Arthur's FIP Medication

Hello friends & animal lovers!

My partner Steven and I recently adopted the sweetest, kindest, funniest alley cat from the streets of Queens, NY. His name is Arthur, which came from his royal looking stature but also my love of Arthur the Aardvark. Unfortunately, he has had a rough go at life since the beginning and is currently very sick.

A friend of a friend rescued Arthur off of the street. She had been feeding him in her alleyway for about 6 months before he was brought inside due to an impending snowstorm. She had him vaccinated, treated for an abscess and infection, and recognized that this sweet & loving cat needed a permanent home. That's where we came in. We fell in love instantly and drove down to Queens to pick him up. Arthur became a resident of Maine (or a true Maine coon cat.)

After we brought him home, we slowly started to notice a decrease in his health. We took him to the vet, where he was misdiagnosed for a disease related to flea bites. After antibiotics, we noticed an extreme decline about two weeks later. At this point, we were sent to Portland Veterinary Hospital where he had an emergency blood transfusion. Once he made it through that procedure, he had an ultrasound done on his swollen kidney that was found to have a mass on it. Two biopsies later, renal lymphoma was ruled out and they deduced that the only disease it could be is FIP. Feline Infectious Peritonitis is a fatal illness that takes over the cat's body, causing organ failure and attacks all cells trying to fight the infection. There was no cure and we felt helpless for our boy.

Through friends of friends and an insanely kind, animal loving FIP community, we learned about this medication not available through our vet in the United States pending it's FDA approval, can save cat's lives from this horrible disease. It is a daily shot, which is painful for Arthur, but we shower him with treats after the fact. We have been doing these shots since February 29th and have seen a huge improvement in his overall health. He's eating again, his eyes are wide and full of energy! This is a new cat we have never experienced since he started declining so quickly after we got him.

This medication is very expensive. We are expecting to need forty to fifty 5ml vials of medication costing $80 per vial, along with injection supplies and additional care for him. As we navigate this challenging time with our beloved Arthur's health, we feel both fortunate and grateful for never having had to ask for financial assistance through a GoFundMe. With the expense of this medication being so high and the unexpected vet bills we've received in the past week, we find ourselves needing that assistance now. Your contributions are not only helping us afford the high costs of his life-saving treatment but are also restoring hope and joy to our little family. Every cat that benefits from this treatment is one step closer to having the medication approved.

Arthur, as all animals do, deserves a full life filled with belly rubs, good food and a safe home. We are doing everything possible to give this to our NYC alley cat.

Love,

Carrie, Steven, & Arthur