Hi friends. This is Hal from Baltimore Md. feeling really down, our one year old cat Aaron is showing signs of FIP. Spent the night last night in the emergency vet hospital. He was dehydrated and anemic. Spoke to the vet at 6:45 this morning and he said that kitty is responding well and is doing much better. He wanted to release him to me and take him to his vet, but I said, if he were a human in ICU, it would make sense to keep him there until his signs are stable. He agreed so Aaron is spending another night.
This is a horrible frustrating disease, in that you can really never be sure that it is what you are dealing with. In my case I am almost 100% certain that it is FIP. So for now it is supportive care until the next crisis.
What would you do if Aaron were your Kitty?
I am open to suggestions.
thanks for your ear and support
Hal
P.s. Traci, I love the new look of the site. You have thought of everything.
FIP
well...
As with any problem with your animal.. its never easy. We recently had our two feLV+ kitties die due to FIP. We didnt know it was such at the time, though they did show signs.: (i.e. no balance, dehydration, anorexic etc. etc.) The only thing we could do is keep them home and give all the supportive care we could. We knew that death was inevitable. Our view on it was that if they were going to go, we wanted them to be able to go at home where they were loved. .. If Aaron were my cat, thats exactly what i would do. I would get all the information i could from the vet, and then take him home and do what ever it took for him to be comfortable and know that he is home and in the presence of people that love him. Other than that, im not sure there is anything else you can do.. its tough, i know. 
I feel for you and Aaron and pray that all goes well
I feel for you and Aaron and pray that all goes well_-~In loving memory of Gabriel and Greybear~-_
Hal,
My heart aches for you, I too have walked this path and it is never easy. Because I rescue the wild ones, I have a different outlook than most on this. I gauge what I do based on the cat itself. I will provide comfort and love and assistance but when I know it is bad, when the eyes tell me it is time, I break away from my desire to want to hold this cat forever and I release it from the pain it deals with.
Cats are very stoic and they learn in the wild not to show pain or injury, because if they do, they know that this will be their demise. The problem with letting go of your love so early, is that their pain becomes yours. But, I would rather my cats leave me while they are relatively in peace, then leave me when they are in intense suffering.
You have my heart---------- Last year we lost the best cat in the world. Dunkin was a near-drowning victim when she was but weeks old. She survived the abuse and the odds. I was told she would not reach her first birthday. She had a myriad of problems as she grew, then developed cancer. We opted to put her down instead of through chemo. We figured, she had been through enough. Dunk was 9 years old when she passed
My heart aches for you, I too have walked this path and it is never easy. Because I rescue the wild ones, I have a different outlook than most on this. I gauge what I do based on the cat itself. I will provide comfort and love and assistance but when I know it is bad, when the eyes tell me it is time, I break away from my desire to want to hold this cat forever and I release it from the pain it deals with.
Cats are very stoic and they learn in the wild not to show pain or injury, because if they do, they know that this will be their demise. The problem with letting go of your love so early, is that their pain becomes yours. But, I would rather my cats leave me while they are relatively in peace, then leave me when they are in intense suffering.
You have my heart---------- Last year we lost the best cat in the world. Dunkin was a near-drowning victim when she was but weeks old. She survived the abuse and the odds. I was told she would not reach her first birthday. She had a myriad of problems as she grew, then developed cancer. We opted to put her down instead of through chemo. We figured, she had been through enough. Dunk was 9 years old when she passed
Last edited by MA on Fri May 23, 2003 3:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The smallest feline is a masterpiece.
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
UPDATE-AARON-FIP
Dear Friends, AN UPDATE
Saturday, I brought Aaron home from the hospital. His temperature is stable, giving him Prednizone to control inflammatory reactions, and keep temp down. I monitor his temp throughout the day and he is maintaining a normal of 100-101 (fine for a cat as you know).
He eats sporadically never much at any one time. He does not always drink as much as I would like, so I hydrate him with a huge syringe that the vet gave me. Small amounts of water often throughout the day.
