KORMA'S FIP JOURNEY

In November of 2022 we noticed that our recently turned 2 year old cat, Korma had suddenly lost her appetite. Korma not being interested in food was an immediate red flag for us, and after also seeing diarrhea with small amounts of blood in the litter box, we had her examined at the emergency clinic. Their basic ultrasound revealed enlarged lymph nodes throughout her digestive tract, and the initial assessment from that very first vet was that it could either be FIP or Lymphoma. As is still typically the case, she said that if it was FIP, it was fatal and that there was no cure.

After that initial assessment, we actually hoped Korma had lymphoma because at least treatment for that could hopefully buy us more time, vs. the alternative we were told. We wanted a confirmed diagnosis, so went for a second more detailed ultrasound that confirmed the enlarged lymph nodes, and this new vet said it was “almost certainly” cancer but further testing was needed to confirm. This led us on a long detour of ruling out lymphoma. (If we could do it over, we would begin treatment for FIP at this point to see if there was an improvement).

We elected to do a biopsy to remove a lymph node and examine it for cancer or bacteria, and also elected to put in a feeding tube, so we could at least get some calories in to Korma since she was still not eating. Without the feeding tube, she would have simply starved to death before we could begin treatment for whatever it was she had.

After a long delay of waiting for results that eventually ruled out cancer, bacterial or fungal infection, they finally began the lab work to see if it was FIP (2 weeks after the biopsy). We were frustrated and asked why all of them couldn’t be rule out at once, and were told it was procedure, and to also save us money, since we paid for each test as they did it vs. all at once. Our vet at this point recommended that we begin treatment for FIP before getting the lab results, as Korma would not survive the further 2 week wait. By this point she had lost half her body weight and had persistent bloody vomit and diarrhea. It was finally on Christmas Day of 2022 that we were put in touch with the FIP Warriors group.

The support and information that we received was incredible. By the morning of Boxing Day, we had our first 2 weeks of GS medicine and detailed instructions of what to do. Korma responded within 12 hours of her first dose and began eating solid food again for the first time in weeks. Within a couple days she was walking and playing with toys, and by the time the official confirmation of FIP came from the lab 2 weeks later, she was gaining weight and no longer had a feeding tube.

The incredible support we got from the FIP Warriors group was so encouraging and we were thrilled to see Korma’s continued improvement over the 3 month course of injections. By the time her 3 month monitoring period was over in June of 2023, she had more than gained all her previous weight back, and was verging on being a bit too fat (she’s earned the extra treats though…).

We can’t thank the FIP Warriors group enough, and the support of our vets and techs who encouraged the use of the unregulated GS medicine. We really hope that this medicine will be approved in the future, as it has allowed so many more years of happiness with Korma in our family.