Help me save my baby boy!

This is my sweet Harvey Bean. He is 2 years old. Last month, we noticed he wasn’t acting quite right and was experiencing some labored breathing. After rushing him to the vet, they discovered fluid around his heart and lungs. Our vet drained as much as he could and referred us to the veterinary hospital at Iowa State University. Harvey first saw a cardiologist to determine whether heart failure was the cause of his fluid buildup. The doctor could not find anything wrong with his heart. He was then transferred to the internal medicine department where they tested for all kinds of infections. While we were waiting for results, he had to continue having fluid drained. His symptoms and test results indicated he had FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis).

This is a fatal disease with a relatively new treatment. After starting him on the first antiviral medication, we did not see any improvement. His breathing got worse and we had to rush him to the ER in the middle of the night. We have since started a new antiviral as well as two antibiotics. We took him to the vet yesterday to get more fluid drained and are giving the new medication time to work. If this new medication doesn’t work, we will have to pursue advanced imaging and testing.

Throughout all of this, my sweet boy has remained his happy self. He has been so incredibly strong and brave. He is my world. I love him more than anything and have been doing everything I can to get him through this. I have so much appreciation for the wonderful doctors and students at Iowa State, but at this point, our bills have surpassed $10,000. He is such a happy boy that deserves to live a long life.