Life-saving treatment for Boh and Theo

Catnap is home to 4 resident rescue cats and between 10-15 cats and kittens waiting for their forever homes. Back in May, a litter of six adorable 8 week old kittens arrived at the cafe and unfortunately a few months ago four of them, Boh, Theo, Lilac and Bambi, developed a complex disease.

The disease is caused by a mutation of feline coronavirus (FCoV). The virus itself is VERY common, most cats are exposed to it during their lives and it usually causes few or no symptoms, but in a very small number of cats, a genetic predisposition causes the virus to mutate leading to a fatal systemic disease that progresses over weeks to months. The disease itself is not contagious.

Until recently, this disease was considered untreatable with a 100 percent fatality rate, however, we have been treating Boh, Theo and Lilac with a new broad spectrum antiviral medication from overseas that has had a lot of success in the last 2 years. We unfortunately did lose their fourth sibling, Bambi, before we had a chance to begin treatment.

The treatment is a 12 week course of medication followed by 12 weeks of observation, due to the small risk of relapse during this time. Recently, we completed treatment for Boh and Theo (Lilac still has 4 weeks left) and they moved into the observation phase. Sadly, a few days ago, they both relapsed :( This has absolutely broken our hearts.

Our only option now is to try a second round of treatment with a higher dose of medication. There is still no guarantee that they won’t relapse again, but it is our only hope of saving them. We have also increased Lilac's dose for the remainder of her treatment, to hopefully decrease her chances of relapse as well.

Unfortunately the cost of this treatment is very high and we have already spent thousands on the first round. We cannot guarantee that they won't relapse again but if anyone is willing to contribute despite this risk, it would mean the world to us. We have put everything into trying to save these guys over the past few months and we can’t give up now.

As well as this Givealittle campaign, we will be running a few different fundraising events over the next month to help us fund the treatment. Keep an eye on our website - www.catnapcafe.co.nz

If you have any questions about the disease or treatment please feel free to get in touch with us.