
Help Rainier Beat FIP
️On May 25 we rescued Rainier & her 5 siblings from a park in South Gate, dumped like a bag of trash. Del Gato Rescue began their intake vetting, and soon after they came to me for foster care. Over the last few months their vetting was completed (it was VERY rollercoastery, lots of mysterious diarrhea & vomiting, vet visits, trial & error antibiotics, negative tests, the works), most of them improved & got adopted, & through it all, Rainier and I formed a close bond. She followed me around like a shadow, rode around in my pocket, slept in bed with me, etc. & I decided I’d proceed with adoption. However, Rainier never could quite catch up with weight gain to her 5 siblings, even Everest who was the dual runt with Rainier upon arrival, is now over 4 lbs. On Thursday Rainier weighed in at 1.91 lbs, her lowest in months Despite syringe feeding the last 2 weeks, probiotics, and more, her decline seemed to worsen. I took her back to Del Gato Rescue Thursday night w/ a bony spine & distended belly, upon palpating her belly they could feel an enlarged organ that felt similar to a colon or urinary blockage but she was peeing/pooping normally. Friday morning their vet fit her in as an emergency dropoff. Bloodwork/Xrays/focused ultrasound was done over the course of the day between other scheduled patients & Dr believes we are dealing with FIP, but no fluid in lungs so not wet FIP and no sign of neuro so likely dry. She has no RBC, is so severely anemic he doesn’t know how she’s alive She got her first GS injection Friday night; we’ll be doing twice a day injections + subq fluids + b12 + probiotics, we hope to switch to pills after day 12. Endlessly grateful to @tessaludwick for being the FIP North Star to sooo many rescuers, rescues, and cats! The road ahead will be long and winding, not to mention EXPENSIVE! Del Gato Rescue needs help considering this treatment is now another expense in addition to the
over 140 other cats in the rescue’s care. Please consider donating to this cause! Or becoming a monthly donor! No amount is too small! Let’s rally and save my baby, Rainier! She has so much fight in her and wants to live!
**Update 9/11/24**
Rainier has had an incredible response to treatment. She started off with twice daily injections, and then moved to once daily. Unfortunately the injections were too strong for her weak body and caused her to become disoriented and have trouble breathing. Thankfully, she had improved enough though that we were able to switch her to a pill form of the medication. Rainier continued to improve on the pills and at her last vet appointment, her blood tests showed significant improvement. While she is still not “out of the woods” and will continue to be monitored, she has almost reached 3lbs and has the energy levels of a typical kitten! The journey ahead will continue to be challenging and costly, but we are in it for the long haul!
Organizer
Taylor Aronow
Organizer
Costa Mesa, CA
Del Gato Rescue Inc.
Beneficiary