January 19th 2009 4:33 am
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What an honor it was to wake up this morning and learn that I had been selected as Cat of the Day! What I did to deserve being bestowed with such a title, I'll never know.
This past year has been interesting, to say the least! The end of October marked one year that I have been in remission from FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis), and next month will be the one-year Bridge date for my sister, Emma. Even though I was crushed to have lost her, because of her post mortem, we know that I do indeed have FIP. I'm still taking the Feline Omega Interferon, but now only on a weekly basis. Additionally, I am still on the prednisilone (which has, in turn, forced me into diabetes, for which I am also being treated). But life is good -- I am back up to 14 lbs. (a little down from my original 16, but I did need to lose a little weight) and my fur is finally growing back from the ultrasound and frequent jugular blood draws last year. My white ruff is growing in and they look like mutton chops, so Mom calls me "Mr. Fezziwig," from "A Christmas Carol."
I'm hoping that this next year sees continued health, not only for me, but for all of my family -- immediate and Catster as well! It would be nice if I could say that 2009 might see an dvancement in the understanding of FIP, but that is a long way off, I'm afraid. Vets still don't quite understand how or why the corona virus mutates into the FIP strain. But I'm proof that some can and do respond to aggressive interferon treatment.
Purrs...Jake
(PS -- Mom posted a new song on my Catster page, but you must click the arrow to make it play. She picked it out specifically for me -- it's by one of her favorite musicians, VAST.)
February 24th 2008 6:50 am
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Mom finally got the courage up to take me to our vet for my repeat labwork. Since I've not had it done since my initial news of remission back in November, she was terrified that it would show that the FIP was coming out of hiding (even though clinically I show no signs of being ill). Much to our collective relief, my bloodwork is beautiful -- my PCV (packed cell volume or red blood cell/hematacrit count) is 40 -- up from 33 last November. In fact, all of my levels are even better now than they were when I originally went into remission. Naturally, we're afraid of jinxing ourselves by being too jubilant, but we're allowing ourselves brief periods of reveling in the fact that, for now, the FIP is nowhere to be found in my body.
This is so great, because it gives me the strength to help pull Emma into remission, too. She really needs our purrs the most.
November 29th 2007 2:32 pm
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I'm in remission!!!
Most of what had been elevated is now in a normal range -- and my PCV (red blood cell count) that was at 25 one month ago today is up to 33.5 (within the normal range for a cat)! Mom cannot believe this good news -- she would have settled for status quo, but here it is...remission!
Every day, though, is still a gift, because no one can tell how long this might last. Could be a week, could be years. We'll see.
But, oh, what a Christmas present I now make when I snooze under that twee!
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