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FIP Warrior:

Duchess

Duchess was diagnosed with wet FIP on November 14, 2019. I had returned home from vacation and noticed some abdominal swelling. I scheduled a vet appointment where the vet performed an X-ray, labs and drained her belly. All testing and the straw colored fluid confirmed wet FIP(no neuro or ocular). I was devastated. She was only a year old and a foster failure. When she entered the shelter system she was only 2-3 months old, very ill and feral. The cat coordinator reached out to me asking if I would be willing to foster her to socialize and prepare her for adoption. She’s terribly shy and I didn’t have the heart to return her to the shelter, where I knew she wouldn’t do well, so I adopted her. After the vet drained her belly she only weighed 4 pounds 7 ounces and he told me to bring her back for euthanasia when she stopped eating. After we got home, I feverishly started doing research and looked for support groups on social media. I found ZenbyCat on Instagram and commented on one of the posts about my cat’s recent diagnosis. Peter reached out to me immediately and referred me to the FIP Warrior group where I made a post about Duchess. Everyone was so kind, caring and wonderful. An Admin put me in touch with a fellow warrior in my area so that we could start immediate treatment. Within 3 days she showed remarkable improvement, I couldn’t believe it. She continued to improve, gain weight and was once again a normal kitty. My vet was unfamiliar with the treatment, but was very supportive and amazed by how quickly she turned around. We are now 3 weeks post treatment and Duchess continues to do well. She weighs 8 pounds 9 ounces and is a playful, happy cat. Thank you to Dr Pedersen, ZenbyCat and the FIP Warrior group.