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Member
 
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Last Login: 10/9/2009 7:06:26 PM
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Raine is an orange tabby with some tiger strips. (Like the one on the "Cats Pride" ads.) About a month ago she came down with some terrible condition which we could not identify. She stopped eating and began wasting away. We took her to our main vet. He gave her an antibiotic shot and fluids. He also urged us to have blood work done on her. Unfortunately, I'm unemployed and my wife is a teacher. So I make no money and she makes very little. After a week I took Raine to a second vet (another one we use every now and then) and asked him to look at her. (Second opinion.) He gave me a week's worth of antibiotic pills and also suggested we get the blood work done.
So we had to wait until my wife got paid again. Meantime I continued to stuff pills down her throat and I used what little money I had to buy some good quality canned cat food which I mixed with water and tried to get down her throat. Unfortunately, almost everything I got down her she immediately threw back up. Finally, I began reducing the amount I gave to her down to about a 1CC (on a syringe the doctor gave me) of watery food. I also had gone from doing this twice a day to almost hourly. Surprisingly, Raine fought me with a strength I would not have thought she would have since she had lost over half of her body weight by this time.
After a week we were able to take Rainey back to the first vet and had the blood work done. The news was not good. Feline Infectious Peritonitis or FIP for short. Almost always fatal. My wife(Kris) began getting upset at the fact that Raine was not eating by herself or pooping at all. (Although she was still urinating.) I was getting food into her and she was keeping it down although every few days this huge amount of mucus would be thrown up by her. Kris became more upset as the days went by. She didn't want Raine to suffer. How could I tell her that although Raine was very skinny now - her spirits were high, she would come into my work room and ask for attention. Even going so far as to leap up onto the table and sit on the keyboard of my computer. Still, she was very skinny and she did tire quickly.
So I kept my eyes on her all day long. Tiring as it was to keep up with her, to force food down her throat, to put pills down her throat, she and I had gotten to the point where, when she began swatting at the syringe - I knew she had had enough to eat and I would stop.
Then came the night where Kris had had enough. She started yelling and we got into a real screaming match. She was for putting Raine to sleep. I was for keeping her alive. When all was said and done Kris agreed to wait a while longer. "But if she doesn't start eating on her own or pooping - we are going to put her to sleep." It is true that for an entire week Raine had not pooped. But it was also true that I was feeding her mainly water with a little cat food in it. So I did not expect her to have to poop as there probably wasn't much inside of her and mainly she was getting the nutrients from the water. Still, I had agreed.
So I decided that what I needed to do was to try to get Raine to get more exercise so that maybe her appetite would come back. We have one of those sticks with the feathers on it and I took that upstairs with me. I began to play with Raine and she played. Only for a few minutes - but that was ok with me. The next day I played with her more and then even more the next day. But would she eat?
Things took a turn for the better when, two days later, I decided to not give Raine any more of the watered down cat food and to instead try putting some of the cat food directly onto her tongue. I did so. At first she spit it back out but she also sat there mouthing what was left in her mouth. So I tried again. Same results. So then I took less in my fingers, put it into her mouth and caught the rest when she spit it out. I held it to her mouth and she began to eat.
Like people who have gone on starvation diets - Raine had forgotten how to eat. But it didn't take long for her to remember. In the days to come I would feed her first four times a day, then three, and now we are back to two. She still refuses to eat the high-protein dry cat food all of the other cats eat, but she is beginning to put on weight again and is becoming more lively every day.
According to the latest tests - she still has FIP but she is no longer showing the symptoms. Since all of our cats are indoor only cats - we have no idea where she could have gotten it. All we can assume is that maybe it is just something she has had all of this time. That she has lived is the best thing I could have ever asked for and did every night in my prayers.
So don't give up on your pets just because they may have something thought to kill 98% of any pet who contracts the disease. There may be hope yet for those you love.
Mark
Furball furry!
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 2/5/2010 10:24:13 AM
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That is a very heartwarming story. Good for you for giving your little warrior a fighting chance!
I had a leukemia cat who lived to be a year and a half old. We found out about his leukemia when he was 12 weeks old. Because he had hand raised him from 2 weeks old, the decision to put him to sleep was hard. But, he looked into my eyes when we got home from the vet and I KNEW I heard him to tell me "Don't even think about it. I'm not ready to give up. Don't you give up on me." And we never did. Our vet backed our decision and is a family friend now. She even cried when we did have to have him put to sleep.
If your grandmother, or aunt, or father had a cancer, or some other debilitating disease, would be you considering assisted suicide? Of course not! You would do everything in your power to help them fight and be there to support and love them unconditionally. Why are our pets any different? Pets are family members too- they just look different!
Great story. Keep us posted on how your kitty is!
Got Facebook? Join my group, FeLV Advocate, and support pro-life beliefs for feline leukemia cats!
[url=http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=116465280021&ref=ts][/url]
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Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 10/9/2009 7:06:26 PM
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I love the King Tut ad/image! :-)
Well, she has regained a lot of her weight. My problem now is that she will not eat the dry cat food at all. Even if I hide it in her food she then simply will not eat the canned cat food until I take the dry cat food out. Someone said I should check the ingredients of the two kinds of food to compare them. I plan on doing that as soon as I have to get a new bag of dry cat food. Then I'm going to see if I can find a dry cat food that doesn't have some of the ingredients of the kind we buy. (Dry cat food = Innova)
Thoughts?
Furball furry!
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Senior Member
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I am so glad that Raine is doing better. I assume that the vet explained to you that FIP can not be definitively diagnosed except at necropsy. The testing that was done on her may have strongly "implied" a diagnosis of FIP, but there is the possibility that Raine doesn't have FIP at all.
As far as food in concerned, it is much more healthy for her to eat exclusively canned, anyway, so ditch the dry food that she doesn't want, and feed her the canned that she will eat and that will help her achieve the best possible health.
Congratulations on your wonderful nursing.
Laurie
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http://lfrazer.com
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Supreme Being
Group: Peer Moderators
Last Login: 2/5/2010 10:24:13 AM
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I agree with laurief. Canned food is closer to a cat's natural, wild diet. It's easier to digest and is just plain better for them!
Got Facebook? Join my group, FeLV Advocate, and support pro-life beliefs for feline leukemia cats!
[url=http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=116465280021&ref=ts][/url]
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