Hi everyone! This beautiful cuddly creature you see on your screen is none other than one of my favorite cats. His name is Pimp (short for Big Pimpin'...of course!!) and he is my best friend's cat. Unfortunately, Pimp has run into some major health issues recently that are coming with some overwhelming costs. I ask, out of the kindness of your heart and love for a big fat healthy cat, that you donate if you have the means.

A few months ago, Pimp had lost a noticeable amount of weight. Kay being the great cat mom she is brought him into the vet. She was met with the unfortunate news that Pimp had diabetes. He was started on insulin therapy and had to get a continuous glucose monitor -- all of which are very expensive.

In the last week, Pimp's belly blew up like a balloon and was experiencing some GI upset. Worried this might be a complication of his diabetes, or something worse, Kay and I took him urgently to the vet. Pimp had free fluid all over in his abdomen for an unknown cause, as all of his other labs came back completely normal. In opting to remove the fluid through an abdominal tap for therapeutic reasons, it was found that Pimp has FIP, or feline infectious peritonitis. This is a very rare, yet curable disease for cats.

FIP is caused by a genetically mutated strain of coronavirus in cats. According to the Cornell Feline Health Center, "cats infected with FeCV usually do not show any symptoms during the initial viral infection, but may occasionally experience brief bouts of diarrhea and/or mild upper respiratory signs from which they recover spontaneously." However, around 10% of cats can have a more systemic, severe form of the infection, which is FIP. This presents as either a "wet" or "dry" form. Pimp has the wet form of FIP, leading to that fluid buildup.

The great news is this is CURABLE!!! The medication for this was recently just FDA approved in the US. However, it is expensive. Pimp has to go through 88 days of treatment at around $211 every 2 weeks, accumulating more than $1000 in costs in treatment alone. With all of the other vet visits, testing, and comorbid issues he has, we are hoping that Kay might be able to get some help paying for his treatment from fellow animal lovers to get Pimp back to a healthier state.

Please, if you can, consider donating. If not, feel free to share this with others. He is such a sweet cat, and a rescue, and Kayleigh has done her best with what she has but some help is needed now. Any help is appreciated and Pimp is sending each and every donor lots of cuddles.