Our six month little Natural Mink Aston lost his battle to FIP one year ago today. Although we only had him for a short time he was an extraordinary little guy. Topping out at under 3 lbs he had absolutely no idea he was half the size he should have been nor did he act like a terminally ill kitten. Nicknamed the "Pocket Rocket" he was a little ball of energy tearing ass through the house.

My vet was amazing, exhausting hours trying to diagnose and treat all the "symptoms" of this miserable disease which can only conclusively diagnosed upon death. He did not give up trying to fight this with us, and did a lot of it for free, a personal crusade to try and figure out this enigma.

The final week was the hardest I have ever had to go through, he stopped eating and lost bladder and bowel control, he had two seizures which rendered him unable to walk for more than a few steps at a time. I was at the vet every day where they administered Sub Q fluids. I was giving him hourly feedings by syringe, trying to get millileters of water and baby food into him, the vet wanting to keep him alive long enough for a possible answer from another blood panel. I stayed up with him 4 nights in a row, him sleeping on my chest, shallow breathing, I was afraid to go to sleep, afraid to wake up to him gone. Bentley stayed by his side, grooming him, covering up his pee and poop in the litter box after Aston had gone but was unable to do it himself,bringing him his favorite toys, talking to him and snuggling with him. But the final seizure rendered him completely paralyzed unable to even hold up his head. I rushed him back to the vet, but at this point we all knew it was time. The vet let me hold him as he passed, my heart breaking but knowing he wasn't suffering any longer.

Bentley was heartbroken and cried for his little buddy, calling him throughout the house that night. I cried. My son, 4 at the time came to me and told me he was going to go to Heaven and tell God to give Aston back so I wouldn't have to cry anymore. And to this day, whenever Alex is told to make a wish, he wishes for Aston to come back. That little Tonk touched so many people and we were truly blessed to have known him. As heartwrenching as it was, I wouldn't have traded a minute of it.

We love you Aston and will always miss you...

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