Hi all, about three weeks ago (September 2nd) our sweet Ivar seemed a bit off. He was hiding and painful in the abdomen, hissing and growling when picked up or touched. We raced him to the emergency animal hospital where bloodwork and X-rays were taken but his diagnosis was inconclusive. At that time we all thought that maybe he has pulled a muscle and would recover over a couple weeks. Over the next two weeks his abdomen didn’t seem as painful so we were hopeful he was on the mend. However, yesterday he completely stopped eating and I knew in my soul something was very wrong.

Last night (September 23) we took him back into the emergency clinic where he was unfortunately diagnosed with “Wet-type” FIP. FIP stands for Feline Infectious Peritonitis. FIP is mutation of the feline coronavirus (not COVID 19) and as of 2018, was a 100% fatal disease. However, in 2019, trials began using a drug called GS-441524 and the we saw the first successful treatment of FIP! This drug is still in its trial phase and unfortunately not approved by the FDA, which means having to buy it through a black market route which also means it’s extremely expensive. Ivar’s treatment will involve 84 days of daily injections. Then, pending good bloodwork, he will be under observation for another 84 days to monitor for relapse. Based on his required dose, we are looking at $4500-$6000 for treatment. FIP is not a common disease but is extremely aggressive and treatment must be provided swiftly as most cats will die within five weeks of diagnosis. We are absolutely heartbroken.

About Ivar:

Ivar is a two-year-old, black, domestic short haired cat. He was surrendered to the shelter at six weeks old after suffering abuse that left his pelvis broken in multiple places as well as covered in lice, with an upper respiratory infection, and ringworm. I honestly wasn’t sure he’d survive the first night we brought him home to foster. But he’s a fighter and immediately showed us how strong he was. Constantly doing everything possible to get our attention and cuddles. He was even so generous to share his ringworm with me… So when he was slated for euthanasia by the shelter we adopted him with the plan to help him heal. Ivar is the sweetest soul who loves his cat brothers almost as much as he adores his food. It’s very likely he is a labrador retriever reincarnated as all food must be locked up or we risk finding his chomp marks in our bread by the morning. Ivar never grew out of his kitten stage and loves to play. He will play fetch with his favourite yellow mouse for hours if we let him. Every night he will seek us out for cuddles and demand to be held like a baby under the covers. Recently, this summer he took on the role of foster dad to the critical neonatal kittens I brought home to foster. He loved playing with them and often sat with me as I did their medical treatments and feedings. Even now he is glued to my side, purring away.

When I started rescuing animals my mindset has always been ‘do the right thing and figure the rest out later’ and I promise each animal that I will fight for them as long as they want to fight. But I will never push them past their limits even if it breaks my heart to let them go. As of right now, Ivar has a lot of fight in him to kick this and I want to honour my promise to him. He was dealt a bad hand at the start of his life and we hope to see him through this next battle.

Because of the high cost of treatment we will be using a large chunk of our savings. Any donations are greatly appreciated and we would love if you could just share Ivars story.

thank you!

Amy