Garfield's Vet Credit Card bills

Hi, my name is Kassandra. I rescued Garfield on December 2022 during the hardest rainfall California had seen. Garfield came up to me one afternoon when I was working on a sticker business I used to run for extra money. He laid on an empty box I had beside me and I laid out a blanket for him, he took a long nap while I worked. At that time, I lived with my mom and we already had a cat that was a bit territorial as she was also a rescue. She got a bit jealous and scratched Garfield one day, he left and didn't come back. I moved out of my moms a month later, bought him a Texsens travel backpack and I came back to look for him. It took me a few weeks to find him but when I did, one of the neighbors who was looking after him helped me grab him and take him home. I was so shaky trying to grab him and his claws were so sharp, if it wasn't for that neighbor (who also wanted to see him rescued) I don't know if I would've been successful.

After countless visits to the vet, sleepless nights of Garfield getting used to being an indoor cat... we were finally adjusting to living alone together and suddenly Garfield was diagnosed with Diabetes mellitus. He had already been diagnosed with FIV initially and that was heart breaking for me who didn't really understand what it meant. When I found out he also had Diabetes, I felt really lost. I felt like maybe I bit off more than I could chew. Afterall, I moved out on my own to be closer to work but rent and living in general is so expensive. I sacrificed my social life to be consistent with his feeding as well as insulin injections. It was months of vet check ups to see how he was adjusting to the insulin and prescribed food. One day, the vet's office sold me the wrong syringes for his insulin and I didn't know any better but noticed the different increments. I would eyeball a similar amount as what I was specifically advised by the vet but when I talked to the vet about their mistake, I had already used a good amount of the syringes because Garfield needed to keep administering the insulin and I have to go to work so I could not afford to take any more time off to get those exchanged (I had been taking a lot of time strictly for Garfield's vet visits and my sick time was diminishing). Long story short, we went in for our routinely vet check up in December 2023 and the vet said his glucose levels were very low, she said I may be giving him too much insulin. At that time, I decided to bite the bullet and spend money on a new pack of syringes. We went back for the next visit and the levels were low yet again but this time, his paper work showed he had reverted to a non-insulin dependent state, "remission". The best Christmas gift I could receive!

I cried happy tears on the drive back home, I still had to go to work that day but I was soo happy. The Dr. congratulated me, she said she had not had a diabetic cat she was treating go into remission that quickly. She assured me it was due to my efforts and consistency. After 3 weeks of no insulin, I took him back to the vet for a final check up and she officially discharged him as non insulin dependent! I don't have to go back in for check ups for another year.

Of course, I do not regret rescuing him even though he turned out to really need more help than I could afford. I love the moments when I could tell he is warming up to me: belly up laying down, rubbing on my legs, sleeping next to me in my bed, waiting for me by the door at the time he knows I come home from work, staring at me in the mornings as I get ready for work. I made a GoFund me before and you all generously helped me reach $2000 to pay off his credit card debt back in September. Since then, I have been making minimum monthly payments but am still drowning in their 23% interest fees. I pay $30 a month and get hit with $10 interest fees added... Someone told me I should make another GoFund me to see if you could help with the remaining balance we've accrued since then. This is a CareCredit card specifically for his Vetco bills, I do not use it for his prescription food which I pay myself. Our current balance is $746.96 and I would be very appreciative if you could help in any way. Thank you all and Happy New Year!

RECENT EDIT: I really wrote this believing that would be the end of our vet bills.. Unfortunately Garfie is prone to infections, particularly ear and urinary. I am looking at an additional $500 bill for vaccines, exams and medication. He is a stubborn little boy who doesn't let me apply his medicine and the health care system takes advantage of our love for our pets.. It's surviving on the streets on his own for so long that makes him so stubborn but we need the vets help so I am going to pay it (or get in debt for it more like). Anyways, thank you for reading my rant and for any help you can give.

xoxo,

Kass and Garfie