Hi friends,

It’s been a rough month for my boy Monty. Some time last month I felt a small lump on his arm, thinking it was an infection I rushed him to the ER. They ended up taking a biopsy of it since it was an unusual mass and the results determined it was a malignant sarcoma, likely the result from receiving his regular vaccines. Apparently this is a somewhat common side effect for cats to develop cancerous tumors from piercing the skin with the vaccine syringe. It’s known as a Feline Injection Site Sarcoma (FISS).

After some visits with an oncologist, I’ve been given some options for his treatment. Either full amputation of his arm, or a targeted radiation (chemo) therapy. He’s very young and I caught it very early—the oncologist said people usually don’t bring their pets in until it’s much larger and invasive, so after much consideration I’ve decided to go the radiation route and see if my little man can be treated. Of course, if things change, I would absolutely go the amputation route, but I really want to save him the drastic life change.

Needless to say, it’s quite expensive and I’ve dropped over 5k already on his tests and ER visits. For the radiation, I was originally quoted at 13k+ at MedVet Chicago, but my vet offered me an alternate option (and thanks to all my amazing friends for offering insight, clarity, and support). I’ll be taking him to UIC in Champaign-Urbana for his treatments. They will care for him throughout the week and I may have to pick him up every weekend. I’ll be taking him there this Thursday to find out the fine details. Though its far and I will miss him so much during the week, they have quoted me around 7-8k for the full process. This includes boarding, medications, everything.

I’ve been pretty hesitant to create this fundraiser, as he is my responsibility and I willingly took on his care when I adopted him. But I’ve been convinced to allow myself to receive the support from my community. Thanks to all who have been so wonderful to me.

Honestly, I’d max out any card and go through any debt for my little one. Monty means the absolute world to me and I love him more than words can describe. He’s brought me joy and laughter during some of my toughest moments and his companionship over the near-decade he’s been with me has been a life-saver. He makes me excited to get home. He makes me less lonely when I’m sad, scared, or anxious. We’ve learned each others language. It’s actually been so devastating to find out that what I thought and have been told was the right thing, has hurt him. Thankfully these sarcomas rarely tend to metastasize, but it’s still been so heartbreaking.

Anyway, here I am. I’ve been working 40 hours a week and taking a class 3x a week and with Monty’s care I’ve been pretty overloaded. I had just opened another card to try to consolidate my debt right before all this happened, so I’m kind of sinking here. Hopefully in a couple years I’ll be working a new trade and will be much more stable, but right now I am definitely a little overwhelmed.

Life is rough for everyone right now, so I don’t expect the goal to be reached but if you feel like you’re able to help out with Monty’s care, it would be beyond appreciated.

If you’ve read this whole rant, thank you ♡ I’m really grateful for you all. And please come by and squeeze Monty anytime.