Help Penny Fight Feline Coronavirus (FIP)

Meet Penelope, AKA Penny. A perfectly psychotic one-year-old kitten who is desperately loved by all that meet her but most especially by me, Emma, and my husband Rheo (AKA Penny's mom and dad).

On Saturday, March 22nd, Penny was taken into the ER with what we thought was a simple case of constipation. It quickly became clear we were dealing with something much more significant. She had a fever of over 104 degrees, was severely dehydrated, had significant fluid in her abdomen, and her bloodwork was a mess with a low white cell count and anemia. That night, the ER diagnosed her with FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis), AKA a deadly mutated version of the feline coronavirus. Approximately 10% of cats may end up getting FIP, and it is completely random. She had extremely limited signs prior to her ER visit. She was just one of the unlucky few. We were devastated, yet hopeful for her recovery. Little did we know this was just the beginning.

On the experimental medication for FIP treatment (GS-441524), Penny seemed to be doing great. The fluid slowly was reabsorbed into her abdomen, she began to eat more normally, and she started to return to her normal naughty kitten ways.

On Wednesday, April 9th, Penny was again rushed to the ER for labored, rapid breathing. It soon became clear she was in heart failure—a shock to all the vets that have been working with her. When it became clear that Penny was going to need specialized care, we elected to transfer her to Blue Pearl where she was evaluated by a cardiologist, and it was determined she was indeed in congestive heart failure, but the cause was indeterminate. At the time, they were estimating that if she got through this episode and her FIP, we would maybe get a few months to a year with her. After much sleuthing by us, some administrators at the FIP Warriors 5.0 Facebook group, her (now multiple) critical care specialists, and in consultation with an FIP expert at Colorado State University, it was determined that Penny is simply living up to her title of "special princess".

According to researchers at Colorado State University, she is now the 5th known cat that has been seen with congestive heart failure secondary to FIP, and all previous four cats recovered from their heart damage after completing FIP treatment. With this unusual news, we were given a bit more hope that she could pull through this and continued to proceed with FIP treatment and congestive heart failure treatment.

On Thursday, April 10th, Penny came home and was doing great. But then, another setback. As of writing this Saturday morning, Penny has been again admitted to the ER with a poor prognosis and what the vets believe is a blood clot impacting the use of her back legs. She is responding to aggressive treatment and we have every intention of giving her a shot to surprise us again. That being said, this has been one hell of an emotional rollercoaster for us and the incredible vets and nurses that have been treating her. It's also been a significant financial hit.

We have insurance on Penny and so far they have been paying out for items covered. However, her insurance has a 90% coverage rate, a deductible, and an annual cap. It also doesn't cover medications and exams.

Since March 22nd, we have spent a total of $14,986.84 on Penny's care.

We anticipate an additional $5,000 to $8,000 in expenses before treatment is over if she is able to pull through this latest episode.

Insurance has paid out: $2,449.85

Out of pocket we have paid: $12,536.99

We understand that these are challenging times for all of us. Even just a little bit of support monetarily or sharing this campaign with your networks will help us get her the care she needs. All funds will go towards her care, and if there are any funds left over after her treatment, we will be donating it to other cats and families going through FIP treatment.

FIP is a horrible disease and still so much is unknown. We are still hopeful for Penny and we will fight with and for her until the end, but regardless of what happens next, we are so grateful for her. What she is going through may someday help other cat owners and their beloved fluffs, will increase the general public's knowledge about FIP, and will contribute to veterinarian knowledge and hopefully the future successful treatment of other cats with FIP.

We love her and we are so grateful to all of you who have read this far and are moved to contribute.

Hugs,

Emma, Rheo, and Goblin and Bagheera.