Rex with Medical Bills after being struck by Car

EDIT* The goal has been met, and exceed in an extremely short amount of time. Thank you so much. I'll post a proper final update tomorrow as well, and I've disabled giving any further support as we should be totally covered now. Thank you!

On Thursday the 20th of March, this little black kitten, whom we've named Rex, was driven-over just outside my apartment. I heard the cat yelp and scream, and could see it hobbling across the road to get away. I ran downstairs as my partner Rosie had just left a few minutes prior, fearing she may have been the one to drive over Rex, but it was actually a neighbour of ours, who had just pulled his car forward in his own drive where it happened. He had chased after Rex and was holding him, wondering what to do so we offered to take Rex to the emergency vet clinic nearby. He was being very brave, quite calm, trusting and he would start purring as we gave him reassuring pets.

On arriving at the vet, he was seen to immediately, and it seemed that Rex's back legs were broken and his left eye was severely damaged. Scanning him revealed he had no microchip and was not neutered. However, he wasn't deemed a stray as he did have a collar. This complicated things greatly, we weren't allowed to make any decisions for his treatment. We offered to pay for an x-ray if nobody would come forward, just so we could see the extent of his injury, but we still had to wait until the end of the day. We posted on social media, our estate's group and our building group, but nobody came forward. The vet then told us they couldn't find placement at a shelter, even beyond county lines.

So, with no other options, I offered to pay. I just couldn't bare to see him put down. A few weeks before during a rainy night I sat with him and gave him food. He climbed on me and was really nice and friendly. He had no collar then, so we're not sure who put a collar on him in the few days before his injury.

Even with our offer, the clinic still had to wait 7 days for someone to come forward. This was very frustrating as leaving an injury like that could cause complications, but it was legally a grey area for someone else to try to take ownership and decide treatment for someone else's cat.

The 7 days passed, and the clinic, understanding we would pay for his treatment performed the x-ray for free, and took care of him for those 7days with medication and more without charging us, the new owners, any bill. They understood he wasn't our responsibility and we were just trying to help, so they were very kind in that regard to take on some of the cost.

Rex at the vet when we became his owner, 7 days after his injury. He couldn't walk, but he was chipper enough, given his circumstance!

He has had his surgery now, and we have become his registered owners, officially naming him Rex. They were able to save his leg and eye, (we were originally told it was likely to be removed) and he's responding very well to everything so far. Of course, his surgery was quite expensive and his post-care is also fairly involved, where he needs about 14 doses of 6 medications daily and must be crate-bound for several weeks with follow up x-rays.

As I'm a content creator, the plan is to also stream for about 24hrs on April 1st, to see if anyone would like to contribute. Any donations of any kind will all go directly to his vet bills. Ideally all donations will come through here at gofundme as they do not take a cut.

Rex in his new bed, we took his cone off for a bit to allow him to relax briefly under our supervision.

I want to be transparent that he has technically had his surgery, so I'm not trying to raise money to save him, but if anyone would like to contribute it would help greatly in paying off the surgery and helping pay for his post-op care. We sort of took this on because he had no other option, but financially it makes things quite difficult. If by any chance we raise more than the cost of his bills, it'll be donated to a Cats Protection Shelter.

We're still getting to know him, but Rex is super friendly, well behaved, purrs constantly and is quite playful and very resilient.

Rex the day after his surgery.

Here's a breakdown of the costs involved:

Again, if costs end up being lower or we raise more than necessary, it'll be donated to a Cat's Protection Shelter. Rosie, my partner volunteers with this group and they do great work.