Help with Buster's medical expenses

My name is Stacey, and if you can spare anything, I’d be incredibly grateful for your help to cover medical expenses for my beloved cat Buster, who died August 14, 2022.

At 20 years old, and after years of managing his kidney disease, Buster had the bad luck of developing congestive heart failure. His appetite declined, his legs became weaker, and he was clearly not in good shape. At the same time, my vet retired while almost all the other vets at the same practice left, so I couldn't even see someone to get a diagnosis.

Luckily, we finally took him to Bluepearl in Skokie, where they determined the problem. After a couple of days in hospital, where he was fed via nasogastric tube and medicated to decongest his lungs and prevent any clotting, we brought him home and were able to start a new medical routine. With a new regimen of daily medications, after a few weeks of gaining back his appetite, Buster was his old self again.

Unfortunately, the treatment for congestive heart failure is in direct opposition to everything that helped keep his kidney disease at bay. Buster's appetite declined again, due to additional kidney failure, anemia, and dehydration. He was admitted to Bluepearl again on August 13, where they tried treating his kidneys by carefully feeding and hydrating him on a nasogastric tube, and his heart started failing again.

All through this, whenever Buster wasn't feeling well, he came to me for comfort and support. His time may have been approaching, but he hadn't given up yet. To the very last moment he was still fighting and I felt I owed it to him to give him every chance, if only to allow him to die in as much comfort as possible. But seeing how impossible it was to keep his two conditions at bay simultaneously, I realized it was time to let him go, and he was put to sleep peacefully in my lap at 3 in the morning on August 14.

Buster was a special cat. He chose me when he was a kitten by sitting quietly on my lap instead of his customary super rambunctiousness, and through all his 20 years, he's been one of the best things in my life. Buster was the first cat I had who ever played fetch with me. He always slept with his forehead against something to block out the light, as a kind of eye pillow. He had the most beautiful gaze and the cutest nose, and he loved playing with rubber bands and apron strings. He dedicated much time and effort to discovering the cutest sleeping positions. He was always there through my divorce to snuggle and comfort me. He was my dear friend, and he loved and trusted me completely. Even a month later I am still overwhelmed with the pain of losing him.

I generally keep a cushion of cash for emergencies; had his expenses just been a couple thousand dollars, I probably could have managed. But due to the lack of work during the pandemic, I was not in the best place financially to weather this expense. Buster's last overnight stay plus the follow-up vet visits and medications cost around $5,500. Buster's final stay, euthanasia, and cremation cost around $3000.

I opened a credit card with no interest for 15 months to give me a little breathing room to cover his expenses, but though my credit limit was $10,000, they only allowed me to transfer half that amount. I will have to divert every spare cent I earn towards paying this down to avoid getting drowned by interest. I would be incredibly grateful if you could help me recover from this devastating loss by donating something in his memory to help pay for his last few good days.