DAXTER'S FIP STORY

Daxter was a very active and highly intelligent cat. He would talk all the time, run around with his brothers and escape to go running like crazy in the backyard. But at some point in august 2020, I noticed that he started to lose weight and show no interest to the food proposed to him. Having already been through the loss of a 7 month old kitten by FIP before, I immediately recognised some of the precursor signs the late kitten was showing in Daxter and brought him to the vet. After many tests and 2 nights at the vet hospital, it was confirmed to be a humid FIP acting as a big mass surrounding and making its way into his stomach. At this point, we were in the first week of january 2021 and daxter was weighing a sad 4 pounds; He had no energy, spending most of his time in my bed, he had a huge lump on his stomach preventing him from eating, not moving really, barely drinking and eating. He didn't even talk/sing anymore. It was like watching him die... He looked miserable and ... I didn't want him to suffer more than he had to, so I called the vet and planned for a euthanasia for 5 days later.

I spend the first 3 days, sadly trying to accept that my beloved baby, my little crazy guy was going to be gone soon and there was nothing I could do... I would see him everyday get weaker and weaker, lighter and less.... alive. I would even say he looked like he was fading away. It broke my heart and thinking back to it makes my heart ache. Soon, he would be no more.....

...or so I thought, until I miraculously scraped together what was left of strenght in my heart to make research and found the FIP warrior group. I read a few of the other pet parents testimony and was convinced. I had already heard through a vet technician when my kitten passed away that there had been a treatment in developpment years prior, so I decided to write to one of the admins of the group to ask questions about it; the side effects, the price, the possibilities and the chances this liquid luck could bring us( FYI: ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS, vets/authoritative figures will not necessarily always know what is best for your pet/you).

The next day, on day 4, I called the vet to cancel the euthanasia appointment.

On day 5 I was driving 2h toward the city to get the first few bottles of treatment and I can safely say, this was one of the smartest choices and most valuable monetary sacrifices I have had to do in my life. and if I had to go through it again, I would do the same choice. Meeting the person who made it possible for my baby to still be alive... Still to this day, I am deeply grateful for these people. (thank you, for everything)

Following the precise directives given by the people supporting me through this process, every day for 90 days following this point, I gave Daxter the medicine and found him to be doing much MUCH better even within the first 2-3 days!

He would eat a bit more and show interest towards water, he even started to meow again around day 13. I could finally see him come back to life.

It was not long before he started being himself again, brrrr-ing as he passed me by in the hallway, fighting his brother, running to go outside, screaming at us just 'cause... I never though I would get to see him like this again.

At the time I am writing this, it has been 2 years since we finished the treatment and Daxter is doing amazing. We have been doing kidney disease screen testing every 6 months as well as complete blood counts and up 'till last time (in may 2022) , everything looked perfect. Now, he is on the verge of starting to have kidney problems but with preventative care and follow ups with the vets, we are looking to still have him for years past today.

Every morning I wake up and feed him, I see him feasting on the food he gets and it warms me up to know... He will never have to suffer from this horrible disease. Whenever I take him out on a walk, i'm grateful to see him happily trot in front of me. Whenever he lays in bed with me, i'm grateful for this team of people who helped me keep him. Who believed in us.

Thank you. Always and for everything. I hope you will have the chance, the money and the strenght to go through this for your pet. It's not easy but... it is worth the pain.