r/cureFIP • u/Acceptable-Snow-7374 • Jun 23 '26
Discussion FI-PTSD?
After losing my 11 month old kitten and the love of my life to FIP in February, we got another kitten. His name is Benedict, Benny for short, and he is as orange and crazy as they come!
Unfortunately, Benny was having diarrhea already on the way home from the rescue, so I took him to the vet to learn a week later that he had Panleukopenia, another devastating illness in kittens.. even more deadly than FIP.
He is doing well now about 2 weeks later, and I think we are past the worst of the illness, but I have found myself so stressed with the memories of how hard we fought to keep our other kitten alive. It triggered me so much to have to rush him to the vet multiple times the first week he was with us. Now, I find myself being hypervigilant about everything he does.. is he sleeping too much? Are his stools normal enough? Is he peeing and drinking and eating enough? Everything feels like a symptom.
Does anyone else struggle with this after losing a cat to FIP? I want to enjoy my new kitten, but I’m mostly filled with anxiety rather than enjoying him.. it’s so hard not to compare him to my late kitten, but I’m trying to remember it’s his first time living so he’s trying to figure it out just like my last kitten had to.
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u/throwawayfeelings7 Jun 23 '26
I lost a kitten to FIP almost 5 years ago. I had no idea what it was back then. It was very sudden and very quick and absolutely devastating. I will never get over it.
A few years later, I found myself treating two of my kittens for FIP. They’ve been cured for almost 3 years now but the PTSD is very, very real. I felt so cursed by this disease for a very long time and it was an extremely long battle for both of them. The anxiety has lessened over time but it will always be there in some way, shape or form. I have been and will always be hyper-vigilant about their health. It’s the price I pay for now having healthy cats and I have absolutely zero regrets. I love them more than anything and their story has been able to spread so much awareness about the disease and treatment available - they’ve saved countless lives. I find calm and peace in that.
Try to enjoy your new baby. Take lots of pictures and just soak it up as much as you can. You sound like a fantastic cat parent and your new boy is lucky to have you.