Daphne's owners said their "world just started to collapse" when they were hit with the news that their "beautiful" British shorthair was fighting a rare, but fatal, disease caused by feline coronavirus.
The family had already tragically lost Daphne's brother, Niles, when he died suddenly just seven months after bringing the adorable little kittens home together. And now they are faced with a desperate fight to save Daphne, after she was diagnosed with Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP).
Daphne's owner, Laura Young, from Birtley, said: "Daphne is the Queen of the house. She's super beautiful and she knows it and before she got ill it was always her way or no way.
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"She's so loving and loyal and would always want to be sat on your knee getting cuddles."
The 36-year-old added: "We can't let her go. When the vet diagnosed her with FIP they said 'Why don't you bring her home for her last night with you?'
"My little boy stayed out and [James and I] had the loveliest night with her. She was purring away, lying with us and she seemed so bright eyed and bushy tailed and I just thought I can't let her go.
"The vet was due to be coming for her at 12.30 on the Monday and I sat in the living room thinking of ways we could save her. I couldn't put her to sleep when she still looked so healthy, when she still looked like my Daphne."
FIP is the leading infectious cause of cat death. It occurs when a cat has an adverse reaction to feline coronavirus (FCoV). FCoV is common in cats and many who become infected are asymptomatic. However, some cats can develop FIP when they become infected with the virus, for reasons which are not yet fully understood.
FIP has caused Daphne's abdomen and chest to fill with fluid, which Laura explained would eventually prevent Daphne from her from being able to breathe. But the thought of losing an otherwise healthy cat is too heartbreaking for Laura to contemplate, particularly as there is now medication available to treat FIP.
Laura was informed about the FIP treatment from FIP Cats UK, which aims to raise awareness of how FIP can be treated. The awareness campaign was born out of a fellow cat owner's own experience of finding out their cat had FIP, which they then recovered from through relevant treatment.
The organiser of FIP Cats UK got in touch with Laura via social media to support the family and explain that FIP "isn't necessarily a death sentence" as there are now treatment options available. This includes an 84-day treatment is reported to have a 93% success for the curing wet and dry form of FIP and consists of a range of IV treatment, injections and tablets.
Daphne has been diagnosed with wet FIP, which would make her eligible for the treatment. But the treatment comes in at a total of £12,000, which Laura and her partner James are unable to afford, even with Daphne's insurance cover.
Laura explained that Daphne had insurance cover of £7,000. But already the family claim to have spent £4,000 in vets fees to diagnose and treat four-year-old Daphne so far.
Laura said: "The first seven days of injections are to really go at the virus and then the tablets will do that. It's a bit bittersweet at the moment because she's getting thinner, except for this massive belly which is getting bigger.
"But she is showing tiny improvements. She's eating a little bit of tuna and she's loving those Lick-e-Lix [treats] that you give to cats. She's doing as good as we can hope for at the minute but it's one of those where it's not a sprint it's a marathon and it's going to take time for things to get better."
Now the family is fundraising to contribute towards Daphne's treatment and have set up a GoFundMe page to raise £5,000. Anyone wishing to donate or read more about Daphne's story can do so via this link.
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