05/15/2026
My entire life, I wanted a Maine c**n.
Specifically an orange.
So I saved up for years and well- I bought a few of them 🤣
When I was saving, I made a mental note to also put money aside for emergencies and to not buy them until I had that money put away.
I wanted/want to do cat shows and if they passed all their health tests- I wanted to breed them.
But only if they had clean DNA, good echos and hips and the best temperament.
Chad has THE BEST temperament.
He is so incredibly friendly, loving and likes other cats, dogs, people. His DNA test was clean.
I was getting ready to schedule his other tests and then he got sick.
It started as a watery eye on a Thursday morning.
By Thursday night, both eyes were watery.
I wasn’t too worried.
Friday, he seemed fine. Friday night- eh, I wasn’t loving the way his eyes looked.
Of course, it was after hours so I called the ER vet. They said if he was eating and drinking OK, then it was best to wait until Monday to see his regular vet.
I agreed.
Saturday- he was ok.
I got home from work on Sunday. Took one look at him and called the ER vet to let them know we were coming in.
My fiancé said he wouldn’t eat his fave treats and he wasn’t able to p*e. Both eyes were swollen, he was lethargic.
So we went to the ER vet.
And multiple thousands of dollars later and an overnight stay, we had no answers but he was stabilized.
I was told if I had taken him home that night that he would’ve died because his condition was so bad.
They thought he had FIP but the only thing they could say for sure is that he had a very bad infection. But they couldn’t tell from where or what kind.
I transferred him to our regular vet. He was hospitalized and our vet actually stayed the night with him. 🥹
Of course, that was more money.
Obviously, all of this money was worth it.
But after staying there, we still had no answers.
The only way to diagnose FIP was necropsy and thankfully, we weren’t there.
He had more fluids, more IV antibiotics and we took him home.
He’s had two more appts for blood work, and finally today- HIS LEVELS ARE NORMAL.
But, we may never know what caused him to get sick.
And we won’t know if he has FIP until he eventually passes away (hopefully in a very long time).
But the way his immune system reacted was not normal.
And it could be passed on to potential future kittens.
So, Chad will be neutered
Because, to me, being a good future breeder means breeding only the genetically best.
And while Chad is the prettiest and nicest cat I’ve ever met, something is off.
Chad will live out his days at home with me.
As a fat, neutered guy ❤️
