View All FIP Warriors

FIP Warrior:

Lopolito

We found Lopolito abandoned in the garbage near our house in Alicante, Spain. He was in a very bad shape, his growth was delayed, he had chronic diarrhea and was malnourished. The vet told us he was maybe five months old. He joined our family with dogs and cats, he started to gain weight and to have a good coat and he grew lots of whiskers. Sadly, three months later we had to move to another house and not knowing that he was possibly carrying the disease, we decided to neuter him before the move. The stress of the two events caused him to get FIP, but we had no idea of what was going on. He started not eating, being listless, licking the walls and floor, compulsively licking on other cats and then limping, peeing and pooping uncontrollably. We took him to the vet and they run many tests, while we were waiting for the results for toxoplasmosis and coronavirus Lopolito started having seizures, biting himself, panting and screaming from suffering...We admitted him for a few days until the vet confirmed that Lopolito had FIP in its dry and neurological form. They sent us home and gave us the contact of another client who was also treating his cat with GS-441524 at home. We got the drug and injected the first dose, but it seemed to be too late for him. Right after the first shot, the seizures became increasingly frequent and more violent. Witnesing that was a very traumatic and sad experience we wish we could erase from our minds… We got the vet to agree to keep him under continuous sedation with Diazepam and at the same time he agreed to administer the drug, but after five days of treatment Lopolito was still quadriplegic and started seizing if the sedation was withdrawn. The vet kindly told us that unfortunately it was too late for him and it was time to say goodbye and end his suffering. But we still believed in Lopolito. We had read every paper from Dr. Pedersen and every FIP warriors story under the sun and knew that even though it was a tiny probability, there was still hope. Thanks to some friends we found a hospital about an hour and a half away from home that agreed to keep Lopolito hospitalized and continue the treatment. The first night in the hospital the sedation was withdrawn and the seizures did not return (day 6 of treatment), even though his neurological symptoms were still severe. He was not able to regulate his temperature, gasped if it went above 37 °C, had nystagmus and was completely paralyzed. The hospital recommended an emergency blood transfusion or we were surely going to lose him. We did the transfusion and with each passing day something small seemed to improve, he started to lick the food off the vet´s finger, then started lifting his head, then stop panting and then started crawling around the cage with his front legs. After eleven days of admission we had used up all the money we had saved so we had to bring him home. We were very scared but at home he continued to improve. After 17 days of treatment he started to move one of his back legs, after 22 days both back legs. By the time he was ending treatment his dose was so hight that the drug started to fall by gravity in the subcutaneous space, creating big pockets of drug in the abdomen. Also by that time his skin was full of burns and bald spots. After 12 weeks of treatment, he started his observation, but that was also a very scary situation. Each day of observation his neurological symptoms continued to improve, but it was not clear to us whether this was a relapse or the evolution of healing. He regained his sense of smell and spent a lot of time smelling things, also as he regained the nerves in his back legs he sometimes seemed to have cogitation, as his hearing recovered he seemed dizzy and grumpy and was shaking his head every 10 seconds... The recovery of neurological symptoms was hard not knowing if it was relapse or healing. Today, 18 weeks after ending treatment we consider him cured! Lopolito is autonomous, has recovered his growth retardation, walks on all four legs, has a beautiful coat and a very happy life. He loves to eat and play and adores his cat brothers and sisters. He still has no sensitivity in some parts of his back and tail, he does not control his sphincter very well and he does not feel the temperature changes in his skin and the bald spots seem to have come to stay, but we think it is a fair rate in exchange for having him here living a happy life. It was like going through hell, but we would do it again one million times.