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One of my colleagues has better pictures, but she's still broken up over the loss and I won't bug her for copies now.

Oh, god. I'm so sorry, felix. I've never even heard of FIP - how awful.

No, none of us had either, which made this doubly unexpected. About a month ago, a new, very aggressively affectionate younger kitten had moved in to the upper garden. Because she was gentle and gimpy, she didn't chase him off as she should have. Instead, she moved down into the lower garden where the street cats hang out. It's pretty filthy down there and I'm sure she picked it up from one of them. We all just figured that she was trying to assert a little independence and so we didn't notice that she was getting bloated until it was too late.

Oh, man, how awful for you, felix. :( Good for you for doing the right thing, though, as miserable and depressing as it was.

This is why I'm really scared of getting a cat (not this, since I didn't know about this). Our house is not the sort of place that we can keep a cat inside forcibly, since it's a hot climate and we open all doors and windows to get a breeze until we absolutely have to close up and use the AC, and there are lots of cats around here, including two belonging to our same-building neighbors (one of which hasn't been neutered), and we hear catfights and catsecks yawling all the time. The street isn't at all busy, and not much of a threat, but the other cats are.

I'm so sorry.

Ugh felix, my condolences. Stumpy sounds like she was a wonderful cat.

I'm sorry, Felix. Stumpy was fortunate to have you.

Aw, felix. I'm sorry. (((Stumpy)))

That sucks. Crap.

Sorry, felix :(

I'm sorry. That's a sad thing to have to do.

Afterward, we got drunk and cursed at the blind brutality of the cosmos.

That's what I was going to advise, so I'm glad to see you're on the right track.

In December 1999, I acquired two beautiful kittens, littermates, rescue cats from a no-kill shelter.

They were young (+/- 6-8 weeks old).

6 weeks later, Tex, the runty one, developed FIP. It attacked, among other things, his central nervous system. When he was no longer able to function at all (couldn't eat, walk, use the litter box) I had to have him put to sleep. He was so tiny-- still pretty much fit in one hand.

Even the vet cried.

Philo, the other kitten, never developed FIP. He's still around. He often sits in the corner and meows at the wall.

Sometimes I think he's looking for his brother.

we didn't notice that she was getting bloated until it was too late.

Don't beat yourself up about it. My understanding of the disease is that there's no treatment, no cure, regardless how early it's diagnosed.

fuck. So sorry for you and your kitty, too, dersins.

I'm so sorry to hear this about your poor cat. This disease really sucks, and I've never heard of it before, either. You certainly improved her life while she was here, and at least she was well loved.

I am so sorry. And, as others have said, there's nothing else you could have done.

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I know rationally that there was nothing to be done about it. Still, it's hard to look such a sudden and cruel disease in the face without asking if there was some way to have prevented it.

But you're all correct. Street cats in this country have it pretty rough, and this one was lucky to have gotten 10 months of love and attention. But then again...she gave as good as she got.

(((felix)))