This is my little foster kitten Jo Jo, he’s a big sweetheart and a diehard lap kitten (he could literally spend every waking moment snuggled up to me if I let him!) He and his brother came into my home scared and afraid with a simple eye infection/upper respiratory infection. Just when he was clear to go find a forever home with his brother, his tummy started growing bigger and bigger. We took him to the vet and learned it was his abdomen filling with liquid. He was diagnosed with Wet FIP. I was crushed, having lost 2 other wonderful sweet foster kittens in the past to this same disease. It’s commonly known to have a 100% death rate, with no cure.

Just as hope felt lost, I learned of a new trial treatment for FIP. It has been saving many cats' lives over the past 2 years since it’s discovery. We were able to get our hands on the first week of medication through their wonderful supportive community. We have been treating Jo for just a few days now and this is what I've seen.

Jo, who at this point looked like a little balloon, was so uncomfortable he could barely walk. He’d fall trying to jump up on the couch and lay around most of the day hanging his head down. He had just about given up, he was so sad and tired. Just 24 hours into treatment he was alert and hungry again. Two days in, he was jumping around off the couches and around the house. By day four, he is now playing with the other cats, eating so well and is up and about most of the day!

Here’s where the new challenge comes in, the medication is very expensive and painful. For one week of daily injections we spent around $150 (not even including food, needles and other medical equipment needed for administering injections. This cost will go up as his weight increases.) I foster for a small organisation that relies on donations to operate and before starting injections they told me they would not be able to cover this treatment. And that the most humane thing to do would be to schedule a euthanasia so he doesn’t suffer. Me and my husband would not accept letting him go after coming this far, so we’re determined to make it work on our own.

We give an injection to Jo once a day and the medication is so acidic he cries out in pain. It’s horrible. We do our best to comfort him and clean/treat the area topically immediately so he doesn’t develop sores, but it’s a terrible process either way. He needs treatment daily for 3 months to be in the clear.

There is an alternative to these painful shots, there are little pills you can order instead. Unfortunately these pills would cost us closer to $400 a week, which is far out of our ability to cover. Our first and foremost goal is to get him covered for the 3 month span of injections. If we are able to raise enough, we will transition him to the pills for the remainder of the treatment so he no longer needs to go through that pain. If there is any more left, it will go towards the food and medical equipment needed throughout the 3 months. And lastly, if you guys go crazy and raise more than we need in our home, I will use it to start making donations to other families going through this same awful experience.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about little Jo Jo and his rough start to life as a kitten. Every donation is appreciated and means the world to us. This little one deserves the chance to grow up and find a forever home with his brother and spend his days snuggled up on his favourite person's lap.

If you’re interested in following Jo’s journey, I will continue to post updates on how he’s doing.

Jo's Pages:

GoFundMe