Feline distemper FIP

British Shorthair

When Lauri turned 18 she got the best birthday present you
can think of, a cat. That became a British Shorthair, she had never had a
pedigree cat before but after the necessary research on the internet she knew
that this cat breed is known for its gentle character and that they are
generally very relaxed and loyal. When she saw pictures of British Shorthair
kittens, she was convinced. "They looked like little teddy bears, so cute
and fluffy!" says Lauri.

And there was her first British Shorthair, Balou.
Unfortunately, Balou only lived to be 1.5 years old, he died from the effects
of HCM. "We never knew he was sick. He had a very nice, but far too short,
lazy cat life with us. Because Balou had died so young and I still had good
contact with the cattery where Balou came from, I was allowed to choose a new
kitten from the next litter and this became Koda." continues Lauri. Koda
is a beautiful British Shorthair with lilac coat of now 7 years old. In
addition to Koda, Lauri has another cat, and a very cute one! Namely Lily... a
black golden shaded British Shorthair of 2 years.

Please note, the following photos may be experienced as too
cute.

The cats with the bows

That Koda and Lily get along well together is evident from
all the photos and videos of the two together. Fortunately, this was the case
from the beginning, they can cuddle together. Lauri likes to share that with
their followers on Instagram, where she
already has quite a few followers. The two British Shorthairs are very
photogenic and shine in the photos and videos. The duo is also regularly
photographed with a bow tie, which Lauri makes and sells herself!

Le soigneur de Koda

At the beginning of 2022, Lauri noticed that Koda was no
longer himself, he was very tired and slept a lot. At first, Lauri was not
worried about this because he still ate and drank normally and also had normal
stools. Unfortunately this only worsened, the normally good eater Koda only
licked the sauce off his wet food and soon he only smelled the food. Lauri knew
it wasn't right and immediately made an appointment with the vet.

This was followed by a lot of tests, including blood tests
that showed abnormal values, but no diagnosis yet. In the end, they made an
ultrasound. Lauri feared FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) in the beginning,
but also considered the chance small given Koda's age. FIP occurs for the most
part in kittens. The vet thought it was pancreatitis, Koda then tested positive
for this as well. Later this turned out to be a false positive result.

By the time of the diagnosis, Koda was already so ill that
Lauri feared for his life. "Every morning I was afraid I wouldn't find him
alive again. I had to force-feed Koda 6 times a day for weeks just to make sure
he got enough calories. There was really no energy left to do anything myself.
When Koda went to the litter box to relieve himself, I later found him lying in
the litter box because he simply didn't have the energy to walk back to his
pillow," says Lauri, who was then acting as a caregiver for her cat and
doing everything she could. This period was incredibly hard for her, both
mentally and physically. She was busy taking care of Koda 24/7 and was very
worried because Koda means everything to her.

Le diagnostic de la PIF

Koda was diagnosed with wet FIP on 07-03-2022, as a result
of the ultrasound that showed abdominal fluid. This abdominal fluid has been
punctured and tested in the lab. This is the only way to diagnose FIP with
certainty, when a cat has no fluid in its abdomen, it may have neuro FIP or dry
FIP. If this is the case, FIP is an exclusion diagnosis and a suspicion of FIP
can be established as a result of blood results, but this can never be said
with certainty.

Koda is now being treated with a black market drug for 84
days. Lauri indicates that it looks promising and that a lot of cats worldwide
have been successfully treated and 'cured' as a result. She explains how the
treatment works: "For 84 days, Koda receives an injection at the same time
every day. After these 84 days, there is then an observation period of another
84 days to see if he does not relapse. Because this treatment originated from a
recent study, it is difficult to say what this does in the long term." The
treatment is still relatively unknown, but more and more veterinarians are
aware of this treatment, even though it is not yet officially an approved drug.
Partly because of this, the treatment is very expensive, which is why Lauri
started a GoFundMe.

Meanwhile, Lauri is over halfway through the treatments and it pleases her to see Koda as the old one again. ‘I am therefore incredibly grateful to everyone who supported us. Starting the GoFundMe was a huge hurdle for me, but it was received with so much love. This has made the treatment a bit manageable for me. Besides, all the love we received really dragged me through it when I needed it most’ Lauri told us.

We wish Lauri, Koda and Lily all the best and also hope Lauri's wish comes true.