Hi everyone!
My name is Hanani, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. About a year ago we decided to adopt two kitties to join our little family. Two became four (I rescued another two shortly after) and right now, we have six cats living with us.
Our number 6 came to us in November 2020. He was rescued by my lovely friend, Nanna from her condo car park. Falcor is a lovely, cream-colored male beauty who was (still is, tbh) content to laze around in our sinks. It took him weeks to warm up to us (and our other cats) -- we assumed he has had a bad past as a stray. However, occasionally he will walk up to us and gave us a soft "meow" asking us to pat him (he purs while enjoying his belly rubs and pats).
On March 3rd, 2021, I took Falcor to our usual vet as he had swollen lymph nodes and was feeling under the weather. We ran a blood test on him to rule out FeLV/FIV (since I wanted him to be vaccinated against them) but unfortunately, his FeLV test result came out positive. It was heartbreaking for I am aware it may lead to death within three years of diagnosis. However, I made a promise to myself then that I will not abandon Falcor and he will stay with us until he has to leave.
Today (May 18th, 2021), I took Falcor to the vet again for a regular check-up and deworming. But again, it turned out to be another heartbreaking visit for me. His abdomen was filled with fluid and when the vet poked him to get the fluid out, it was a cat parent's worst nightmare. We saw yellowish, sticky fluid which confirmed Falcor as FIP positive. A blood test was done and my heart broke again.
Feline Infectious Peritonitis or FIP is a viral disease caused by a feline coronavirus. It is a very painful, incurable disease with a low to zero survival rate. There is currently no legal medicine for this, but there is, however, a black market treatment by way of an injection. Over the last year, there have been thousands of cats and kittens cured with this injection called GS-441524 . However, the injection needs to be administered daily for 84 days. You can read more about FIP and the treatment HERE.
Unfortunately for our family, Falcor has crossed the rainbow bridge on May 25th, 2021 before we even managed to give him the first injection. I miss him every single day, and I wish I had more time spent with Falcor.
The first cat we adopted, Kaha (male tabby in the picture), was also diagnosed with FIP. He was initially really weak when we took him to the vet, but right now, he is getting stronger and able to eat by himself **yay**
Losing Falcor made me committed to giving this a go with Kaha. Unfortunately, this has taken a toll on us financially. So, I am hoping I'd be able to raise a fund to help Kaha overcome FIP. I am looking at raising USD $1200 to help cover the part of the costs of the treatment (it costs ~USD $110 per vial, and we need at least 12 vials more depending on how fast he gains weight) for Kaha over the 84 days period. As part of the treatment, he will also need a daily dosage of Vitamin B-Complex and Folic Acid. And if and when the treatment is successful, he will then need to be observed by the vet for another 84 days, with more blood tests needed.
Without our help and your assistance, it will be a painful existence for Kaha, and eventually leading to his death. Any donations would be greatly appreciated in our efforts to save him.
