feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), sucks!

[samhambone]

one of our kitties - a mere baby of just one year of age - likely has FIP. i had never heard of this disease before our guy got sick. he's stabilized now, but likely has very limited time to live. we got him and his brother from a shelter and love the heck out of them both. my wife and i had hoped they would both grow old w/ us. we even joked when we got them that they better have a murder/suicide pact with one another so when one goes, the other goes as well (they were inseparable as tiny guys - thankfully, they have grown more independent).
this has been a real kick in the gut reality check - expect and assume nothing. thanks for listening (i.e., reading) this.

[Jon Silberman]

Very sorry to learn of this.

[samhambone]

Very sorry to learn of this.

thanks jon. i feel silly crying about my guy when i think about and compare it to all of suffering that goes on in the world - wars, death, destruction...i feel empathy for that stuff, but not the emotion i feel with this. this little cat being sick makes me cry like a little baby.

[pbradt]

one of our kitties - a mere baby of just one year of age - likely has FIP. i had never heard of this disease before our guy got sick. he's stabilized now, but likely has very limited time to live. we got him and his brother from a shelter and love the heck out of them both. my wife and i had hoped they would both grow old w/ us. we even joked when we got them that they better have a murder/suicide pact with one another so when one goes, the other goes as well (they were inseparable as tiny guys - thankfully, they have grown more independent).
this has been a real kick in the gut reality check - expect and assume nothing. thanks for listening (i.e., reading) this.

Samhambone, I'm so terribly sorry to read this. I have to go get a tissue. Cats being cut down too soon just tears me up.

FIP, sadly, is incurable, and always fatal. It's caused by the Corona Virus but it's a specific KIND of corona virus, and most cats have some sort of Corona virus in them regardless.

I however, FIP is NOT contagious, so there is no more chance that the other sibling will be infected than any other cat.

Again, I am terribly, terribly sorry about this. Five years ago, we thought we were going to lose our then five-year-old Billie girl kitty to FIP. The ultrasound was inconclusive but the vet's best guess was FIP. We put her on antibiotics and prednisone, and finally she did come around, but we had given her a week (she had neuropathy very badly - tonic-clonic seizures) but after two weeks on antibiotics and a week on steroids, she started coming around and eating on her own (we had been force-feeding her).

Billie is now a very large moose of a cat. But we lost Brat a year ago (Lymphoma), and I know exactly how you're suffering. I only ask that you not let your little fella go too long. PM me if you need to. I have been where you are and it sucks mightily.

[samhambone]

thank you for your kind words. my first question to the vet was is our kitty (named little dude) in pain. vet doesn't think so and dude doesn't seem to be. my wife and i definitely believe we have an obligation to honor and do right by him and put him down before he suffers. and i'm sorry to hear about your brat.

Samhambone, I'm so terribly sorry to read this. I have to go get a tissue. Cats being cut down too soon just tears me up.

FIP, sadly, is incurable, and always fatal. It's caused by the Corona Virus but it's a specific KIND of corona virus, and most cats have some sort of Corona virus in them regardless.

I however, FIP is NOT contagious, so there is no more chance that the other sibling will be infected than any other cat.

Again, I am terribly, terribly sorry about this. Five years ago, we thought we were going to lose our then five-year-old Billie girl kitty to FIP. The ultrasound was inconclusive but the vet's best guess was FIP. We put her on antibiotics and prednisone, and finally she did come around, but we had given her a week (she had neuropathy very badly - tonic-clonic seizures) but after two weeks on antibiotics and a week on steroids, she started coming around and eating on her own (we had been force-feeding her).

Billie is now a very large moose of a cat. But we lost Brat a year ago (Lymphoma), and I know exactly how you're suffering. I only ask that you not let your little fella go too long. PM me if you need to. I have been where you are and it sucks mightily.

[pmcqueen]

this little cat being sick makes me cry like a little baby.

me too, man. just a few months ago, my idiot of a roommate left my kitty out on the deck (she's indoor only, but I let her out there when I was outside/paying enough attention. I was in my room and didn't realize he'd let her out). a squirrel ran by and she flipped and jumped straight off the balcony into a bush and started chasing it through the little greenbelt that was behind our apartment building.

had no idea where she went. I looked everywhere. there was a lot of undeveloped land behind the apartments though and I figured she was just gone. I was literally hysterical.. turned into an 18 year old, irrational female for a while. after I'd calmed down, I was just sitting in my room twiddling my thumbs hoping she would come back. about five hours later, I hear meowing at the front door.. she was just sitting out there waiting for me. that made me bawl, and I don't care how much of a puss I am for it. she's my baby.

just a tragedy that your kitty has to go through that. best wishes to you, your wife & little dude. I'm glad to hear you're putting your emotions aside and doing what's best for him.. no sense in making him suffer if it gets to that point.

[The Golden Boy]

My best wishes.

I had a girlfriend who's kitten got ill. I don't remember if it was FIP. She was an incredibly sweet little kitten girl, and I was exceptionally sad.

[pbradt]

We had our BB get out a couple months ago - time stopped until we found him.

[samhambone]

update - yesterday morning we had to put down our little dude. he had been a bit lethargic since the diagnosis but he really started to fail friday evening. he was just over one year old. we still have his brother and two others, so my wife and i are trying to be thankful for what we have and not obsess over what we've lost. he had a great life (and sad to say - probably better than many kids in the world), albeit one that was much too short.

[pbradt]

I am terribly sorry for your loss. When some time has passed, I hope you'll consider bringing another kitty into your hearts and home. So many are homeless.