Cat Adoption-A Cautionary Tale

Fifteen months ago, we adopted a sweet little black, short haired kitten from a no-kill rescue shelter that runs out of our local Petsmart. We applied, waited to hear, and the "foster mom" came to our house to make sure we were a "suitable" home. (Seriously, they do home visits.) They approved us, and "Frank" (my daughter picked his name) joined our family. He was a little sweetie, and became very attached to me, and I to him. Back in January I had requested copies of Frank's medical records so I would know what vaccinations he'd had. He was due for his 1 year vaccinations. After many, many calls, nobody ever got back to me. Part of the adoption fee was that he was current on all vaccinations. However, about that time Frank became very sickand he quit eating.  I spent $1000 to keep him alive. The vet ran all kinds of tests, and suspected a disease called FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) which is fatal. His titres showed he had at least been exposed, but the test was not difinitive. All other testes were negative. I asked about the rescue shelters vaccination policies, and the vet told me that they usually only vaccinate for distemper, and that FIP, Feline Leukemia and FIV are not routinely vaccinated for. I was very surprised and quite upset about that. I wish I had known that before adopting through this process. Fast forward to last Friday and my sweet little Frank had to be put to sleep because he clearly had FIP. He had a severe seizure and when he came to, he did not know who I was. He was just 19 months old. I know that we will adopt another cat some time in the future, but I will go through an entirely different process. I will have our next cat vaccinated through our veterinarian. The vet at the pet emergency clinic I had to take Frank to on Friday confirmed what our vet said about shelters not vaccinating for FIP. So, the moral of this sad story is to make sure you know exactly what your kitten/cat has been vaccinated for if you go through an adoption process like we did. FIP is very contagious, and an awful, awful way for a cat to die.

The End