FIP? Please help...

[aprilbaby15]

I hear so many recovery stories. It makes me wonder, should I wait it out, and possibly let her suffer but have the possibility of her recovering...or call it quits and not let her feel any worse than she currently already is feeling...
Ugh :/

 

[neely]

 I've noticed this virus only takes cats that are so precious to their families. They're ripped away from the ones who love them most...maybe god just wants some time with the best kitties this world has to offer.
 

I think those of us who have experienced living with a cat who has FIP have given them the utmost love and affection so that when their time comes they know they were loved dearly.  Your girl is surrounded with fondness and devotion.  Keep her in your heart always.

 

 

[catwoman707]

Now you have made me tear up! You must know, I know........

Being able to help warms my heart.

I hear so many recovery stories. It makes me wonder, should I wait it out, and possibly let her suffer but have the possibility of her recovering...or call it quits and not let her feel any worse than she currently already is feeling...
Ugh :/

Any cat who recovers from what was thought to be fip, did not actually have it.

There are literally NO cases ever reported to this date, anywhere, that a cat was able to recover from fip.

Look at it this way, in your heart, your instincts, if this were by some slight chance not actually fip but some other unknown illness, in the state of progression she is in now, do you believe she would be able to recover? 

The lack of a test that can diagnose and confirm fip is a big problem and does cause suffering, heartbroken owners hold on to the hope that there is a small chance it may not be, and have thoughts of recovering someday so they can have their loved kitty back to itself again.

I SO get that. 

My thoughts are with you, losing your special girl, especially life cut short, seems unreal, devastating.

Do your best to hide your pain for her and in front of her. Impossible at times of course, but try. We want to make their final times on earth and their transition as stress free and easy for them as possible. Tell her while spending quiet, private time with her that you know she can't stay, and it's okay, you will miss her greatly but she can go when she tells you she is ready.

You are in sync with her so if you watch for her to tell you with out speaking, she will do just that.

 

[cindycrna]

April, go over to the facebook group FIP Fighters and join. It is a wealth of info with people currently dealing with FIP.  Steroids is one thing, many of us are using PI. At least go look.

 

[aprilbaby15]

An update for anyone interested. She's been okay. But over the past few days, she's stopped eating almost completely. The only thing she'll eat are her treats and bisque. She has lost a lot of weight, can't see, and is too weak to even make it to her little box. She's had a couple of accidents. I'm putting her down tomorrow. It escalated so fast. Just a few days ago, she was walking around and munching on her new favorite dry food...and now...nothing.

Thank you all for your kindness and words of wisdom.

 

[neely]

My heartfelt sympathies go out to you.

   I will be thinking of you tomorrow.  Sending special thoughts your way.

 

[aprilbaby15]

Update part 2.
I called the vet to put her down but he said he wanted to see her first.
I brought her in. And apparently she has a large mass in her abdomen. Tumor? Enlarged spleen? Tumor in an organ? Lymphoma?
Oh my goodness. Where is this all headed.

 

[aprilbaby15]

I made the appointment today. I thought about it a lot, and no kind of prognosis will have a happy ending.
Even if it's a tumor, we can remove it. We'll also have to remove her eyes. And on top of that, she'll have what? Less than 2 years to live.
And if it's cancer, well...it's already game over.

This is the most difficult thing I have ever experienced. I don't know how I'm going to get through it.
I keep having to tell myself that at least in heaven, she'll be able to see, her little body won't hurt anymore, and she can chase all the chipmunks her little heart desires. :/
Wish us luck.

 

[foxden]

A aprilbaby15
I'm so sorry.

Know that you are making the right decision for her. This is one of the hardest things we can do as a pet parent.

She does not fear crossing the bridge, this journey will take away her pain and limitations.

Our journey through grief and loss then begins. She will take a piece of your heart with her and will leave her paw prints on your heart.

I'll be thinking of you today.

 

[neely]

Thinking of you at this very difficult time and sending special thoughts your way. 

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

The greatest gift you can give to her is to let her go, even as it breaks your heart into pieces

.  If nothing else, she will be free if any suffering.

Our hearts are breaking right along with yours

 

[javi3]

I'm new here and just read your posts. I know these are just words, but I am so truly sorry for your loss. I will be praying for your baby and you.

If this comforts you at all, I remember after my precious cat died, I had a dream a couple months later that she was sitting on a fresh area of green grass and looking at me, smiling. She had so much love for me and she was happy. It was as if she was saying, "It's ok mommy, I'm happy, and you didn't do anything wrong. I'm really happy here". I had never had a dream that was so real in my life and it was so unusual. I really believe that through that dream, God was letting her say goodbye to me and God was letting me know I would be with her again.

Please know that although I don't know you, you will be in my thoughts and heart. Hugs[emoji]128150[/emoji]

 

[cat nap]

I made the appointment today. I thought about it a lot, and no kind of prognosis will have a happy ending.
Even if it's a tumor, we can remove it. We'll also have to remove her eyes. And on top of that, she'll have what? Less than 2 years to live.
And if it's cancer, well...it's already game over.

This is the most difficult thing I have ever experienced. I don't know how I'm going to get through it.
I keep having to tell myself that at least in heaven, she'll be able to see, her little body won't hurt anymore, and she can chase all the chipmunks her little heart desires. :/
Wish us luck.

I'm so sorry @aprilbaby15    

She is a beautiful cat, and so unfair that she has to suffer at such a young age.

All these illnesses are so unfair. 

