When we brought Bagel home in 2020, he was sick. The woman from the rescue said they really weren't sure if he and his litter mates would make it. He was a tiny, skinny little guy with a big sneeze that would make him fall backwards, a stuffy nose, and crusty eyes. Despite everyone's uncertainty, he did get better. Since then, he's been the most vibrant, funny, loving cat. He's our little velcro guy.

This year, I noticed he was looking a little thin. I thought it was because he didn't like his food. I switched him to some food I know he likes, and I added in some higher calorie kitten food to get him to bulk up. Instead, he kept losing. I made him a vet appointment, and by that point he had quickly become emaciated and lethargic. He stopped playing with the other animals, and he hadn't had the zoomies in weeks.

At the vet, we learned that he had gone from 10.5 lbs to just 7 lbs. He was running a fever and his blood panel showed that he was anemic, and that he had extremely elevated levels of proteins and inflammation.

Our vet told us she strongly suspected Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), which as of a few years ago was a death sentence for cats, and progresses rapidly and aggressively. To rule everything else out, she prescribed a course of antibiotics to see if it was possibly a smaller infection. He only got worse on the antibiotics. Now every single bone in his hips and pelvis was visible. He barely wanted to eat anything, and he no longer had any energy to do anything besides curl up in his favorite chair and sleep.

We are so lucky that FIP has a treatment now. An 84 day course of an antiviral drug called GS-441524 has around an 80-95% success rate for curing FIP. The problem is, it is extremely expensive. It is looking like Bagel's 12 weeks of treatments will cost upwards of $1200, not including the vet appointments and bloodwork. He will need regular follow-up appointments to monitor his weight, run bloodwork, and other exams during the course of his treatment.

Bagel has taken the drug for one week, and he is showing signs of energy and has started eating enthusiastically again. The medicine is working, but the first bottle was $400. This was the smaller size bottle to make sure he would take it and that it would work. I cannot afford 11 more weeks of this medicine, but without it FIP is fatal, so I am going to find a way. I will be eternally grateful for any support or encouragement we receive. With a little help, Bagel will be his healthy, happy self in 11 short weeks!