I can still remember the first time I saw the little guy. He was small. He had a very large head with deep green eyes.
A tabby, and on his paws were extra thumbs. A poly. I have never seen one before and he was exactly what I was waiting for.
I lost a cat to FIP a year earlier and although I grew much closer to our female cat I missed the connection I shared with the male. Even if it was all in my head. It was rough watching a cat so young succumb to quickly to such a deadly disease. After my wife and made the hardest decision we've made I sat in the room and watched as he was put to sleep. I had horrible dreams and went back and forth wondering if we did the right thing. Time passed, I got a tattoo to remember him and it was time to find myself another little buddy.
So, here I was with this little poly and i knew right away he was coming home with us..that is, of course if he passed my final test. I have a soft spot for cats who lick my face. I picked him up brought him in and he began to wildly lick my nose. Success.
Leo and I grew close and we shared a bond that my wife would often seem a tad jealous of. Obviously in good nature. I would say, LEO!? and he would chirp to me from the other room. We would watch TV and he would lick my nose. He loved making bread on my arms as he fell asleep.
2 years after we brought him home, in this past two weeks he started showing signs of sickness. He stopped eating. He stopped drinking and became wildly dehydrated. A vet visit showed he has a blockage. After IVs and an overnight he came home to us seemingly in better spirits. Shortly after he started a steady and rapid decline. No longer eating he weighed only 7 pounds. Gums were pale, eyes were jaundiced. Stomach bloated with fluid. Head wobbly as he tried to hold it up. His eyes still beautiful, yet now so sad.
The vet said he had Panleuk, and I didnt believe him and wanted a second opinion. We had an ELISA test done and a complete blood makeup.
ELISA test is still out. It takes three weeks for a definitive answer on FIP.
My second opinion was harsher than the first. The vet walked into the room with a syringe filled with yellow liquid pulled from Leo's abdomen. FIP.
My wife and I sat with him for a while petting his cold body and kissing his nose like I always did. Nibbling on his ear and letting him know I really did love him. The nurse came in and I had to leave. memories flashing back to me, I couldnt watch another cat be put to sleep. I wanted my last memory of Leo to be alive even if it was in such a bad condition.
They say only 5-10% of cats with coronavirus develop FIP. I lost two in a 3 year period. I am terrified because I still have two cats, one a 8 month old little boy and one a 3 year old girl. I worry that since my 3 year old girl was a kitten while my previous FIP cat passed away that she was infected and is a carrier. Leaving me to fear that my 8 month old might suffer the same fate.
People greatly misunderstand me when I say that my cats are my children, or that Leo was my best friend. He was. I love him a great deal and its hard to open the door and not see him standing there. I wont feel him make bread on me again. Or hear him chirping at me from the other room. It destroys me, really.
For Leo.
A tabby, and on his paws were extra thumbs. A poly. I have never seen one before and he was exactly what I was waiting for.
I lost a cat to FIP a year earlier and although I grew much closer to our female cat I missed the connection I shared with the male. Even if it was all in my head. It was rough watching a cat so young succumb to quickly to such a deadly disease. After my wife and made the hardest decision we've made I sat in the room and watched as he was put to sleep. I had horrible dreams and went back and forth wondering if we did the right thing. Time passed, I got a tattoo to remember him and it was time to find myself another little buddy.
So, here I was with this little poly and i knew right away he was coming home with us..that is, of course if he passed my final test. I have a soft spot for cats who lick my face. I picked him up brought him in and he began to wildly lick my nose. Success.
Leo and I grew close and we shared a bond that my wife would often seem a tad jealous of. Obviously in good nature. I would say, LEO!? and he would chirp to me from the other room. We would watch TV and he would lick my nose. He loved making bread on my arms as he fell asleep.
2 years after we brought him home, in this past two weeks he started showing signs of sickness. He stopped eating. He stopped drinking and became wildly dehydrated. A vet visit showed he has a blockage. After IVs and an overnight he came home to us seemingly in better spirits. Shortly after he started a steady and rapid decline. No longer eating he weighed only 7 pounds. Gums were pale, eyes were jaundiced. Stomach bloated with fluid. Head wobbly as he tried to hold it up. His eyes still beautiful, yet now so sad.
The vet said he had Panleuk, and I didnt believe him and wanted a second opinion. We had an ELISA test done and a complete blood makeup.
ELISA test is still out. It takes three weeks for a definitive answer on FIP.
My second opinion was harsher than the first. The vet walked into the room with a syringe filled with yellow liquid pulled from Leo's abdomen. FIP.
My wife and I sat with him for a while petting his cold body and kissing his nose like I always did. Nibbling on his ear and letting him know I really did love him. The nurse came in and I had to leave. memories flashing back to me, I couldnt watch another cat be put to sleep. I wanted my last memory of Leo to be alive even if it was in such a bad condition.
They say only 5-10% of cats with coronavirus develop FIP. I lost two in a 3 year period. I am terrified because I still have two cats, one a 8 month old little boy and one a 3 year old girl. I worry that since my 3 year old girl was a kitten while my previous FIP cat passed away that she was infected and is a carrier. Leaving me to fear that my 8 month old might suffer the same fate.
People greatly misunderstand me when I say that my cats are my children, or that Leo was my best friend. He was. I love him a great deal and its hard to open the door and not see him standing there. I wont feel him make bread on me again. Or hear him chirping at me from the other room. It destroys me, really.
For Leo.
Leo be with you in spirit helping you through your grief. My heart goes out to you. :heart3: 
