This is my first time writing a "crossing the bridge" post, which makes me lucky in a way, but I am not quite sure how they go, so I will just relieve my heart telling Onyx's story. Maybe another will be comforted through their own tough fight against wet FIP.
I started fostering Onyx after I had his brother a week. Both these two cuties were feral, living behind my work before my coworker trapped them and sprayed and released their mother. While Onyx's brother was amiable and nearly tame within a week, Onyx was cautious and afraid of people, clinging to my two older cats desperately.
Unfortunately, a ringworm outbreak began before I fostered the kittens and they brought it to my home, so they both and spots (and 2 Loki spots) had to be treated. Onyx had it far worse than the others and lost almost all his hair on his face and ears! Through sulfur dips and sulfur spot treatments, I was able to get all but one spot on his tail gone. He remained cautious and scardy for a month, poor thing.
Through a lot of gentle words and cuddles, Onyx became more open and caring, showing his already gentle spirit. He loved to play and would forget his fear as soon as his favorite toy appeared! It always felt like a win for me when he would perch on my leg or lie on/between my calves (his favorite spot). He would do very impressive acrobatic flips and twists, showing off rather than truly trying to catch the toy. He LOVED cuddling and hanging out on peoples’ legs and he would try to watch t.v. with his brother from 2 inches away, though he remained cautious in nature.
I kept wondering why his ringworm wasn’t going away like everyone else and I took him to the vet. He was a trooper, but it was pretty scary for him. The next day, I noticed slight bloating in his belly that got worse over the next few days and did not fit his long and lean frame. He had really defined back and leg muscles, which over the next week I began to see deteriorate.
Ironically, I had never heard of FIP until I took him to the vet for the ringworm, where I saw a sweet black kitten being euthanized for the disease and I looked it up. I noted with a start that many of Onyx’s symptoms, including his still-expanding belly, fit FIP. He was still playing, jumping around, eating and drinking and had become SO friendly and cuddly quite suddenly, so the foster leaders thought it was probably just worms. After all, FIP is rare and unlikely, right? I am a scientist and research everything and I applied this trait to finding everything I could about FIP. I woke up the next day for some reason convinced Onyx had FIP, despite the statistics. I called in to work and stayed home with him, pretty much bawling. I took him to the vet again and as soon as I saw the yellow abdominal fluid, I knew. She ran a density test and told me that although no test was diagnostic, it was most likely wet FIP. She said that since he was still eating and going potty and seemed so happy that I should take him home and love him to make his last days the best possible. She recommended I bring him back when he stopped eating and we would put him down.
I took the week off work and we spent all our time together, mostly cuddling. He started going downhill a couple days into the week, but remained energetic and kept eating, though not going potty. When his time came, it was sudden and after vet hours. He had been going downhill fast that day, so I had decided that even though he was still eating small amounts, I would take him to be put down the following day. He had other plans however. Around 9 pm, he began to have neurological distress (I think some sort of catatonic seizure) and suddenly couldn’t use his back legs to walk. My heart lurched and I knew it was time. I picked him up and cuddled him, but I could tell he was hardly even there. His eyes were having trouble focusing and he was so weak. At that point, he could hardly hold up his head. I called the foster people and they told me there was not much to do. My fiancé and I stayed with him and took turns stroking his head and back. His heart kept slowing off and on, his breathing was stopping and restarting, but he was determined to hang in there. At 11 pm, he finally passed. It was a strange relief knowing his pain and sickness was over though it cracked my heart.
Even though he was a foster, after 5 months, he was “my” Onyx. His end came swiftly and he died in the place he loved near those he held dear. I guess I was always meant to be his “forever” home. I took him back to the vet the next day where he was cremated. An older volunteer takes all the homeless and foster cat ashes and holds a ceremony and spreads them in a beautiful location, as he has done for the past 14-yrs.
I started fostering Onyx after I had his brother a week. Both these two cuties were feral, living behind my work before my coworker trapped them and sprayed and released their mother. While Onyx's brother was amiable and nearly tame within a week, Onyx was cautious and afraid of people, clinging to my two older cats desperately.
Unfortunately, a ringworm outbreak began before I fostered the kittens and they brought it to my home, so they both and spots (and 2 Loki spots) had to be treated. Onyx had it far worse than the others and lost almost all his hair on his face and ears! Through sulfur dips and sulfur spot treatments, I was able to get all but one spot on his tail gone. He remained cautious and scardy for a month, poor thing.
Through a lot of gentle words and cuddles, Onyx became more open and caring, showing his already gentle spirit. He loved to play and would forget his fear as soon as his favorite toy appeared! It always felt like a win for me when he would perch on my leg or lie on/between my calves (his favorite spot). He would do very impressive acrobatic flips and twists, showing off rather than truly trying to catch the toy. He LOVED cuddling and hanging out on peoples’ legs and he would try to watch t.v. with his brother from 2 inches away, though he remained cautious in nature.
I kept wondering why his ringworm wasn’t going away like everyone else and I took him to the vet. He was a trooper, but it was pretty scary for him. The next day, I noticed slight bloating in his belly that got worse over the next few days and did not fit his long and lean frame. He had really defined back and leg muscles, which over the next week I began to see deteriorate.
Ironically, I had never heard of FIP until I took him to the vet for the ringworm, where I saw a sweet black kitten being euthanized for the disease and I looked it up. I noted with a start that many of Onyx’s symptoms, including his still-expanding belly, fit FIP. He was still playing, jumping around, eating and drinking and had become SO friendly and cuddly quite suddenly, so the foster leaders thought it was probably just worms. After all, FIP is rare and unlikely, right? I am a scientist and research everything and I applied this trait to finding everything I could about FIP. I woke up the next day for some reason convinced Onyx had FIP, despite the statistics. I called in to work and stayed home with him, pretty much bawling. I took him to the vet again and as soon as I saw the yellow abdominal fluid, I knew. She ran a density test and told me that although no test was diagnostic, it was most likely wet FIP. She said that since he was still eating and going potty and seemed so happy that I should take him home and love him to make his last days the best possible. She recommended I bring him back when he stopped eating and we would put him down.
I took the week off work and we spent all our time together, mostly cuddling. He started going downhill a couple days into the week, but remained energetic and kept eating, though not going potty. When his time came, it was sudden and after vet hours. He had been going downhill fast that day, so I had decided that even though he was still eating small amounts, I would take him to be put down the following day. He had other plans however. Around 9 pm, he began to have neurological distress (I think some sort of catatonic seizure) and suddenly couldn’t use his back legs to walk. My heart lurched and I knew it was time. I picked him up and cuddled him, but I could tell he was hardly even there. His eyes were having trouble focusing and he was so weak. At that point, he could hardly hold up his head. I called the foster people and they told me there was not much to do. My fiancé and I stayed with him and took turns stroking his head and back. His heart kept slowing off and on, his breathing was stopping and restarting, but he was determined to hang in there. At 11 pm, he finally passed. It was a strange relief knowing his pain and sickness was over though it cracked my heart.
Even though he was a foster, after 5 months, he was “my” Onyx. His end came swiftly and he died in the place he loved near those he held dear. I guess I was always meant to be his “forever” home. I took him back to the vet the next day where he was cremated. An older volunteer takes all the homeless and foster cat ashes and holds a ceremony and spreads them in a beautiful location, as he has done for the past 14-yrs.
