When we rescued sweet Josie here, we knew she wasn’t the healthiest cat, but we couldn’t leave her funny little face at Hamilton Animal Control. She had waited a long time to be rescued, and when a foster home opened up, we were happy to get her out of there. She went straight from HAC to the vet (as all our rescues do) and along with the usual health check, the vet did some blood tests because she just didn’t look “right”…for lack of a better term. She had been eating while she was at the shelter, but she had the runs. We could tell something was going on since she continued to have the runs in her foster home. The blood test showed no signs of FIV or FeLV, which was a relief. A poop test came back clear. But Josie’s foster home noticed today that her belly was big and distended and she seemed to be in discomfort, so she took Josie back to the vet. An ultrasound uncovered the problem. Her insides were full of fluid. A sure sign of FIP. FIP is a fatal, incurable disease. After much discussion with our vet and the foster home, it was decided that Josie was suffering inside, and because there is no treatment for FIP, we made the decision to have her euthanized. Josie’s foster mom was there with her and gave her the comfort she deserved in her last moments.

We hate to lose any of our rescued animals, but sometimes the best thing for them is to let them go. Our heart goes out to Josie’s foster mom, and we want to thank her for being there for Josie when she most needed someone.

Sleep well Josie. We won’t forget you…