Sad kitty news

[firecat]

My kitty has either FIP or bone marrow cancer. According to my vet, FIP isn't treatable, and bone marrow cancer chemo is available but there's not a high probability of giving her a much longer life, so I don't want to pursue treatment if that's what it is. Palliative treatment with steroids and ringers might help her feel better for a while.

Comments

[cjsmith]

I'm so, so sorry. I hate FIP. I hate cancer. I hate any disease that is just... untreatable, or where the treatment won't do a ton.

Warning, unsolicited advice follows. Kick me if this is unwelcome.

If FIP:

It might be worth asking your vet about GS-441 (a nucleoside analog: DOI 10.1177/1098612X19825701, free via PubMed) and/or polyprenyl (DOI 10.3389/fvets.2017.00007, free via PubMed). My VERY LIMITED understanding is that GS-441 is extremely new on the veterinary scene and is not yet legally available in the USA. As in, when I was a practicing veterinarian two years ago no one I knew had heard of it. So it's possible your vet would want to take some time to evaluate any data. That one is pretty intriguing. Polyprenyl is available but has not yet been through a full double blinded study; it is believed that polyprenyl could buy you some time.

No matter what you choose, much much love to your kitty. :( :( :(

[firecat]

Thank you for the support, and thank you very much for these tips, vet friend. Right now my thinking is that I don't have the bandwidth to pursue alternative treatments. (This is not the only shit going on in my life, I think you and I briefly discussed that somewhere.) But I'm keeping this in case I change my mind. <3

[cjsmith]

Indeed we did, and I 100% understand. <3 <3 <3