SOCK it to FIP

Jasper chose me as his owner four months ago. As soon as I walked into the pet store & looked into the cage of sleeping kittens, Jasper woke up, stretched & yawned, & began to rub his little head against the bars, purring his signature "motor purr". He was a beautiful grey & white tabby with the sweetest face I had ever seen. It was love & first sight & my boyfriend Steve & I took him home that afternoon. Jasper brought so much love & joy & laughter into our home & was a wonderful playmate for our other cat Oliver. We adored him.

Then, we began to notice that Jasper wasn't his usual playful, mischievous self. He had a mild fever & was also rapidly losing weight despite having a ravenous appetite. His belly had become extremely bloated to the extent that he had trouble walking & had to stop & crouch down after a few steps. We immediately suspected that he had worms & got him started on the drug Pyran in order to kill these parasites. After a few days, when no worms were being expelled, we decided to return to our vet.

I had looked at Mitten's photos on a breeder's website for more than a month before I finally brought her home. She was the black and white Maine Coon kitten that I had been dreaming about having for years. My beloved rescue cat had recently died leaving his 13 year old litter mate very lonely, and I thought that the beautiful kitten would become Muffin's new play mate and friend. Mitten was a constant snuggler who slept by my side every night. She gazed at Muffin with admiration, trying to imitate Muffin's big jumps. When she couldn't follow Muffin's leaps, Mitten would copy a little jump like a child dreaming of becoming an athlete. Mitten's Maine Coon body was never destined to be as airborne as the Siamese-mix Muffin, and I started wondering if there might be a minor neurological problem when the Maine Coon sometimes literally tripped over her own butt, falling while she played.