Luna - FIP Warrior

On May 24, 2020 we drove 9 hours to the border of North and South Carolina (one way) to pick up "Dolly" (renamed to Luna now) from CatTails, a rescue. We knew she was FIV Positive, but we wanted to give her a caring and loving home. 


The entire ride home she curled up with my wife in the passenger seat and cuddled. Cat daddy had to drive 18 hours, but it was SO worth it.

She made herself comfortable at home immediately.


And, like any good cat she made herself comfortable in all of the most inconvenient places...


So, we bought her a cat tower so she would have a place to call her own.


To get that energy out, we even took her for a walk - and she LOVED it, following cat Mom and Dad everywhere.


Even during the COVID pandemic, when we are forced to work from home and find ourselves unable to go out and do the things we enjoy doing, she always found a way to make things better.


She has been cuddly, personable and loving ever since we got her. Always following us, by our side and being our best friend and companion.


She's even learned a TON of tricks!

Sit, Down, Up, Jump, Turn, Paw, Nose, V, Bang, and most recently Bell.

It wasn't until a few weeks ago we brought her into the vet because we noticed she had less energy and wasn't being her usual self.

After running some tests, the vet believed she had an infection and prescribed her antibiotics. After several days, she was back to being her active playful self! Oh! And her blood work also came back saying that she was FIV negative, that she had shed the antibodies! Thank God, our little kitten is healthy...or so we thought...

About 2 weeks later, she seemed to slip right back into her sick self which was concerning, so we took her to the vet, to get her insurance exam, but also to see what was up.

We weren't prepared for what happened next...

After spending several hours in the car waiting to hear from the doctor, we finally got the news that she possibly has pneumonia and needs to go to an emergency hospital ASAP.

So we found the nearest one that could take her and went immediately.

After another couple of hours of waiting for the vet to inform us of what was happening, we got even worse news. She has fluid in her chest and suspected of having FIP, Feline Infectious Peritonitis. Oversimplifying things, but it's essentially cat coronavirus and is labeled as being fatal with no FDA approved treatment on the market. There is however, GS-441524, a potentially life-saving drug that has been used to cure cats diagnosed with FIP.

More information can be found of how Luna can be cured here: FIP Treatment 

As any parent would, we are willing to try anything to give her the life she deserves. She's not even 6 months old and has so much life left in her to be the loving, gentle cat she is and our fur baby we were hoping would welcome, love and protect new (human) additions down the road. But now, that vision seems to be fading.

She has been under the watch and care of doctors for over a day, ensuring she stays stable, but it's only the beginning.

Because the drug is experimental, it's costly. Treatments generally cost $2,000+ from the stories I've read. Whatever the price, we want to pay, but it's a massive unexpected financial stress, so we're asking for your help. Whatever you can give to provide assistance will go a long way.

Thank you for taking the time to read to this point and for your contribution to save our baby.