Following the Science: A New Direction for Buster

If there’s one thing we’ve learned this week, it’s that a healing journey isn’t a straight line — it’s a map that changes as you learn the terrain. After further consultation with Buster’s specialists and a deeper look at his latest results, we have a major update on his care plan. We are moving quickly to get Buster the care he needs and have a tentatively scheduled surgery* to amputate his effected leg tomorrow.

The Pivot to Amputation: While we initially hoped to save Buster’s leg along with his life through radiation therapy, the most recent medical data** suggests that amputation is actually the safest and most effective way to remove the primary threat immediately while minimizing Buster’s pain and suffering and giving him the bestest chance to be his bestest self for a while longer. It’s a heavy decision, but cats are incredibly resilient “tripods” and taking this aggressive action ensures the original tumor is gone and can never come back. That in and of itself is a huge relief in which we take great comfort!

The Long-Term Hope: Because we want to give Buster the best possible future, we don’t want to stop at surgery. We are now shooting for Immunotherapy — a cutting-edge treatment against melanomas that will teach his own immune system to fight any remaining cells.

Our Mission Now: We are keeping our fundraising goal at $6,000 for now to put towards the surgery ($1,200 -$1,500) and the initial round of immunotherapy ($5,000-$6000). Every $5 Twinkle is more important than ever as we shift our focus from radiation to this long-term healing path.

Thank you for being flexible with us. We are learning in real-time, and we are so grateful to have a constellation of supporters who value Buster’s life as much as we do!!

With love and purrs from here to the stars,

Erin, Jacob, Buster, Binx, Melody Malone, and Julius

*Note: We are currently working from a verbal estimate for the surgery and ballpark figures generated by AI for the immunotherapy. We expect to have these finalized in writing by Monday (5/11/2026) and will update our records here as soon as we have them in hand!

**To see up-to-date expenses, estimates, or to learn more about the treatment we’ve chosen and why, visit our Transparency Page