In April of 2021, we noticed our kitten wasn't her usual self. The voracious appetite for food, demands for play that seemed like 24/7, they just weren't there. We set up an appointment with her vet, but a day or two later it seemed like she was having trouble breathing and we took her to in for a same-day appointment. She had a fever of 104, definitely had laboured breathing and the vet wasn't sure what was wrong, so we were sent home with antibiotics to see if she improved over the weekend. She didn't. On April 19th, 2021, we took her back to that same-day clinic and got the news that shattered us. Our Ebony, who'd already brought us so much joy in the mere weeks we'd gotten to know her, had been diagnosed with FIP. A disease we'd never heard of which that vet told us there was no cure for. "Enjoy the short time you have left, make her comfortable and bring her back to be put to sleep when its time." is not what we wanted to hear, but we wanted to do what was right for our girl. So I did what I always do. I researched. I looked up what I could about FIP, and how to make a kitty's last days comfortable... ...and then I saw a golden, shiny wire of hope. FIP Warriors. There was debate on the websites I saw about whether or not it worked, but I had to know more. I sought out the group on Facebook. Within minutes, I was talking with Martha and Julie, who explained the treatment to a frankly panicked and broken me. I was out of a job because of a vehicle that didn't work, and now I was going to lose this lovable memory of my family? I really didn't know if it was going to work. I prayed that it would be something different. Julie convinced me to be proactive and brave enough to walk this road with my kitten, and Ebony had her first dose of this miracle that very night thanks to another warrior parent, Ivy. The road ahead was not easy by any means. 84 days giving injections felt like forever, especially to someone who a) is terrified that I'd do something wrong and hurt my cat and b) is terrified of needles, too. There were a couple days that went smoothly, a lot of days that we ended up having to bring in professional help and I can't count the number of scratches and bites that I got along the way. But our little girl was a fighter and was not going to give up to this hideous disease, and neither were we. Not even on what felt like our darkest day, a marathon injection night where there was no help to be found, and several needles had to be used over a course of 6 hours (lasting until about 2AM) to deliver one dose of treatment. She started improving quickly, regaining her fighting spirit and fighting those shots just as hard as she fought FIP. One, two, three rounds of bloodwork came and went and our girl was granted permission to enter Observation. Observation was something I looked forward to and feared at the same time. On one hand, it meant no more shots for the kitten. On the other? It meant no more injections of this life-saving medicine that I was prepared to give her for years if it meant keeping her around and in our lives. It was pretty uneventful; really just what every parent prays for. There were a couple moments when it looked like something seemed off, but Julie was there to ease my fears and assure me, nope, not FIP making a comeback. We started to return to normalcy. Her final bloodwork was the last roadblock between Ebony and freedom from this horrible disease... ...it took nearly a week for the results to come back, but today I can happily announce that she is CURED! Thank you so much to everyone who donated. To Martha who welcomed us into the group and Julie who guided us through treatment. To Ivy who got us started with shots and Alexis who came in towards the end of our fight. To my lovely partner Kristin who was with me every step of the way, offering moral support even though she couldn't help with the shots. To all the kittens who have fought and defeated this disease, and to all the kittens who tried but didn't have the strength. We are family here at FIP Warriors; every loss hurts us all, and today I share victory with everyone out there. But the war isn't over. The war won't be over until no cat parents have to be told that FIP is a death sentence; it's not. It's a big, ugly bully that acts invincible but isn't. FIP IS NOT A DEATH SENTENCE. FIP can be beat, and we did it.