Street cat Belladonna is ten years old and was rescued by Little Wanderers NYC back in April after it was discovered that she was blind.
Belladonna was fostered straight away, and although she was struggling with a severe case of anemia, she seemed to be doing well in her new surroundings.
Then her health took a turn for the worse, she was diagnosed with Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). But with the help of her foster parents and kind strangers on the internet, she wasn’t left alone in her fight against this disease.
Fighting against the odds
FIP used to be a fatal diagnosis, but in the last few years strides have been made in the treatment of the viral disease.
Although the treatment we currently have does not work for all cats, and the long-term effectiveness is not fully known for such a new medication, the use of anti-viral drugs has been shown to eliminate the disease in a promising number of feline patients.
When Belladonna’s foster parents heard of this treatment they rushed to get her a vial of the anti-viral drug the very next day.
Unfortunately, one vial is not enough. Belladonna had to go on a regimen of this anti-viral drug consisting of a shot a day for 84 days, and one vial only lasted two and a half days.
Coming in at $80 for a single vial, Belladonna’s foster parents were not going to be able to afford her treatment on their own, so they took to the internet looking for help, and thankfully their call was answered.
Getting there
After setting up a GoFundMe it only took a month or so to cover the cost of Belladonna’s treatment, proving the kindness of strangers.
As her condition started to improve, Belladonna became more comfortable showing off her little personality. She is now considered very affectionate for a former street cat!
Her condition improving also meant that her foster parents were able to devote more time to taking care of more cats in need.
After the success of Belladonna’s Instagram campaign for FIP treatment, her foster parents decided to keep it up for other cats that needed funds for life-saving care.
Now, Belladonna helps save cats that are in a similar position that she was in only a few months ago, like Jean Pierre, a black kitten with a ruptured eye.
Belladonna will be up for adoption in the coming months so that she can find her forever home. Although her foster parents love her so much it remains to be seen whether they can let her go.