CALEDONIA'S FIP STORY

On November 11, 2022, my husband and I walked into a pet store to buy some dog treats. As soon as we walked in the door, my husband zeroed in on the kittens. It had been exactly one month since I had to put ‘my’ cat to sleep due to old age/illness, so I wasn’t interested in looking at kittens. My husband fell in love with a tiny black and white kitten. He ‘asked’ me if we could get her, and I told him he was a grown up who could do whatever he wanted! He declared she would be ‘his’ cat.

From the day we brought her home, Caledonia decided that I was ‘her’ human and didn’t pay my husband any mind at all. We already had five male cats at home, and I have to say, Caledonia’s was the easiest transition of a new cat we have ever had. She fit right in almost from day one. I wonder now if they sensed she was sick.

Things were fine for the first few weeks. I was a little concerned she was so small, but figured it was the difference between male/females.

She was never a great eater, but things took a turn for the worse on December 16th, which also happened to be my birthday. She was lethargic and not acting herself. My the next day she wasn’t any better and I made an appointment at the vet first thing Monday morning. The vet saw her (my regular wasn’t available, so we saw an associate) and nothing really jumped out at her. She put her on antibiotics and said it was probably a virus. Two days later she still wasn’t any better and I took her back in. My vet took blood, and still nothing really jumped out at him. He mentioned FIP but the blood work didn’t 100% point to that. He did an abdominal ultrasound and did see a tiny bit of free fluid, but based on blood work thought she was ok and just needed a little more support.

I began appetite stimulants and subcutaneous fluids and more antibiotics. By this time it was basically Christmas and we were so stressed. I would get up early to force feed her and rush home at the end of the day to spend all evening trying to get enough calories into her. She was so sad looking and barely moved. She was a tiny skeleton with skin. But her belly was getting round. By December 27th I took her back and wanted to go full throttle, feeding tubes, IV fluids, anything to save her. My vet said at this point it was certainly FIP and there was nothing we could do. He said she was too small for a feeding tube and it would only delay the inevitable anyway. He said there was a new medication but it was $20000 or something.

I made the heartbreaking decision to euthanize her the next day. I wanted to bring her home for the night so my husband and kids could see her one last time. I was just beside myself. I spent hours scouting the internet and came upon FIP Warriors 2.0. I posted my story and sent a message asking for help. I was flooded with over a dozen messages begging me not to euthanize and try the medication. I received a message from admin witching a few hours and was set up to pick up my first vial the next day.

When my husband came home, I was crying and he did too. Then I told him what I had found and what I was going to do. I thought he’d tell me I was crazy. But he said ‘what’s the harm?
She will die if we do nothing’. So I went and got the meds and gave Caledonia her first injection on December 28th. I’ll never forget how she cried the first time. I had called my vet that day and he was super supportive. He gave me prescriptions for everything I asked for. The admins recommended I up her Gabapentin dose the next day. It made it much more tolerable.

She was a trooper. She never shied away from her injection. She sat calmly when I wrapped her up. She did cry and it tore through me but I knew I had to just keep at it one day at a time. I watched her like a hawk those first few days. She didn’t bounce back right away. I worried and messaged the admin a lot those first few days. I was force feeding her every 2 hours when I was home and giving her subcutaneous fluids everyday.

Day 6 was the best day! She started eating in her own! By day 8 she was eating 3 cans of food a day! She was starving and got a Churu every night with her injection. I managed the injections for 35 days, before we switched to pills. It was such a relief, the injections caused me so much anxiety and she had started to develop sores. She was still so tiny, but finally started to lose fluid and gain real weight!

I was so relieved when she graduated to observation but still so worried and anxious! The three months until she was considered ‘cured’ were almost as tough as the three months of treatment. It took her the full 6 months to get to a healthy weight and build up her muscle mass. Today I keep her a little ‘plump’ as I will never forget how her bones felt when she was the sickest. I’d rather she have some ‘extra’ in case!

Caledonia celebrated her 1st birthday in August and her first ‘gotcha’ day is coming up on November 11. I am grateful every day that she is here with us. I made a pact with the universe that if she lived, I would treat her like a Princess. And that what I call her. Either Princess Caledonia or Munchie/Munchkin. She gets anything and everything her heart desires (as long as it won’t make her sick or be dangerous!). I was so worried after all those needles, she would hate me, but she doesn’t! I’m still ‘her’ person. She rides on my shoulders, snuggles in my arms in the evenings and sleeps on me at night.

I am so grateful for FIP Warriors and all the people who reached out and convinced me to give my girl a chance!