I had to say goodbye to my beloved girl this morning. She was 7 years old and diagnosed with FIP "wet". 4 weeks ago we went to the vet for her stomatitis, she was having a hard time eating. Which was not normal, since she was always first to the food bowls whenever I was in the kitchen. In November, I noticed she looked skinnier, so in December I started feeding her 3 times a day thinking that would help. It didn't, she started eating less and less. the vet appt was frustrating, I knew she needed dental work but the vet was more concerned with her low grade fever and that she had lost 3lbs(which I thought had to do with her mouth) so they took a bunch of blood work, everything came back normal except for low liver levels. The vet felt like something else was wrong with her but couldn't pin point it. So we did some meds and scheduled her dental work, I noticed Olive not doing well on the meds and certainly wasn't eating so we went back in to the vet a few days later, her temp at that point was 105. They wanted her to stay for the night for treatments, IV fluid to try and get temp down, they also gave her an anti inflammatory onsior, which brought her temperature right down to normal 101. Sent us home with another round of drugs and rescheduled the dental appointment for the following week. She would only perform the surgery if the temperature was down. Her temperature remained low grade and she went in for surgery last Thursday, I picked her up that evening and we began our healing process. Or so I thought! She was healing well and feeling better by Sunday, but not back to my Olive. I assumed it was having teeth removed and sometimes it takes a bit to recover. By Sunday we were done with the opiate and eating. By Monday afternoon she was coming out less, hiding and not eating. Tuesday was the same. Wednesday morning we went in to the vet, they took her temp and it was back up to 103.8. my heart dropped, the doctor tested for lukemia and feline aids tested negative. She sent Olive down for x-rays, the results were worrisome because the stomach cavity was filled with liquid and they immediately called a specialist to schedule an ultrasound that afternoon. We drove her down, had the ultrasound and it would take 24 hours for the cytology from the fluids which were removed from her belly, which i might add was not very large. It was straw yellow, they said a tell tale of sign of FIP, I had no idea what that was, my mom was with me and started to cry. It's "always fatal" was all I heard. They wanted to keep her over night on fluids until the results came back. I cried so hard all that night, I felt like I couldn't breathe! It was a death sentence and far from simple dental work. I was shocked and in disbelief, I didn't sleep at all got up early and drive down to visit with my girl, she looked skinnier, but ready to come home. I needed to make a decision because it was confirmed wet FIP diagnosis I spoke with my vet and asked about palliative care, she said we could try, it wouldn't hurt but we need to keep in mind this is fatal. I took her home one last time, she did her routine, walked around, used litter box, drank etc. I had been sent home with IV fluid, Prednisone, appetite stimulant and two other drugs. We cuddled most of that night, I could see she was becoming uncomfortable, she wouldn't eat last night, she rested under the bed in the guest room and when she would get up she walked slowly almost like she was high, but there were no drugs in her yet. I created a pallative schedule for my girl and today I got up at 6am to find my girl sitting quietly in the bathroom. We visited and I talked with her about the next stage we were going to do to keep her comfortable, I then tried to administer the Prednisone and she fought me. Olive is the perfect patient, she has been taking meds just fine so I didn't think it would be an issue, but in that instance I looked at her, looked at all the rest of the meds and IV fluid and realized she was trying to tell me enough. She was done fighting. I sat with her and cried, we looked at each other and I could see in her eyes that she was done. I promised her I would make it better for her. She deserved to cross that bridge in peace and with dignity. I called the vet at 8 and made an appointment to bring her in one last time and give her one last gift. The hardest thing I ever had to do, but I knew she was done and I didn't want her to continue wasting away in front of my eyes. My heart is broken literally and I am beside myself with sadness and guilt because I didn't know she was so sick. She was a gift, a very sweet girl who loved to lope around the house playing, sleeping in her favorite cubby, watching birds, trilling, and pestering mommy for food etc. I love her so much and we had a good life together. It's a devistating disease. No vaccine with good efficacy and no treatment. Just death. The doctor said he believes she got it when she was a baby the corona virus is common and most cats either have it or come into contact with it and it laid dormant, until it reared its ugly head and began mutating. All I can say is love your babies as much as you can while you have them because time is so so precious. I love my brave, strong girl!