My girlfriend, Marieke, and I decided to share our love with two small british shorthair kittens named Basje and Baboo. Both of them frolicked and played as kittens do, and provided Marieke and I with more laughter and unconditional love than we deserve. Baboo was growing into a rambunctious bundle of energy, often chasing and pouncing on Basje whenever an opportunity arose. Basje was joyfully odd, slightly off-balance, and having some unusual habits of sitting and staring. About a month ago, I noticed that Basje was acting lethargic. He layed the entire day under the dining room table. That same evening I brought him to the vet. Basje had a fever (40C). The vet gave a painkiller and some paracetimol and sent us home. The next morning, before packing for our 2-week holiday in Turkey, we took Basje's temperature. This time it was 34C. We called the animal hospital and the vet said, "You need to bring in Basje right away. I'm afraid he's dying." Marieke sobbed while I loaded the cat carrier and Basje along with several hot water bottles and hurried down to the cat hospital. The vet at the hospital looked in basje's ears, around his eyes and in his throat and noticed a yellowish hue. She then inserted a needle into his stomach and extracted a thick, sticky yellow liquid. She nodded her head and sadly declared that Basje had FIP. A moment later, we had to say goodbye. Words simply cannot describe the pain that Marieke and I had as we walked out of the vet hospital with our cat carrier--now empty. We went home, cried a lot and hugged Baboo. This was alright with him because he was getting stickier and stickier every day. Not a moment would pass when Baboo wouldn't follow us around the house and express his affection. The moment we'd sit down, our laps would be occupied be one, chubby cream-colored Baboo. And since Baboo was really Marieke's cat, she had a precious being who could understand and share her loss. I've been around cats much of my life but I've never known one who gives half as much love and affection as Baboo. Several weeks ago, I moved back to the United States from my previous home in Holland. While I am searching for a job, Marieke is helping pack things up in our house overseas. Two days ago, she called in tears. She stated that Baboo was acting unusually tired and couldn't walk on his hind legs. She brought him to the animal hospital and found he had a fever of 41C. Fortunately, FIP is a very rare disease and the likelihood of two kittens from different parents having the same disease is... well...astronomical. Also, there was no yellow discoloration as there had been with Basje. The vet said that the likely causes of the condition could be narrowed to three likely possibilities: 1) Kitten limping disease (never heard of it); 2) Reaction from the clamydea shot he had the week before; 3) a possible cyst on his leg that was causing an infection. She gave him a shot to reduce the fever. Marieke was up every 2 hours to monitor Baboo and take his temperature. By morning it had dropped to 37.8 (38 is normal). We were on the road to recovery. She carefully monitored Baboo all that day. The next day, as planned, she brought him to our regular vet. His temperature was back up at 40. Our vet believes that Baboo received cat scratching disease (CSD) from our new kitten, Pino. (We got Pino shortly after Basje passed away so that Baboo would continue to have a friend.) Our vet said that in all likelihood, Baboo had received a bite or scratch from Pino and an infection had built up, and now Baboo would have to muster his strength to recover. He then gave Baboo a shot to reduce the fever. This occured today. Our vet said that the prognosis was probably good. Maybe 80% of kittens who get this disease recover. Baboo was the heaviest and biggest of his litter. And since he's a little overweight, I think that he might even have a stronger chance of survival. Nonetheless, there's a risk and Marieke and my track record is pretty bad to say the least. She is absolutely devastated and vows that we'll never have children... not when her heart gets constantly broken by everything she loves. We are not religious people but I thought it couldn't hurt to ask for your thoughts and prayers for Baboo's survival. From my and Marieke's heart, we thank you.
I will keep you posted on Baboo's progress as I hear the news. Here is a photo you might enjoy:
http://home.planet.nl/~zilbe000/pino...ino109_jpg.htm
I will keep you posted on Baboo's progress as I hear the news. Here is a photo you might enjoy:
http://home.planet.nl/~zilbe000/pino...ino109_jpg.htm
