In a house with 6 cats, you expect some fighting about any number of things, from territory to food. In September, Snuggles (#6) graced our horde and as the youngest at barely 6 weeks old, fought hardest to make alliances and find his place amongst the clan. It wasn’t easy for him, with his fair share of fights, including getting a right hook to the eye from one of his pseudo-sisters. But, somehow he managed to gain acceptance from the oldest of the bunch and things slowly became easier from there. He still has issues with the girls from time to time, but for the most part, everyone seems to count him as one of the family now.

Snuggles the Cat

Monday night, little Snuggles suffered a seizure. A little spooked, we took him to the Vet and they ran some blood tests. They’ve diagnosed him with Feline Infectious Peritonitis, or FIP. All manners of research have told us this is a death sentence as there is no known cure. The dreaded “comfort care” was mentioned at least once as I browsed the web. A term I don’t much care for, as past experiences have left some sorrowful memories. We’re holding out hope that this little guy,who was left for dead once in his life, already, sitting in a taped up box with air holes next to my wife’s car on that night in September shouldn’t be forced to endure something so horrible. The Vets prescribed some medicine to help his immune system and now we’re left with a day-by-day situation, hoping for steady improvement, instead of decline.

If interested, here are some links about FIP:

• Felipedia.org: FIP
• Wikipedia.org: Feline Infectious Peritonitis
• SOCKFIP: Save Our Cats and Kittens from Feline Infectious Peritonitis
• Adorable Rag Doll Cattery: FIP Facts
• Steve Dale’s Pet World: Cat Health, FIP Part 1 & Part 2

Some may seem reduntant, but then again, more information is always better than less. If you would like to pass along links to further information about FIP, please comment on this post or contact me by way of the “Contact Me” page