Jake , a sweet, ginger fur boy was part of a colony of community cats being cared for by the community in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

His colony caretaker contacted me as we've worked together in rescue for some time now.

Jeff , who has been feeding Jake since he was a young kitten, had noticed that Jake had become inappetant at times. Still showing up for pets and chin rubs but his eyes were not as bright and he was moving slower now. "He seems sick,"Jeff said to me.

So I advised that it was time to bring Jake in off the streets and find out what is going on.

An appointment was made and Jake was transported to begin his new indoor life that evening at the colony feeding time.

It was immediately noticeable that Jake had become very thin. His breathing seemed fast and after timing his respiratory rate I concluded he was in respiratory distress.

The DVM assessed him and upon X-ray abdominal effusion fluid (ascites)was discovered!

My heart sank ... I've travelled this path before ... not so long ago.

In 2021 I treated a cat I'd been feeding and TNR'd. His name is Patches. Patches showed up everyday for feedings at my front deck and 10 months after I'd TNR'd him he seemed to be sick (moving more slowly and deliberately, eating less, losing weight and sleeping on my deck for hrs and hrs ). All of these things were outside the norm for him. I brought him inside and set him up in a guest room and in the months to come we would pay in excess of 10K in emergency hospital visits amd specialty medicine and diagnostics. We made 5 ( 5 hour round trip drives to the nearest small animal veterinary hospital with an on site pathology lab and specialty medicine department!

He underwent (2) blood transfusions, aspirates for fluid testing and ultarsounds as well as echocardiogram and pericardiocentesis to remove 40 mls !!! of fluid from his pericardial sac and numerous (3) visits to remove fluid from his pleural space where fluid had built up

around his lungs🫁

So you see , when I heard the DVM say FIP after Jake's abdominal fluid was tested ... I felt something shift inside me ... not fear ... bc I've battled this unseen foe before ... and I've won !💪

I felt outraged ...how dare this virus 🦠 come back for round two against me in another innocent and unsuspecting felines body!

Jake, a sweet ginger soul, just trying to survive in a harsh world where the homeless domestic comaknion animal population is larger than the number of kind, caring souls willing to open their homes to offer relief to these sweet souls.

How dare this virus attack a cat 🐈who against all odds is surviving life outdoors!

So after the DVM advised Jeff, Jake's colony caretaker and king time friend of the options ... the nucleoside treatment ( which he could not recommend or prescribe due to lack of FDA approval ) and the other option of euthanasia ... Jake came home from that appointment ( he has a home now ... for the time being and hopefully 🙏 long term ... if we win )

I pr nmm