of balsa wood and started chewing on it.
That was nothing new for the cat, though.
“This isn’t her first encounter with chewing on things she isn’t supposed to. She was previously brought to the vet after biting and chewing on one of my reeds for my instrument,” admitted Bosman.
They couldn’t leave Tofu with what must’ve been one hell of a toothache, so off to a kitty dentist she went. There, Bosman and her fiancé got some unpleasant news.
The veterinary dentist said that they had no choice but to pull Tofu’s damaged tooth. That, or attempt to give her a root canal and install a gold tooth crown.
There was no guarantee that the dentist could successful cram the prosthetic in. Yet, Bosman was ready to try — despite the gold tooth’s $5,000 price tag.
After all, Tofu is only three years old and has a long life ahead of her.
“There were a lot of practical reasons we chose, but there were concerns about jaw alignment, her diet that requires her to rip and tear food apart, and safety reasons since we take her outside on supervised walks and hikes. If she, for whatever reason, gets separated from us, we want her to have the best chance possible,” said Bosman.
Tofu’s Ticket to Stardom
With Bosman’s consent, the dentist began the operation. And, to be fair, it was the operation that made up a lion’s share of the cost; not the tooth.
According to Bosman, Tofu needed blood work to check whether she could be anesthetized. Then, she had to pay for the anesthesia, the root canal treatment, tooth cleaning, X-rays, pain meds, pulling other teeth… The list goes on.
That’s not to say the gold tooth itself was cheap, though.
“Her gold crown consists of an alloy of gold, silver, palladium, indium, zinc, and iridium that’s meant to be hypoallergenic so it doesn’t cause negative reactions,” Bosman explained.
The operation was success, and now Tofu has a shiny golden left canine (or should we say feline) tooth. Bosman, for her part, is $5,000 poorer — but at least she got a good story for social media.
Bosman shared the tale of Tofu’s tooth on her TikTok account, and it quickly went viral. Currently, the video has nearly 11 million views and 1.8 million likes.
So, not only does Tofu have gold grills, but she’s also a viral social media star. Everything’s coming up Tofu.