Mikey’s Story: The Inspiration for Cuddle — Part I.

It took a while before I decided to write this. Maybe it’s because the story is so personal.

But I realized that without this story you can’t understand Cuddle. And you also can’t understand what drives me.

If Cuddle can have a whitepaper then this is it — the essence of what #CUDL stands for.

Life is Beautiful

Let me take you back to summer 2017. Before NFTs. Before COVID.

Work as usual.

Crypto. Conferences. Travel.

During that period of my life, I’m so caught up in my work that I can’t even fathom making time for what is about to come.

But this time coming back home I have something waiting for me. And it’s not my girlfriend.

As I open the door I realize something is different.

I see a small little white furry surprise hiding in his crate.

I’m not sure if he’s more surprised or if I am.

A smile comes over my face.

He’s adorable. Tiny. A pure white little kitten. My heart melts.

But he’s terrified. He comes from a shelter and his first days in this world were pretty rough.

But finally he’s found a warm home to be in…

Life becomes amazing. I actually forgot how beautiful life can be when you have a small little creature that loves you. The last pets I had were back in high school.

So we name him Mikey in honor of the cat that I grew up with during my teenage years.

Life is great. For a few weeks at least…

Then one day our good friend, Coderchick, came over during the weekend.

She noticed there was something wrong with Mikey — that his stomach looked weird as if he were pregnant. Hummm, I’m pretty sure Mikey is a boy…

Ok I guess we need to take him to the vet for a quick checkup.

Day 1 — The World Crumbles

So we take Mikey to the vet and the vet conducts a few tests.

I have to get back to work so hopefully this will be fast so we can go home.

But she comes out, her face extremely serious. And she tells us the news…

Mikey has a maximum two weeks to live. There is nothing we can do about it.

Mikey is going to die.

My girlfriend bursts into tears. I’m shocked. What’s going on?

She tells us Mikey has FIP.

FIP stands for feline infectious peritonitis, which is fatal in almost all cases.

It’s a viral disease caused by certain strains of the feline coronavirus. You can basically think of it as cat COVID.

The vet says that we shouldn’t search the internet because we’ll find various scam sites that will give us hope but in reality there is nothing we can do.

Emotionally destroyed, we take Mikey home. Our world suddenly shatters.

At that point you realize you are at the mercy of greater powers. You realize your own mortality. That your reality can change from day to day, minute to minute.

The sadness and helplessness soon fade overtaken by the adrenaline of a crisis situation.

Some individuals freeze up when they are in high stress situations. Certain individuals obtain laser focus and start taking action in whatever way possible.

Maybe I’m blessed that when I was presented with this situation, I fell into the second category.

I started thinking, “What can I do?”

Naturally, when we come home with Mikey, we start doing exactly what the vet said not to do — researching the internet.

I start learning about FIP, reading the stories of other people and brainstorming any crazy idea that could be possible.

I even ask my close friends for help in case they find anything.

But all the sites that we find look like scams. Most are just sites that seem to be taking advantage of families in a tough situation or are just a bit dubious. The vet was right.

And then Coderchick sends me a publication titled “Reversal of the Progression of Fatal Coronavirus Infection in Cats by a Broad-Spectrum Coronavirus Protease Inhibitor.”

You can checkout the actual publication here.

Now I’m no scientist nor am I a doctor. But I know that a peer-reviewed publication from University researchers is not a scam and is not just a random article.

This is serious science.

And the publication states that some compound called GC376 that they tested “led to full recovery of cats when treatment was started at a stage of disease that would be otherwise fatal if left untreated.”

But the publication also mentions that “once cats develop classic clinical signs, fatality to FIP is virtually 100% and the median survival time from the time of diagnosis to death or euthanasia is about 8–9 days.”

Only 8–9 days?

A glimmer of hope appears but how can we possibly get this mysterious GC376 in such a short time period before Mikey’s condition worsens to a point of no return?

Day 2 — A Glimmer of Hope

The next day I wake up and start calling companies where I can order GC376.

Unfortunately GC376 is not an approved treatment for FIP meaning I can’t just walk to the vet and ask her to administer it to Mikey.

Now these companies are also selling it for “research purposes only”…

And after calling and emailing about 5 different companies that supposedly sell it, I realize that we won’t make it in time!

Every place tells me that it will take at least 7 to 10 BUSINESS DAYS before it will be delivered!

Mikey doesn’t have 7 to 10 business days…

Plus it’s relatively expensive at a price tag of €7,139 for 200 mg.

But what wouldn’t we do for our loved ones?

In these types of situations, if you have the capital then I believe it’s irrelevant to think about money. I would feel like a terrible human being if I put a price on Mikey’s life.

And what disappointed me the most during this experience were the people that questioned why I would spend so much money just to try to save a cat…

So of course I pay for it and start praying that it will arrive in time.

We have no plan as to how to even administer it but we’ll figure it out somehow.

Then I realize that all these companies are saying something about China.

Maybe the reason they can’t deliver it sooner is because they are just buying it from another manufacturer?

