Fip

My sweetheart Sharry died 8 months ago from this terrible disease. At the time I knew nothing about it or the symptoms. Because of my ignorance I missed all the danger signs and stupidly thought she was just gaining weight. That little barrel belly was actually the symptoms of FIP. Now I know but it sure doesn' t help knowing it now. My baby is gone and it is too late to save her or ease the suffering she must have been going through all alone thinking that her mommy would understand and help her not to hurt anymore. Her last weeks and watching her suffer now that I realize what was wrong with her haunts me waking and sleeping every day of my life. Does anyone know anything about this horrible disease?

Sherry's Pictures And 5 Week Bridgeday

I started looking at Sherry's pictures today for a photo memorial to place by her urn and pawprints and the tears started flowing again. She was so beautiful and sweet and because of my being so wrapped up in taking care of another cat who had pancreatic cancer for several years Daisy ( who died in nov.) and the oldest two cats who were in and out of the hospital this winter I was swamped with soaring vet bills. Plus my husband brought home a new kitten without discussing it 2 days after Daisy died. Sherry was devastated and her health went downhill fast. I know it wasn't deliberate but my baby's still dead and ironically she and Daisy who were so close were the most affectionate of my 6 cats. I know we have to try and get through this somehow but some days are worse than others. It's like an emotional roller coaster.

Rena (Sherry and Daisy's) mom
Belucha, Taco, Carina, Stretch, Red, and Phoebe

Guilt Feelings About Sherry

Thank you for all your kind replies to my post about Sherry. She was the most affectionate and youngest of my 6 cats. Daisy her best friend died about 6 months before and she had been Daisy's best friend. The two of them always slept upstairs with my husband and I. When Daisy died in November my husband brought home a kitten only two days later without consulting me. That is when Sherry began showing stress symptoms. She stopped sleeping with me and began staying downstairs all the time. At first her appetite decreased and she began withdrawing. I foolishly attributed stress over the death of Daisy and being hurt by the new kitten invading her space almost immediately after. Then after the new year she began swelling up and eating more. I actually thought I was doing the right thing by pulling her bowl away from her when she was eating too fast thinking I was preventing her getting too fat as that can also cause health isssues. She was actually starving to death from proten depletion and I didn't know it. I found out only when she was in convulsions one morning and I rushed her to the emergency hospital at 2 am that she was dying from multiple system crash due to an undiagnosed advanced kidney disease. One of my older cats has CFR and it was diagnosed in time and he's been on medication for it for 4 years and is doing pretty well considering he's 19. Sherry was much younger than him so I don't think I was paying as much attention to her symptoms. Daisy had pancreatic cancer and was on medication for 3 years after her initial diagnosis and she was 21 years old. My 16 year old Carina is on medication to treat hypertension. Then the CFR cat and his sister got viruses a week apart in December and both had to be hospitalized for rehydration and observation. This year the vet bills were enormous and I think that we may have been in denial about how sick Sherry was because that's what we wanted to believe because of the huge vet bills and the fact that she was younger than the cats who were both on meds for several years. This of course adds to the enormous guilt. It was bad enough to lose my most affectionate cat all of a sudden or so it seemed at the time but with all my mistakes concerning her health probably at the very least caused her to die much more quickly from the disease because it was untreated. I still can't understand how I could have been so observant about my other cats and so careless about Sherry. It's very hard to forgive myself. Sherry always used to burrown herself between my neck and shoulder every night before Daisy died and the kitten, Phoebe came. She was never the same again. I like Phoebe and keep her upstairs at night but she's nowhere near as affectionate as Sherry was. I am seeing a therapist and take several antidepressents which help me to sleep but I lost a lot of weight (10 lbs) and I only weighed 103 before all this happened. I'm starting to eat a little more but my nights are so empty and even sadder than the days without my sweetheart. All of this will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Sherry's Death

I lost my Sherry 4 wks ago and am having horrible guilt for not taking her to the vet in time. How do you forgive yourself?

Rena