Callie and Delila

Callie's Moment: My favorite memory of Callie was of her laying on my belly when I was pregnant with Aiden and having him kick at her.

Delila's Moment: My favorite memory of her is of her snuggling close to me and my son on many occasions and every night after she started getting sick.

FIP Story: I have always had kitties in my life. From the time I can remember at around age 3-4 till now. The love a cat brings is incomparable. I had only been back in Florida for just under a year when I found my Callie girl. She was a litter at a feed store that needed homes. So I brought her home to meet her new family. She met Oliver first, he was about 2 weeks younger then her. We'd found him on the side of the road on the way to the store the night before. She also joined Momma, Tux, Midnight, Spice, and Sugar. She was a very vocal kitty and loved to let me know when it was time to eat. She even learned to climb up my leg to get on the counter for dinner. Things were good and about a month or so later, my daughter shows up with 2 kittens that were strays that really needed a home. Well, Sampson and Delila then joined our extensive family. Callie, was such a lover and would snuggle on my shoulder and as I got bigger with my pregnancy she would sleep on my belly. As she lay there, she would start purring and every time she did my son Aiden would kick at her. It was the cutest thing. In mid December 2009 I noticed she started eating less and her fur started looking rumpled. I didn't think much of it at first and with Christmas a few days away, I probably didn't notice some of the signs that I would have. Early Christmas morning I went into labor with my son and he was born at 11:02 am that morning. I still worried about my kitties at home and though I knew they were taken care of I missed them and was worried how my Callie girl was. I came home on the 27th and it seemed like my girl had gotten a little worse. She was still eating, though only a fraction of what she had before. I noticed she's started getting a belly and though maybe she'd gotten a hold of a bug or a lizard, which are really prevalent here in Florida. Well, after a few more days of barely eating, Friday she just didn't want to eat anything at all. Well, Saturday morning, my Dad took her to the vet for me since Aiden was only a week old by then. He called me from the vet after a few test and said she has FIP. There is nothing they can do, it is always fatal and the best thing for her is to put her down and end her pain. I was crushed!!! It felt like someone stole the heart right out of my chest. I had no warning, the vet offered no treatment at all, and the worst part is, I never got to say goodbye to my girl. She was 2 days shy of 6 months old. For days I searched and looked up what I could on the internet about FIP. Everything said what the vet did, no cure, no treatment, no vaccine, nothing to do about it. I felt so guilty, I loved her, but was it enough? The questions still haunt me and it's been 6 months since she passed. After that, things seemed to be going okay. I watched everyone like a hawk. If they sneezed or had a hairball, I worried. Didn't eat as much and I got worried. I pampered everyone more then normal, and I spoil all my kitties as much as I can. In March of 2010 since things seemed okay, I took Delila to the vet to get spayed. I had 2 new kittens already from Sugar and really didn't want to worry that I'd end up with more, especially since I don't give away my kitties. Selfish, I know, but there are too many that need a home and I won't add to the problem. After 3-4 days she got a large mass under her stitches. Back to the vet and was told it was fluid build up from the surgery and it would go away and she would be fine. Well about 10-14 days later, it did go away and around that time she started getting really needy. She and her brother Sammy were my needy kitties in that when they wanted attention, they let you know it. Towards the end of March, Lila, stayed by my side always. If I went to the bathroom, she sat on the carpet outside the door, in the kitchen, she'd lay on the floor or the counter close to me. When I went to bed at night, she nestled in between my son and I and stayed there till morning. Her fur started to look rumpled and she ate a little less each day. On April 2, I'd had enough. She didn't get the belly that Callie did, but her breathing had started to get labored over the previous day. They ran tests and they came back neg, so they did an x-ray. The vet came back after the x-ray and told me there is fluid in her chest and he says there is nothing they can do. It's wet FIP, again. It felt like someone pulled the floor clean out from under me. Not my Liler, my little lover! She is only 8 months old, this can't be happening again! The vet said the fluid has collapsed one of her lungs and the best thing to do is end her pain. I held her and just cried... I didn't want to lose another baby to this deadly disease. I can't believe this! I'd never heard of it till Callie had it back in January. I did the only thing I could, I let her go across the bridge to join Callie and wait for me there. Losing a fur friend is so hard, and losing 4 in the last six months has been devastating to me. One to a car accident, 2 to FIP, and one to suspected blood parasites. They light up our lives with their love and understanding and when one of them crosses we lose a little bit of that light that was there. Though it will never truly go out, as we carry them with us in our hearts, the light is dimmer. Till we meet again across the bridge my beautiful angels....I miss you.