With a little digging and a few more emails, I find the company that has it in stock! Bingo!!!

But again, they say that, “the lead time will be 3–4 days upon payment. And shipment is by FedEx, and it’s about 1 week.”

Damnit!

Ok, ok, let’s think.

I buy it anyway just so that it’s processed. It’s another $3,000 but whatever.

Then a genius idea pops into my head.

We can fly there and pick it up!

But I need to still figure out how to administer the GC376 safely and be here with Mikey just in case. And my girlfriend is too emotionally distraught to go.

I turn to Coderchick and I ask her, “if I buy you a flight, can you fly to China tomorrow and pick it up in person?”

She’s shocked…

But she immediately says yes!

However, she doesn’t have a visa and of course getting a visa would take another few days.

So we create a risky plan. If we buy a flight to Taiwan with a layover in Shanghai, then she can probably get in because China allows visitors to stay for 72 hours as long as they are just “transiting.”

But will they let her out of China with this chemical especially after she never boards the Taiwan flight?

Day 3 — The China Mission

Everything is happening so fast…

I barely get any sleep.

Then, Coderchick needs to leave for the airport.

I’m nervous I won’t even be able to communicate with her through the Great Firewall of China.

Plus she might get lost. We haven’t even had time to arrange transport.

She texts me that she’s boarding the flight.

Fingers crossed that they’ll let her into China…

And that security won’t confiscate the mysterious chemical on the way back…

Day 4 — Smuggling the Cure out of China

I receive a message. Coderchick just landed in Shanghai.

I wait patiently to see if she’ll even get into the country.

Immigration asks why she is in China?

Visiting on the layover of course…

Passport stamped! Coderchick gets through customs!

If you’ve ever been to China, you know that NO ONE speaks English. Not even taxi drivers. It’s absolute mayhem.

The driver is supposed to be waiting for her. We paid triple the price of normal transport. Yet I’m nervous because obviously the Shanghai airport is enormous.

She comes out of the airport and there he is with a large sign with her name!

She meets the driver who takes her to some random little building in the middle of nowhere.

This doesn’t seem right…

But she goes into the lab, collects her package and in no time is on her way back to the airport.

GC376 secured!

She drives back and starts getting anxious.

As she approaches the security check praying she won’t be stopped, Coderchick starts thinking…

“Will security think that I’m smuggling drugs? And isn’t China known for giving the death penalty even to foreign nationals for drug crimes?”

Security doesn’t even ask about the package. She’s through.

Phew.

Game on!

Day 5 — The First Shot

Coderchick arrives with the smuggled goods!

As we get ready to apply it, thoughts start running through my head, “What if these chemicals are contaminated or there is some strange reaction?”

Plus grabbing Mikey and administering a shot that is evidently painful while he’s squealing kills us inside.

But we’ve come this far…

The first shot is administered.

I start taking detailed notes so that I can potentially consult this with doctors, vets & researchers.

My note says, “Very tired after the shots; almost couldn’t move; started having signs that he wants to throw up.”

This isn’t going to be easy…

But now we just have to continue the treatment on a regular schedule, be very precise and pray that it will work.

Day 6 — Nauseous Doubts

Mikey starts throwing up…

What if this GC376 has some horrible side effects that are going to kill him? This could be bad…

But he’s going to die anyway so what is there to lose.

We continue. We can’t give up just yet.

Day 7 — The Cure Works!

Suddenly, Mikey’s energy levels spike!

Mikey even starts jumping!

He’s climbing on top of chairs and running around on the table. He hasn’t done this since the day we took him to the vet!

This is crazy. I think this GC376 is actually working!!!

We are ectatic.

Days 8–14 — Light at the End of the Tunnel

During the next week things get even better.

Mikey is getting better and better. He’s almost normal again.

We see light at the end of the tunnel.

But we shouldn’t celebrate too early…

Day 15 — The World Crumbles…Again

Suddenly Mikey gets worse…

His condition changes extremely quickly within literally one day and our world crumbles again.

We start getting extremely worried.

Could this be a relapse? Is this the end?

Day 17 — The Last Supper

By Thursday, Mikey’s condition turns really bad.

He has heavy breathing problems.

I can hear his every breath and it kills me to watch it.

He’s so strong though just laying there trying to survive.

By nighttime I realize that this is probably our last night with him. He’s in the living room so I go to sleep there next to him to try to comfort the poor little thing.

Day 18 — RIP

Mikey passes away :(

The rest of the day is kind of a blur.

I don’t say much.

But I try to be as close to my girlfriend as possible.

Somehow I still feel a sense of peace because I think we did all we could to try to save him. And what I don’t realize is that his passing is going to grant another life…

Mikey might have died but his ghost came back a few months later to save another little kitty that wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for this entire saga.

Continue to Part II to see how Mikey’s ghost turned into what is now Cuddle…

Appendix: Mikey’s Treatment Plan

This is a table from when Mikey was sick that we dug up if it can help anyone that might be reading this who has a cat with FIP. We tried to keep a detailed account.