My 7 months old kitten was diagnosed with a deadly disease, called FIP, Feline Infectious Peritonitis with a mortality rate greater than 95%. This disease is not a common one, but the virus that provokes it is the feline coronavirus that a lot of cats have. This virus is generally overcome by the cats’ immune system, but in 5 to 10% of cases it suffers a mutation and that’s the cruel fate my kitten is going through.
Her symptoms started like a week ago. Overnight, our usual energic cat started to distance herself from us, looking for refuge in places where she could be alone. She started not to eat almost anything. and her belly seemed bigger than usual. At the time we used to think that she’s a bit overweight because God knows how much she loves eating, to the point where she would steal our other kitten’s food and try to bury it by scratching the floor in order to save it for later.
We took her to the vet, and that’s when we found out the disturbing news. I froze, and my boyfriend left the room to hide his reaction. We were presented with 3 options: boosting her immune system, an experimental treatment which costs a few thousand dollars in the long term, and putting her to sleep. The only thing we could do is pick the first option, because we couldn’t afford giving her the experimental treatment.
It was hard for us to accept that we have to reveal our financial situation to the veterinarian, but in these situations you have to be transparent. The doctor was very lenient and agreed to help us free of charge, until we have the money to pay him. We established to get her to the vet in the morning for infusions and take her in the evening, since we caouldn’t afford let her stay there during the night. Even though our veterinarian and everyone there is trying really hard, Lisa’s chances to survive were very slim on that treatment, it was a palliative one...
At the moment she eats and drinks water by herself, likes to be petted, which is uncommon for other cats in her situation. When we saw how much she’s fighting and is trying to survive, we decided to help her fight her fight.
Sleepless nights, calculations which left us terrified and the continual struggle to find a solution lead us to a hard road, but not impossible to achieve. In order for her to have higher chances of survival, we had to opt for the experimental treatment against FIP. We tried to call for help everywhere we could, but it’s not enough. A vial is 70-75$, and the treatment lasts up to 84 days. A vial ensures 3-5 days of treatment, and we cannot afford this in the longer term, not even close. We also have to do monthly blood tests and to get her pills for liver because the treatment can attack the liver.
We started the treatment, we bought some vials for $70 dollars ( 1 USD = 4 times our RON), but we don't know when our budget ends. I wasted 2 doses because I had to do the injection myself and I couldn't do it. I hate to see her crying. I had a panic attack, the liquid ended on her fur. We started because of the donors, we have to fight now! Please, help us to continue it! We managed to do so much because of them! I write this on day 5 of the treatment!
UPDATE: Right now we are on day 10 and we managed to get 24 doses out of 84, but we have a long journey ahead! We can't stop the treatment!
I almost lost hope in humanity, I spent 3 days without sleeping trying to post our story everywhere and everyone ignores us or wants money in return, even though they know we don't have any money left. I think I'll sell my jewelry and my bf is going to sell his computer, but even if we're going to do we can't afford it and there are a lot of things we need to pay too.
We need every donor that wants to help Lisa survive. We need to enjoy every moment with her! Please help an innocent soul, a kitten that looked like would live for a hundred years, to pass away so soon.
Every dollar means a lot for us! Even 1 dollar means everything! We need to have a lot of backers, thank you for your time!
Thank you so much for your time!
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