You're right, in heaven, her body will not hurt anymore. She will be healthy and doing all the things that made her happy.

And she would want you to be okay, too. Our cats would not want us to be sad, for too long, no matter where they are.

Sending you Strength and Peace. And virtual hugs.

 

  

 

 

 

[aprilbaby15]

cat nap mrsgreenjeens javi3 foxden neely


Thank you all so much, once again, for taking your time to respond.
After putting her down yesterday morning, i didn't cry again that whole day.
I slept in the living room this morning since I couldn't imagine being confined in my room without my little April sleeping by me. I woke up this morning and the first thing on my mind was to cuddle her! I totally forgot I'll ever be able to hold her sweet little face again.
The most frustrating thing was that we weren't able to get a biopsy that day because of reasons. So now I'll never be able to know what was wrong. Was she diagnosed incorrectly? Was she diagnoses correctly? Was there something more I could have done? What was in her abdomen? Things still don't add up to me, but regardless, putting her down was the right thing. She was in so much pain.

It's as if she knew yesterday was her day. No resilience like how she normally is. She didn't hiss at the vet. She just laid there. The whole time. With her small little head rested on my hand as I gave her kisses and told her everything will be okay.

I still remember looking at her little face as the blood drained from the tiny red little veins in her ear.
I still remember the last long look I gave her and the last kiss on her head before I knocked on the door for them to take her little body away.

This will take me forever to recover from, but I'm so glad I did this. A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I'll no longer hear her little feet scurrying along the floor as I'm eating dinner with the family, but I know she's in a better place and she's happy so it'll be okay.

Thank you again everyone.

 

[neely]

Take all the time you need to grieve, it doesn't matter how many cats you have had it doesn't get any easier.  They all hold a special place in your heart.  I   have kept different mementos from each one of my cats and tucked them away.  Your memories will be forever in your heart. 

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

It's true what they say...time DOES heal all wounds.  You will never forget her, but with time, you will begin to remember her with fond memories rather than with such sadness that you have right now

  Believe me, I've been through it more times than I want to think about, but it's true.  It might help you if you write a tribute to her in our Crossing the Bridge forum, where you can write about her life, and post pictures and whatnot.  Some people find it helps them heal from doing that.

 

[cat nap]

@aprilbaby15   ...As the other members have mentioned, time will eventually help, even though it does not seem like that right now.

The waking up, and looking for April, is totally normal, and will happen a lot, at first, and I think it will hit you at odd times during the day, too.

I think it's the way our minds deal with grief, and come to eventual acceptance.  But all your good memories with April will also be let in, and you'll smile again, just thinking about them.

Don't worry about not doing a biopsy. (I remember thinking the same thing, for my rainbow dog that had liver cancer, but my sister mentioned that it would not have changed the outcome, and he was suffering. At the time, I was thinking that I had missed all the signs, and how far had it spread, and could I have caught it earlier, but it would not have changed the way things happened.)

You did so much, and I don't think there was more that you, or your vet, could have done.

I'm hoping that your memories will be replaced with all the fun antics that your April did, like when you mentioned that she stuck her nose into every cup, and zoomed around the house...that made me laugh, just picturing this. And I'm sure she had fun looking at her own chipmunk family. Chipmunks can be quite annoying at times,...even worse than squirrels.

For some reason, we tend to focus on the last day, and the last moments...but eventually realize that this is just a small moment of time...compared to all the moments that were good with our cats.

I always hope the sad memories are replaced with the good ones, but this does take time, and sometimes distraction, and effort.

You sound like an amazing cat guardian, so I hope, in time, and when you are ready, that you eventually adopt again.

What helped me, when I lost one of my cats to wet Fip, in the 1980's, was having other animals around.

What also helped, when I joined this Site, and had lost another cat to felv, was reading the first post by Gareth, here on this Site, in Crossing the Bridge.

Gareth's post totally made me cry, even more, but also gave me another perspective.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/237066/when-the-moment-comes    ...post#1

I wish you well, and my condolences on your loss of April.

Run like the Wind, beautiful April.

 

 

[javi3]

Your post made me cry, it was so beautiful and touching, and my heart aches for what you're going through. April sounded like such a special little girl and you sound like a special person. I can really tell from how you wrote about her last moments with her, that she was a very very loved cat. I look back at my cats from the past, and to be honest, Ive had some sort of regret about each one of them in a totally different way, wishing I wouldve done something different. Ive even really beat myself up about it at times, but that is just the way death is- it rarely comes in a neat package with loved ones left behind feeling 100% at peace about everything they did. I wish it were easier. We just cant control everthing in this crazy life sometimes no matter how hard we try.
This is such a hard time because of not only the tremendous grief, but the emptiness too. I do know this..she was lucky to have you in this life.

My tears are with you.[emoji]128151[/emoji]

 

[winksmom]

I'm so sorry. I took my little boy, Wink, to the vet yesterday to send him to sleep.  I hate this disease. Winkie was only a year and a half old. I've had cats all my life and I've never had a kitty as smart, and funny, and sweet as my little guy. I think my heart's going to break.

I pray that both of us remember the love they gave and forget the pain of their loss.

 

[meelasmom]

I'm so sorry. I took my little boy, Wink, to the vet yesterday to send him to sleep.  I hate this disease. Winkie was only a year and a half old. I've had cats all my life and I've never had a kitty as smart, and funny, and sweet as my little guy. I think my heart's going to break.
I pray that both of us remember the love they gave and forget the pain of their loss.