WOW -- Cat of the Day!!

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.)

Good news!

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.

Bloodwork results

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!

It's almost Christmas...

...and THAT means Mom will be putting up that fun twee in the middle of the livingwoom! I love to bat at those shiny things she hangs from the branches. And she puts this super-soft and warm blanket underneath of it and she can always find me snoozing on it in the middle of a cold day. She says I'm the prettiest present ever, whatever that means.

So, as you all know...I have FIP. Mom has been treating me with interferon every other day (my sisters all get a oral dilute version of it, too, just to keep their immune systems strong). Yesterday, Mom took me to see that nice vet of ours (not the one in NC but the one up here -- I have TWO nice lady vets!), and it seems that I'm back up to almost 13 lbs. (I had gotten down to 8 lbs. back in October), and even though I'm a little anemic, we're hoping that the bloodwork will show that it's not gotten any worse. If my liver enzymes aren't any worse, then it could be that I'm in a form of remission. I'm not symptom-free, but I'm not getting any worse. We'll find out in a day or two when the results come back. But the fact that I'm putting on weight and acting fine (purring, playing, eating) is a wonderful sign! Whiskers crossed!

Now if she'd only put up that twee!!

I'm a sweet boy, so says Mom

Mom seems a lot happier now. I think that I'm doing ok (all things considered), especially now that I'm on the interferon treatment. I'm also getting prednilisone (which makes me pee a lot!), and lately I have a bit more energy. We're hoping that the interferon will push this into remission -- there's been quite some success with it. So, what do I have to lose?

Ride the waves and don't ask where they go

Mom has put away the syringes because I'm back to eating on my own, without her assistance. My strength is coming back a little, too, and while I'm still feeling kind of not so great, I'm hanging in there. Mom said that a special lady is sending me a package with important meds that we should get tomorrow, and hopefully it will make me feel even better. I'm so excited! I don't think that I ever got a package before, but Mom gets a lot of them and I see how happy they make her, so I'm hoping that mine will make ME happy, too.

OK, time to get a little nap. I have to save my strength -- pirate cats can't be weak!

Daily Diary Pick!

Wow, look at me, I'm one of the Daily Diary Picks! I'm so excited, so I'd better take over the keyboard and write something or else my Mom will get on here and write something sad.

So, as it turns out, I am a pretty sick boy. It was confirmed at the university veterinary teaching hospital (NC State) that I do have (non-effusive) FIP. Mommy has to help me to eat using a syringe, but that's ok since I know that what she's doing is good for me, so I hold still and let her feed me. Hopefully it will help to reverse the problems with my liver (she said it's fat!) and make me feel better. Then, a very very nice lady whom Mommy knows is sending interferon so we can start treatments on Wednesday. It's kind of experimental but that's ok because I've always believed in trying new things. The vets at the hospital said that it won't hurt me and it might help put this into remission, so I'm all about giving it a whirl. Right now, I just try to rest comfortably and Mommy makes sure that I'm warm enough and have enough clean water.

I'm taking this day by day, and right now, I'm doing ok -- all things considered. Thanks for everyone here at Catster who have been sending well-wished and purrs -- it has really helped and has made me feel even more special than I already do (if that's even possible!).

Purrs...Jake

Not doing well...

Jake has been ill for the past (almost) four weeks. Running a fairly consistent temp of 104 and having lost over three lbs., we received the diagnoses yesterday of probable non-effusive (dry) feline infectious peritonitis. There is no cure. Today, Jake and I are taking that all-too familiar drive down to NC State -- it will be his first time there, though, and the staff who knew and loved Malaika are waiting expectantly for him. They are going to make sure that FIP is indeed what is going on. We are hoping and praying that they find something else -- something that they can cure. Otherwise, we are going to lose our little pirate cat --and run the risk of going through this all over again with our other three, as this is a highly infectious disease. -- Jake's Mom

What was Mom thinking?

So, my new sister, Galena, has been here now for almost two months. At first, she seemed so quiet and shy, so we pretty much just went about our business. Then she started to join in on the playing, which was fine -- even though it meant sharing our toys. (Eventually Mom and Dad went out and bought even more toys, which I suppose was a bonus.) But now, she's a holy little terror! I can't even walk down the hallway without her jumping out of some tiny little unknown crevice and attacking me for no reason other than that I let her! What is up with this?! What was Mom thinking, bringing her into our lives?! Yeah, she's cute and she smells better than Emma, but those litte tiny razor teeth are killing me! And WHERE does she get that energy??! All the time, zooming here and there, never resting for a moment. It's time I found some out-of-the-way perch on which to nap solidly until she's, I don't know, say maybe 10 years old?

There's a twee in the livingwoom!!

Oh, my stars -- my wish has come twue!! Mom and Dad have put a giant twee in our livingwoom for me to climb!! I don't understand why they get so upset when they find me halfway up the "twunk." But they haven't put it away out of my reach so it MUST be for me!! Then, just when I thought that it was perfect, they added sparkly balls and things that me and my sister, Emma, can pull off and play whack-a-ball wif. What FUN!! We wait until Mom and Dad are asleep and then "Whack!" there goes an "apple" or a "pinecone." The really REALLY shiny balls are waaaaaaay out of our reach, but the ones that bounce wifout breaking, well, I like them the best! Thanks, Mom and Dad -- wow, I REALLY like this Christmas stuff!!