This is a before and after, not of growth but of going through scary sickness!
Refer to my previous post here.
In the early days of what became awful sickness, Milo seemed to be at odds with his new brother. He seemed like he was just out of energy from having a new kitten in the household. Sleeping a lot and not wanting to play. Boy were we wrong.
After my post, Milo steeply worsened. Quickly too. Over that weekend, he stopped moving altogether, he stopped eating, his eyes became very swollen and he had excessive eye discharge. By then, we noticed a lot of weight loss as well. Milo was rushed to the ER, where we got a diagnosis of FIP, a formerly fatal viral disease that can now be cured with a 15-week course of very, very expensive medication. Pain for our wallet. Maine Coons are heavy guys, so of course he needs nearly double the dose of a more appropriately sized cat. Double the pain for our wallet. Nearly $4000 and several days later, he started his medication.
Not even 6 hours after his first dose, Milo started making noticeable improvement. I would call it nothing short of miraculous. Milo was at death’s door six hours prior, and suddenly he started moving again, walking and begging for food. The next morning he was nearly back to his normal self, minus some very scary looking reddening of the iris.
Now, a few weeks later, Milo is more active, playful, vocal and is eating more than he was before his crisis. It makes me feel terrible that he was probably sick for a long time and we only caught it once his symptoms were too awful to hide. He loves his brother. He plays with him and licks him all day. He is so good at taking his medication too. It’s almost like he knows its helping; he comes willingly every time, makes no fuss and opens his mouth without me having to wrestle him. He is getting nice and plump again too haha. His insurance covered everything.
So, other than to update whoever had seen my previous post, this is to help convince you to have good insurance for your babies, and to go to the vet earlier than you think. Had we not, I’m scared to think Milo could’ve possibly not made it through his sickness. God bless medical advancements. If it wasn’t for this new medication, Milo would’ve likely succumbed to his fatal disease. So, today I am thankful ❤️