I figured I’d write a blog post to update you all on how Kate is doing. As many of you know, she hasn’t been in good shape for the past few weeks. I’ve been hesitant to post updates because there has been a lot in question, and there still is. I so much appreciate the outpouring of love and care that has come from you all. It’s meant so much to know that you are thinking about Kate, and sending us all of your positive wishes.
For those of you who don’t know Kate, this is her as of a week ago:
She’s also one of the stars of my music video, “What I’m Here For.”
A few weeks ago she started to become extremely lethargic, show discharge from her eyes, and stopped wanting to eat. It became a huge chore to get her to eat enough each day. After bringing her to the vet, I found out that she had lost a pound in a month. After some blood work was done, it was determined that her protein and globulin levels were high, indicating that she was fighting something. She was also anemic.
She was given a CT scan to check for tumors or any abnormalities. It appeared her kidneys were enlarged, but no tumors were present.
We started her on steroids, which immediately helped her start acting more normal, eating, and drinking voraciously.
The vet said that her symptoms pointed to something called dry FIP, which is an incurable disease. Mind you, at this point I fell swiftly from terrible worry into devastation.
I’ve done as much reading as I possibly can about FIP. It occurs in only a rare number of cats, who are genetically predisposed to the mutation of a common virus that cats are exposed to, FCoV.
It then came down to testing her DNA for evidence of this predisposition…which came back NEGATIVE! I was a bit relieved, but still dubious. What the heck else could these symptoms point to?
This morning, Kate had what looked like a burst blood vessel in her eye. I took her to the vet. She apparently has gained back half of the weight that she had lost, the elevated proteins and globulin levels have been regulated a bit, and her mild fever that she had had for a while had ended. It was mildly comforting, though the vet said that it's probably the steroids regulating everything.
Where we are right now: There’s a test to come back next week, testing her antibodies for the FCoV, which is that initial virus that would have to be present for FIP to happen at all. If it is FIP, there's an experimental medication that in some cats with the virus has extended their lives to an additional year. This would require stopping the steroids.
I'm waiting for that test to come back before making any decisions. The vet still thinks that it is probably FIP, but I’m trying my best to be optimistic. From here, I’ll keep you posted.
Whatever the results of this test may be will just be another piece of the puzzle. There’s obviously something wrong here, whatever it is.
I brought Kate home last April with her adopted brother Leo. I remember the night before I was supposed to go pick them up, looking at the food bowls all ready on the counter, filling the litter boxes, and going to bed with excitement, knowing that I would be changing two animals’ lives, and that they would be changing mine. Both of these cats were living at the shelter for over two years before I adopted them. Kate especially has had a hard time. Her health was not great when she first came home, and I have since been taking the best care of her that I've been able to. She had to have ten teeth extracted over the Summer because of serious cracking and decay, which must have caused her pain for a long time. After the procedure, she was eating more comfortably and acting even sweeter.
I couldn’t have asked for sweeter cats. These two have never once hissed at me, scratched, or bit me, no matter how I’ve had to wrangle them to get them into their crates to go to the vet. Every morning as I have my coffee and check my emails, Kate jumps up onto my lap, I rub my hot mug along her back, and she purrs ferociously.
It’s been less than a year and these animals are my family. I can’t imagine one without the other. Everything has just been up in the air for weeks, and I’m doing my best to just enjoy every moment I can with her, giving her all of the kisses and snuggles and pets that I can, and making her feel as loved as possible.
You just never know what’s around the bend. Thanks for all your love.