13: FIP 2

The symptoms of FIP that I am familiar with are:

• Extreme lethargy
• Inability to stand up - they just crumple
• Wanting to eat and drink, but just sitting in front of the food and water bowl
• Nausea, vomiting, diahreaa
• Jaundice - which can manifest in clouded yellow eyes when their eyes are usually another color.
• Not officially documented, but pet owners report their pet licking strange objects like the bathtub or random plastic.

Research/treatment for FIP is rather recent, and many countries have not approved the medication yet. But there is a very good 95% chance of the cat surviving if you recognize the signs and manage to find the medication, especially prescribed by a vet who is up to date on FIP research.

This post will discuss pet health and death.

He did not make it. We administered his medicine as soon as we got it, but his condition continued to worsen. This was in harsh contrast to Selina, who immediately perked up a couple hours after her first medication. We buried him next to his siblings who had passed similarly.

It is possible that it was not FIP this time, or that the medicine was ineffective in that 20% of the time it doesn't work. I read on Pangur's¹⁾ blog that “wet FIP” was easier to treat, compared to the neurological cases our cats have all had.

In any case, we did the best we could in our situation. The vet was booked for a week, and the emergency room's upfront fees were too high for us to pay. And all the times we've gone to the vet and ER previously, whatever 5+ times, the doctors simply said there was nothing to be done and then billed us thousands of dollars.

It is not the vets' faults. I know the animal health care industry is very corrupt, especially the Banfield chain. But also I wish the local vets were more educated on FIP and were able to prescribe the recently approved pill medicine, as well as intracutaneous fluids, and painkillers, and anti nausea medicine.

Selina is the last kitten from this litter. We will continue to take care of her the best we can, and keep the remaining medicine if she relapses. Our cats Randy and Butterball are being extremely friendly, even though Randy hasn't been in our room for a while. I am glad that they are here even after their own troubles.

We became more aware of FIP because of Pangur's blog. Her owner had recently bought a kitten, and they were documenting their experience with the treatment.

https://www.tumblr.com/pangur-and-grim/767519287363633152/theres-still-a-few-copies-of-the-print-left-if?source=share

I am very thankful of pet blogs that not only post photos of their pets, but happen to be accessible entry points of education. We became more aware of the symptoms of FIP, and the possible treatment avenues because of Pangur's blog. They had to first go through “black market injectable drugs” from a Facebook group, then a very expensive $7000 official study with pills, so that gave us an idea of where to start looking for help with Selina.

Another source of awareness for us was Kohi and Andi's social media outlets.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CuX65gcszlY/?igsh=bHg5N2MzcWVqbTZj

They are artists who run a non-profit cat rescue. And they also dealt with a cat passing due to FIP - though the meds are supposed to be 95% effective. They do a lot of good work, and I'm grateful that they share what they do and deal with. You should support their art and their cat rescue, go buy their stuff and donate to them!

I cannot imagine how many cats go through their hands, and how they can deal with so much loss and sadness that comes with the kitten territory. But I am glad they have helped so many cats. And I can try to think of how many cats I have helped with TNR, adoption, medical issues, rehoming, and so forth.

It just always hurts whenever death and sickness are involved. And it also hurts me when people are rather callous to the whole thing. Whether it's people saying they are just animals, or you shouldn't feel bad for them or try to help them when there are humans suffering, or that you should just not do anything and let “someone else” (who?) take care of it. Maybe that's their way of copemaxxing with the pain of existence, to put on their stoic seme facade? But I don't ever want to stop trying to help when I can.

I don't have much power or money to help a lot of humans. But we try when we can. Whether that's helping IRL people do their government and medical papers, cooking for them, giving them a place to crash, whatever we can do as millenials with a printer and ability to use computers better than most boomers.

I don't have a lot power or money to help a lot of animals. I am in total overwhelming debt because of all my attempts to help cats and dogs - most of that money has gone to vet visits that amount to “they will die” lol. But we try when we can. We have the process of TNR figured out. We try to give a home to cats that have lost theirs. We have found new homes with parents with a lot more money than us for strays occasionally.

Shane gives round-the-clock supervision to medical cases, he does so much when I am physically and mentally incapable of doing things. Shane is really selfless and giving and considerate, he really deserves better. You guys should give him a pat on the back and like $50 if you can.

https://ko-fi.com/deflectricc

I hope by writing all this out, someone else can happen to be reading my posts and realize they can do something to help. Whether it is this being your first time reading about FIP, or something else I guess. I am going to keep prepping for Slutfest this weekend, and hopefully recoup some funds.