We all keep him company and he is very responsive. His body is so thin it is pitiful. My 7 year old cat "OREO" who we keep isolated from Aaron, is a picture of health. Smooth glossy coat, robust body, very alert. My only worry with him is how much exposure he had to the virus before we knew what we were dealing with.
So that's the update. At the urging of Traci, I am going to talk to my vet and request that she fax or consult on her lab notes with either Cornell or anyone that she knows in the field. Traci seems to think that something doesn't fit. Perhaps there is something that was overlooked, miracles can happen.
so that is the latest from Baltimore.
Talk to you all real soon.
Hal
Saturday, I brought Aaron home from the hospital. His temperature is stable, giving him Prednizone to control inflammatory reactions, and keep temp down. I monitor his temp throughout the day and he is maintaining a normal of 100-101 (fine for a cat as you know).
He eats sporadically never much at any one time. He does not always drink as much as I would like, so I hydrate him with a huge syringe that the vet gave me. Small amounts of water often throughout the day.
We all keep him company and he is very responsive. His body is so thin it is pitiful. My 7 year old cat "OREO" who we keep isolated from Aaron, is a picture of health. Smooth glossy coat, robust body, very alert. My only worry with him is how much exposure he had to the virus before we knew what we were dealing with.
So that's the update. At the urging of Traci, I am going to talk to my vet and request that she fax or consult on her lab notes with either Cornell or anyone that she knows in the field. Traci seems to think that something doesn't fit. Perhaps there is something that was overlooked, miracles can happen.
so that is the latest from Baltimore.
Talk to you all real soon.
Hal
FIP
Dear friends,
Here is a sad update. My wife and I had to put Aaron to sleep this morning. His fever, which was stable the past few days spiked to 104 at 7:00 A.m. By the time I got him to the emergency vet, it was 105.9 and climbing. We decided that he had been through enough and did the ultimate loving thing. His body was in such bad shape that they could not find a vein for sedative, so they had to inject him abdominally. I held him as he went to sleep and eventually let go of all of his suffering.
My wife and I kissed him on his little head and told him how much we loved him. I told him that I was sure to see him someday at the Rainbow Bridge. Aaron is being buried tomorrow at the Humane Society of Baltimore county. In true jewish tradition, he is being buried the next day.
So that's it. It has been a real ordeal which lasted one month from the day he was diagnosed (sort of) until the day he died. Thanks to everyone who responded with their information and support. I hope to visit this board often perhaps with good news for a change. Hal
Here is a sad update. My wife and I had to put Aaron to sleep this morning. His fever, which was stable the past few days spiked to 104 at 7:00 A.m. By the time I got him to the emergency vet, it was 105.9 and climbing. We decided that he had been through enough and did the ultimate loving thing. His body was in such bad shape that they could not find a vein for sedative, so they had to inject him abdominally. I held him as he went to sleep and eventually let go of all of his suffering.
My wife and I kissed him on his little head and told him how much we loved him. I told him that I was sure to see him someday at the Rainbow Bridge. Aaron is being buried tomorrow at the Humane Society of Baltimore county. In true jewish tradition, he is being buried the next day.
So that's it. It has been a real ordeal which lasted one month from the day he was diagnosed (sort of) until the day he died. Thanks to everyone who responded with their information and support. I hope to visit this board often perhaps with good news for a change. Hal
Hal, I am so at a loss for words, my heart is just aching for you.
I know that you had done everything possible for Aaron, and I know that it turned your world upside down. I think Aaron was sent to you for a special purpose, and it was YOU he chose to make this journey with. However short that journey may have been, you must know that the love and bond you shared was the ultimate, that can never be taken away from you.
I'm shedding tears with you, my friend, and remembering Aaron as the beautiful boy he will always be to you.......(((HUGS)))
I know that you had done everything possible for Aaron, and I know that it turned your world upside down. I think Aaron was sent to you for a special purpose, and it was YOU he chose to make this journey with. However short that journey may have been, you must know that the love and bond you shared was the ultimate, that can never be taken away from you.
I'm shedding tears with you, my friend, and remembering Aaron as the beautiful boy he will always be to you.......(((HUGS)))
..........Traci