Last December I brought my cat to the vet for constipation. We noticed he had a bigger belly but thought it was related to stomach problems. The vet took an X-ray and saw fluid in his abdomen. Told me it was either lymphoma or FIP. I burst into tears. Bomber was just over a year old. He was the first cat I called my own. He was a foster fail. Bomber also has cellebellar hypoplasia, otherwise known as wobbly cat syndrome. His case is mild, but like other CH cat owners will tell you, Bomber is the sweetest, most cuddly cat. We fell in love with him so quickly. I’m forever grateful that my vet knew about FIP and suggested the right group to join on Facebook so I could connect with someone to help get medicine and provide support through treatment. It’s the scariest and most expensive endeavor I’ve done. While waiting for the week or so to get the diagnosis and the meds, bomber’s appetite severely declined and he was extremely lethargic. He only wanted to lay on the heating pad. He had no interest in toys or food no matter how much we tried. But the meds actually worked. Like so many others we were skeptical. But we no other choice so we took the chance. Within a few days his stomach swelling went down. He was eating again. He was playing again. He was Bomber again. The injections were never easy. A vet tech helped us with the first injection. My boyfriend had to be the one to do it because my nerves were shot. He got physically ill after that first shot. But he powered through for 98 more until we got the clear for observation. It was a catch-22 because Bomber reacted well to the meds and started gaining his appetite and spirit back. But as he gained back weight and energy, he fought hard against the needles. A few shots were messy and medicine spilled on his back. He has a bald spot on his back from one of those occasions, but I don’t really care. I’m just glad he’s alive. We tried to do injections in his hip to give his back a break but they didn’t absorb as well and our bloodwork dropped. So we returned to the back, rotating around to not inject in the same spot repeatedly. After 99 days, we were finally ready for observation. And after three months of observation, we brought Bomber to the vet (we couldn’t go in because of COVID protocols) the tech brought him out with his paperwork. She asked “what levels do we need to be?” I explained the numbers we had to hit and she said “yep.” I could’ve screamed at the top of my lungs. Instead, we just cried. Now, we’ve tried to help other cat owners in our area who are going through the same thing. So far, 10 cats have been diagnosed and gone into treatment since we started our FIP journey. It’s gratifying to know there’s a chance and to see medicine do what it says it will do. So often, treating animals is trial and error. This has been proven to work over and over again. It’s not an easy choice to make considering expense. But when faced with saving your baby, it’s the only choice you can make.