The anniversary of Gun-Hee's death was yesterday. We did the tour of Fenway Park, but didn't get to go on the field. So I sprinkled some of his ashes from the top of the Green Monster.


This is where I dropped his ashes. I learned from this tour that, after Fenway's 100th birthday in 2012, no changes will be able to be made because it will become a historical landmark. They replaced the field and warning track before the 2005 season.

Gun-Hee's ashes will be there for a really long time. So every time I watch a game, I can look at the Green Monster and remember Gun-Hee.

It's taken me a long time to edit and post this video. It's the last time Gun-Hee went outside. It rained that last week after he was diagnosed with FIP and before he died. But Wednesday, June 25th, was nice enough to take him out into the courtyard of our building.

It's very sad, and the Pernice Brothers' song is sad, too.

Yesterday, Gun-Hee's breeder Sherry called me.

Gun-Hee's father, Pellburn Scarface Cat Pacino, aka Scar, died two weeks ago. He accidentally got outside and was hit by a car.

So now, Gun-Hee, his brother Rusty, their mother Amber and their father Scar are all dead within the space of a year. And I'm sad because we always said maybe we would adopt another of Scar's sons someday. Now we never can. He was only 3½ years old, a little older than Kylie.

The whole family, apart from Gun-Hee's two sisters and Uncle Whitey...gone.

I just found out today that Gun-Hee's brother, Rusty, also has FIP.
Here are the details (as posted to the YahooGroup for FIP Support):

During the last week of June, one of our placed Abys, almost 2 years old, was diagnosed with FIP on June 20. That was Gun-Hee. Sadly he declined very quickly and was euthanized on June 28. He was at Angell Animal Hospital in Boston for a couple of days initially where they did extensive testing, drained the abdominal fluid, and gave him IV fluids. He went home and spent his final week there. I was just devestated over what happened to Gun-Hee and his utterly devoted mom, Coco. I have read many of the posting on here since, but it just made me cry everytime, hearing about all these wonderful cats succumbing to this awful disease, and what you are all feeling.

Just a few days after Gun-Hee's passing, my Mother and Sister called me about Rusty, Gun-Hee's brother (they have two of Gun-Hee's litter mates, a male, Rusty, and a female, Sophie). They said Rusty had not been eating as much lately and sleeping more than usual. When they said his middle seemed to be sticking out, I knew...he had FIP too :(

They got him into the vet the following day and had the initial basic tests done, the Complete Blood Count and analysis of the abdominal fluid. Based on these tests, the probability stated was 92%. Given that Rusty's brother had just died of FIP, raises that probability even further.

Later on I had the Direct Immunoflouresence Test done on the abdominal fluid (NOT the blood which does not distinguish between FECV and FIPV). Positive results on this test are stated to be 100%, my vet gives a slight margin of error an says 99.whatever% .

I DID NOT have the abdominal fluid drained. As I had seen stated many places, it usually just fills back up in a matter of a few days or a bit longer. My vet advised against draining as the refilling of the fluid would just draw more protein out of the blood stream and deteriorate the muscles even more quickly.

Yesterday was 2 months since it was first noticed that Rusty's abdomen was distending. At it's peak, around the second or third week of July, I measured him at the widest point and he was 21". On August 14, I thought he didn't seem quite as full and tight, so I measured him again - he was 19.5". Since then he has been losing about 1" every 4 days, he is now about 17".

So what are the different possibilities that this can mean? Does anybody have any experience or ideas on that? My vet is on vacation this week and not back until September 2 - I will also talk to him once he's back.

I appreciate any thoughts on this and wish you and your cats all the best.

Sherry Pellerin

I can't describe how I am feeling right now. Sadness (the fact that Gun-Hee's brother has that evil disease), relief (Rusty and Gun-Hee had very different lifestyles, so it wasn't taking Gun-Hee on the subway or to the park that exposed him to the virus) and intrigue (maybe this is a clue as to how the disease occurs).

I talked to Sherry and I wonder if it isn't something on the X chromosome? Because Gun-Hee's litter was four kittens, two boys and two girls, and both boys got FIP. Neither girl has gotten it. What if it's like colour-blindness, which is more common in men than in women because its carried on the X chromosome. Or hemophilia, which is similarly carried on the X? Sherry told me that something like 63% of the cats that come down with FIP are males, so that certainly makes it seem at least plausible.

Of course, as I told Sherry, I'm not a scientist, I just have an art degree and an interest in genetics...but I wonder. I just wonder.

This post in Cat_Lovers is pretty much all that is holding me together.

The only thing that makes this better is that I am not alone. Thank you all for being here, and bearing witness to Gun-Hee's far-too-short life.

I appreciate every single one of you reading this.

Gun-Hee's in the hospital. They're keeping him tonight and tomorrow night to run tests, give him intravenous fluids, and drain the build-up of ascites in his belly.

Angell is incredible. It's like a real human hospital. It's huge. If Gun-Hee has any chance at all...this place can give it to him.

I've worked it out.
Red (Kopper Kats Firestorm of Escenzia) is the Aby who died of kidney failure at the age of 4 earlier this year. Red's great-grandfather is Felinexpress Lord Kynan Rupert. Rupert's mother is Felinexpress Betty. Betty is also the mother of Felinexpress Leo Escencias of Haro. Leo is the father of Haro's Gingersnap of Pellburn...who is Scar's (Pellburn Scarface Cat Pacino) mother, Gun-Hee's grandmother.

So they're distantly related at the great-grandfather level.

EROS is a wonderful resource for this.

I've worked it out.
Red (Kopper Kats Firestorm of Escenzia) is the Aby who died of kidney failure at the age of 4 earlier this year. Red's great-grandfather is Felinexpress Lord Kynan Rupert. Rupert's mother is Felinexpress Betty. Betty is also the mother of Felinexpress Leo Escencias of Haro. Leo is the father of Haro's Gingersnap of Pellburn...who is Scar's (Pellburn Scarface Cat Pacino) mother, Gun-Hee's grandmother.

So they're distantly related at the great-grandfather level.

EROS is a wonderful resource for this.

I also discovered that familial amyloidosis is common in Abyssinian cats and the cause is unknown. Amyloidosis occurs when amyloid, a protein substance, is deposited in the kidneys.

The vet appointment is at 4 this afternoon. Thank you all for your thoughts!

I don't think I've ever posted before about where Gun-Hee's name comes from.

He was named after the character Choi Gun-Hee (played by Cha Tae-Hyun) on the Korean drama First Love of a Royal Prince (황태자의 첫사랑). He's a lovable, but spoiled rotten, heir to a hotel empire. Or is he..?

I wanted a Korean name for my next kitten, and the character in this series is so...charismatic. I started out hating him, but by the end, he was just so endearing...

It just seemed like a wonderful name for a cat, and especially an Abyssinian.

deathbytamarind asks: Would Gun Hee eat a pizza if I put tuna and sardines on it? lol

Lets see...yesterday for breakfast Dave had bacon, eggs and a bagel. Gun-Hee ate a piece of all three and then had a go at the coffee (which Dave didn't let him have because the last thing Gun-Hee needs is caffeine). I had a hamburger, chips and salsa, and a lowfat ice cream sandwich for dinner...he wanted all of that too (except the salsa). So the answer is he would eat a pizza. Regardless of what is on it. :-)

Feel free to ask a question...

Over at cat_lovers, they're having a kitty gift exchange. Here is how Gun-Hee participated in said exchange...


( Of course, he had to be the first one to check out the box... )

Gun-Hee loves watching basketball on TV. I think it's because it has the largest ball of all sports, and he can see it the best. He was definitely following the ball today.