Support Ruby and Rome's FIP Treatment

Hi everyone!

I'm Vivian and these two cuties are Ruby and Rome. Ruby is 8 months and Rome is 7. We adopted them at Best Friends Adoption Center in Los Angeles on August 15th 2024, we couldn't wait to give them a home! They bring us so much joy but unfortunately lately a lot of fear, concerns, and bills to pay, but we won't give up saving their lives and give them the life they deserve!

On Nov 14, we took Rome to the vet because his abdomen was really distended and he wasn't being himself, he stopped playing and eating, he looked pretty sick. We found out he had a disease called FIP and we left the vet with a handbook on how to seek help once vets are not allowed in the US to manage the only medication at the moment that can help - stay with me.

Four days after taking him, and after learning about this disease we were suspicious our Ruby could have it as well - but a different manifestation of it. So on Nov 18 we took her to get a blood test and she had it too! (The chances of this to happen are SO low, they are not even littermates) We picked two cats at the adoption center that would develop FIP.

Rome has what they called "WET" FIP, he had a lot of fluid in his abdomen, an infection on his intestines and he was declining pretty quickly (see his ultrasound below)

Ruby has the "NEURO" FIP, which affects her brain and nervous system. We thought Ruby was a wobbly cat, she would always fall on her right side, hesitate to jump or not jump, and her playfulness and appetite weren't great either. We thought that in the worst case scenario she would have cerebellar hypoplasia (CH), but the worst case was actually FIP.

What in the world is FIP???

It stands for Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) which without treatment is 100% fatal! However, newer research found there is a miracle drug called GS-441524 to treat it. FIP is a mutation of feline coronavirus, and only about 10% of infected cats get the mutation - this is something we NEVER expected to be facing as it’s so rare, and more rare to have two cats in the same household with the same disease, and we didn’t even know they had feline coronavirus!

Treatment with GS-441524

GS is an antiviral drug that has cured cats with FIP with an 80% rate of survival!! It is an 84-day treatment period of daily medication and vet visits every month for weighing the kitty and getting bloodwork done. The medication cost estimate is $2,000 for ONE CAT- not including the vet check-ups or bloodwork done.

We are one month in the treatment, two more months to go it's getting REALLY expensive, but we are so hopeful because they are showing great improvement.

They gained weight this past month and that is GREAT although the heavier they are the higher dose is, so we're using way more vials than the beginning!

Rome started with 0.8ml now that he gained 2lbs and the fluid in his abdomen hasn't been reabsorbed yet, :((( so we started 2.0ml shots.

Ruby started with 0.8ml as well and she also gained some weight and her dose now is 1.2ml. We have to weight them EVERY week to adjust they dose!

Every time we go to the vet we pay almost $900 for both bloodwork and wellness check.

Last time I took them to the vet for the checkup, the vet wanted to get other things checked but we simply couldn't do it, it was way too much, so we focused only on the bloodwork, but we always worry if we should have done it. So we're mentally and emotionally drained on top of that. (See below the actual price estimate for the visit above)

We're truly doing the best we can, I haven't been able to work (pending green card process) and help my partner financially and it's been too much for one person and 2 FIP cats.

Ruby and Rome mean so much to me, I love them with all my heart, they really fill the void of being away from my family and all the cats I rescued in Brazil (now they're happy and healthy with my grandparents and brother), so saving their lives is all I need right now. A lot of things are out of my control, but this is something I can do to help my little family in America - and I'm beyond grateful that THERE IS A WAY.

Ruby and Rome are not littermates but they love each other, they're truly best pals.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this, feel free to reach out to me on Facebook/IG - Vivian Mohallem - I will be happy to explain more about this if there are any questions.

I’ll give updates on them throughout their treatment and how they're doing!

PLEASE, if you could, share this anywhere you can.

Anything helps, any donations (can provided address if you can only contribute with items etc) or prayers are extremely appreciated.

Thank you again for your support, it means more than I could put into words!

Sincerely,

Vivian, Rome and Ruby.