Sorry it took me so long to update everyone, I don’t have internet right now. Bear is still hanging on, he is about the same still. I had my vet to fax over Bears records to North Carolina State College Veterinary Hospital, to see if they could help in any way. I don’t have enough money to go there, so this was the next best thing. They were surprised that Bear is still alive, they think he has the deadly and contagious FIP virus. My vet said that he told them that it was the great care that Bear is receiving from me. (Aw) Both NC State and my vet said that Bear needs a liver biopsy, BUT it is questionable if he can make it through the surgery. It costs between $300-500 total (surgery, bloodwork, meds). The reason that it has to be a surgical biopsy instead of a needle biopsy (wouldn’t have to sedate) is because with a surgical biopsy the vet can see the condition of the liver and get biopsies of the parts that are the most affected.
It took me several days to decide what to do, this is a very hard and personal choice. My cat ACTS fine, he plays chase with the other cats, uses the litter box fine, and is very alert. You can’t even tell that he is sick, except he barely eats on his own, and his skin is still yellow. But he can not live like this forever, his liver will kill him eventually, treatments are not working at this point. I can not pts at this point either, he acts as normal as he ever has. He hasn’t given up, why should I? I plan on going through with the biopsy and hope he can make it through it. I am still in a bad place financially too, Bears meds and fluids are costing about $200 every month. I need help getting the money together for this surgery, please even if it is just $1, or even less, we would greatly appreciate it. I don’t want him to die, he doesn’t act like he is ready to die.
The biopsy will help the vet find out the cause of the liver problem, he thinks it is FIP but we will not know for sure without doing this. The vet said it could show something treatable, we just don’t know. I have decided to stop doing bloodwork and save that money towards this surgery, I asked the vet if Bear really REALLY needed the bloodwork, it isn’t showing us anything that we don’t already know (his liver is bad) and it isn’t helping him get better. The vet said that the biopsy is most important at this point. We will do bloodwork before the surgery though, that is included in the total price of the biopsy.
I have once again been forced to separate Bear from the other cats, I hate that I have to do it, he is a very social cat. But if this is FIP, then they could catch it, it is highly contagious. It spreads from fecal/oral route. So sharing litter boxes, food bowls, water bowls, mutual grooming, ect can spread it. It is easily killed with normal household soap, so that is a huge plus for me. I have to be very careful and wash my hands after every time I handle Bear, before I can touch my other cats. I can not handle going through this again, I will just die if another one of my cats get as sick as Bear. It is A LOT to go through emotionally. If it is FIP, it WILL kill him. There are no treatments for FIP, it is fatal. There are no effective vaccines for FIP, there is no way to prevent it really. Even the test for FIP is sketchy. Just because a cat tests positive for FIP, it does not mean that they have it, it just means that the cat has been exposed to the Corona Virus. It is the same for if they test negative, that does not mean that the doesn’t have FIP. Very little is known about this virus. That said, Bear has not given me any signs of giving up or dying. Even if I get a firm diagnosis of FIP from the biopsy, I will not pts until he starts having bad days.
He still acts like a ray of sunshine every day, he is chipper and acts happy. If I had never seen his bloodwork, if he wasn’t yellow, and if he ate, I would swear to you that this cat is completely healthy. I truly and honestly would, that is how normal he acts. He has had very few bad days since this all started 3 months ago. I would say he has had about 4 days total that he did not feel good, and acted like he was uncomfortable.
Once again, I need your help to get the money together for this, I really hate asking. But I have to try everything possible for him, he deserves every chance. I hope we can get the money together, and I hope my boy can make it through the surgery, but at this point it is our very last option. I want to thank each and every one of you for your help thus far, it means the world to me. It may be a while before I can update again, but if something substantial happens I will have someone leave a comment to inform you all. Thank you all a
It took me several days to decide what to do, this is a very hard and personal choice. My cat ACTS fine, he plays chase with the other cats, uses the litter box fine, and is very alert. You can’t even tell that he is sick, except he barely eats on his own, and his skin is still yellow. But he can not live like this forever, his liver will kill him eventually, treatments are not working at this point. I can not pts at this point either, he acts as normal as he ever has. He hasn’t given up, why should I? I plan on going through with the biopsy and hope he can make it through it. I am still in a bad place financially too, Bears meds and fluids are costing about $200 every month. I need help getting the money together for this surgery, please even if it is just $1, or even less, we would greatly appreciate it. I don’t want him to die, he doesn’t act like he is ready to die.
The biopsy will help the vet find out the cause of the liver problem, he thinks it is FIP but we will not know for sure without doing this. The vet said it could show something treatable, we just don’t know. I have decided to stop doing bloodwork and save that money towards this surgery, I asked the vet if Bear really REALLY needed the bloodwork, it isn’t showing us anything that we don’t already know (his liver is bad) and it isn’t helping him get better. The vet said that the biopsy is most important at this point. We will do bloodwork before the surgery though, that is included in the total price of the biopsy.
I have once again been forced to separate Bear from the other cats, I hate that I have to do it, he is a very social cat. But if this is FIP, then they could catch it, it is highly contagious. It spreads from fecal/oral route. So sharing litter boxes, food bowls, water bowls, mutual grooming, ect can spread it. It is easily killed with normal household soap, so that is a huge plus for me. I have to be very careful and wash my hands after every time I handle Bear, before I can touch my other cats. I can not handle going through this again, I will just die if another one of my cats get as sick as Bear. It is A LOT to go through emotionally. If it is FIP, it WILL kill him. There are no treatments for FIP, it is fatal. There are no effective vaccines for FIP, there is no way to prevent it really. Even the test for FIP is sketchy. Just because a cat tests positive for FIP, it does not mean that they have it, it just means that the cat has been exposed to the Corona Virus. It is the same for if they test negative, that does not mean that the doesn’t have FIP. Very little is known about this virus. That said, Bear has not given me any signs of giving up or dying. Even if I get a firm diagnosis of FIP from the biopsy, I will not pts until he starts having bad days.
He still acts like a ray of sunshine every day, he is chipper and acts happy. If I had never seen his bloodwork, if he wasn’t yellow, and if he ate, I would swear to you that this cat is completely healthy. I truly and honestly would, that is how normal he acts. He has had very few bad days since this all started 3 months ago. I would say he has had about 4 days total that he did not feel good, and acted like he was uncomfortable.
Once again, I need your help to get the money together for this, I really hate asking. But I have to try everything possible for him, he deserves every chance. I hope we can get the money together, and I hope my boy can make it through the surgery, but at this point it is our very last option. I want to thank each and every one of you for your help thus far, it means the world to me. It may be a while before I can update again, but if something substantial happens I will have someone leave a comment to inform you all. Thank you all a
