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$13,183 raised since Sept., 2016
Miss
Bean
was
adopted
with
her
sister
Vanilla
from
a
litter
of
5—2
girls
and
3
boys.
She
was
the
runt
of
the
litter
and
after
her
spay
surgery
she
never
recovered
her
energy.
She
was
diagnosed
with
wet
Feline
Infectious
Peritonitis
(FIP)
on
June
28th
and,
with
her
condition
rapidly
deteriorating,
we
had
no
choice
but
to
schedule
her
euthanasia
for
the
following
day
at
3pm.
However,
that
morning
we
received
a
message
from
one
of
our
regular
Facebook
followers
on
our
@ZenByCat
page.
She
said
she
knew
a
vet,
Dr Heather Kennedy,
up
near
University
of
California
Davis
who
might
be
able
to
get
Miss
Bean
into
a
drug
trial
for
young
kittens
with
wet
FIP.
Through
the
help
of
many
kind
humans
and
lots
of
luck,
she
was
accepted
into
the
trial.
But,
we
had
to
get
her
to
the
clinic,
400
miles
north,
by
the
following
morning.
So
we
packed
up
her
little
box,
large
play
pen,
food,
and
toys
and
made
the
drive,
arriving
late
into
the
night
at
the
Sheraton
Sacramento,
who
were
kind
enough
to
let
Miss
Bean
stay
in
the
room.
The
next
morning
she
had
a
two-°©‐hour
evaluation
with
Dr.
Pedersen
and
several
of
his
students.
Dr.
Heather
Kennedy,
the
vet
who
helped
connect
us
to
Dr.
Pedersen,
agreed
to
care
for
Miss
Bean for
the
first
critical
few
days
of
treatment.
She
was
a
very
sick
kitten.
On
the
second
day
she
was
playing
like
a
normal
kitten
but
on
the
4th
day
her
temperature
shot
up
to
105.5°.
Over
the
next
3
days
her
fever
remained
stubbornly
high,
only
dropping
a
degree
or
less.
When
she
was
picked
up
on
July
8th,
her
fever
had
broken,
but
she
had
no
energy
and
had
begun
to
shiver.
Dr.
Pedersen
decided
she
was
too
sick
to
go
home.
I
said
what
I
thought
was
my
final
good
bye,
leaving
her
in
his
care
with
the
understanding
that
he
did
not
feel
she
would
make
it
through
the
weekend.
But,
the
next
day,
I
received
an
email
message
from
Dr.
Pedersen
that
started
with
“you
got
your
first
miracle
“.
Her
energy
was
back
and
she
was
improving.
Over the next 17 days, Miss Bean and I went on a roller coaster of improvements and setbacks against the
dreaded,
deadly
FIP, including two more miracles overcoming infections and fluids. The doctors thought that
her virus was more resistant to this drug than the viruses infecting other cats that were treated. Her virus
levels only fell after higher doses, and when they were dropped back, her condition deteriorated. Eventually,
her immune system became too damaged for her.
Miss Bean lost her fight with FIP on July 25, 7:45am. I am grateful I was able to spend time with her
throughout the weeks of treatment. She was an amazingly strong kitten who never stopped just trying to play,
even when her failing body would not let her. I am also grateful to Dr Pedersen and Dr Kennedy and all the
other doctors and interns who did so much to try and save Bean. They have learned a great deal from her and
one day FIP will not take so many beautiful innocent lives. I miss Bean. It is hard to believe she is gone.
The night before I was planning to drive up and get Miss Bean's ashes, I happen to see a post on FIPFighters Facebook page about a kitten from Long Beach that had been accepted into the UC Davis trial
and needed a way to get there. Long story short, Smokey is resting comfortably in my bathroom and we will make the trek up
north in the morning. Just like with Bean, a large group of selfless humans and lots of luck have come together
to give this kitten a second chance. And since becoming involved with Dr. Pedersen we have become friends
with Walt and his cat Flora, another trial patient. She had a very similar near death fever at the beginning and
has since made a miraculous recovery. Her 9-week trial ended on July 13. What gives hope is knowing
Flora
and Smokey will
continue
to
blaze the
trail
and receive the healing that
Miss
Bean so bravely attempted.
To follow Smokey’s progress and his fight with FIP, go to Smokey's story.
In honor of Bean and all the other victims of FIP, I have been working to set up a non profit that will raise
money for FIP research. This site represents this work. If you would like support the work of Dr. Pedersen
and others who are seeking a cure for FIP, please considering giving.
