Save Gum: Urgent Surgery Needed

My cat, Gum, slipped out of the house on May 4th and went missing. My family and I freaked out and immediately reported him missing as well as posted about 100 flyers all over the neighborhood. I was absolutely devastated. I first got Gum at a local shelter in 2020. I remember he was the only adult cat in the whole shelter and the worker there had let me know he had been there awhile because he was no longer a kitten. (She said people only adopted kittens most of the time) As soon as I saw him, I knew he was coming home with me. Gum quite literally saved my life, my mom had just passed away and he really did bring me out of the darkest point of my life. Safe to say, I was so worried the day we lost him.

A day later, we got a call from a neighbor a few streets away that said he saw our flyer and that he thought Gum was in his yard. We rushed over and sure enough, it was him! I was so happy to see him, but immediately we all noticed something was wrong. He couldn't seem to stand very well and his paws were full of blood. We ran to the vet, she said he was most likely hit by a car because his pelvis was broken. It was horrible to hear. I really thought we'd get him back just fine but no. The vet let us know that he'd need surgery and it would cost anywhere between 4k - 7k. I am quite literally a broke college student, so that is completely out of my range. The visit and x-rays had already ran me $500, plus he has a follow up coming up that'll run me another $450.

Just a few days later on the 8th of May, my neighbor two doors down asked if we ever found the cat. I said yes but that he's in terrible shape, needs surgery, etc. He then admitted his step-kid hit Gum and good luck. I was so mad, not an ounce of remorse in his voice at all. Goodluck? Seriously? We literally went door to door on my street and handed the guy the flyer... I suppose I can't fault them as I'm sure it was an accident, but really? He did not even call or anything, so that really just added salt to the wound.

I don't like to beg for money, but I am really out of options. I need help for my cat. I don't know what else to do. It's a big goal I'm aiming for and I know that, but any and every little bit counts. Please if you can donate a dollar, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks for hearing our story and thank you for any contributions given.