Luna, the First GS441524 FIP Trial Survivor's First Hike - Appalachian Trail TN/NC (2017)

We’d wanted to take Luna camping and hiking with us, but when she was diagnosed with Feline Infectious Peritonitis, those plans were shattered—for what we thought would be forever. Well, look at us now! Dr. Petersen must be grinning from ear to ear as he watches his first EVO984 (later labeled GS441524) trial cat beating this terrible scourge and enjoying life on a large scale!

When we considered adding a Savannah cat to our empty-nested lives, it was partly due to their stellar ability to walk on a harness, ride in a car, jump high, and touted socially spunky demeanor. We love to hike and backpack and wanted a cat that could travel with us and eventually travel the distance.

Here we are now! We have our sweet baby and have navigated the horrific diagnosis of FIP at 14 weeks of age. We’re now 21 weeks of age and seven weeks post-FIP diagnosis—six weeks since starting the new drug from the University of California, Davis.

We had some business to tend to in Charlotte, NC, for one day and decided to try a short hike and overnight camp-out back to Ohio at Roan Mountain, Tennessee. Luna handled the seven-hour car trip, as well as the hike, like a boss. As I sit around the campfire, our little lady is in her harness and long lead, totally loving the outdoors. She’s catching bugs and watching the birds (licking her chops!).

Luna was the star of the trail today! She was pouncing on everything and bouncing along the trail while chasing the branch we used as a teaser toy to keep her moving. We passed many other hikers who e wanted to get a closer look, pet her, and ask questions about "why and how" we were able to "hike with a cat"?

Luna walked two miles, her longest harness walk to date. We generally hike long distances or backpack for a few days, but she's still a baby, and we want to acclimate her gradually to the distance, not to mention how sick she recently was, and we don't want to push her too far, too soon. She caught on fast and learned if she stopped to "stalk something," that got her picked up and carried so we could keep moving. As soon as one of us would reach down to pick her up to carry her, she'd immediately take off walking or running again. It was adorable.

I can't believe we got to do this with Luna. We can keep taking her on adventures like this! I feel incredibly confident our sweet girl is free of this dreadful, deadly disease!

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