FIP Info Needed Please

I understand this disease is almost always fatal, I also understand that it is very difficult for a Vet to diagnois.

Any information would be greatly appreciated. We have a close friend whose kitten was diagnoised with it today. She said that her kitten was doing TERRIFIC just three days ago in her email that was sent this morning and was moppy Monday and taken to the Vet early this morning.

The kitten has never been sick, this just seem very strange to me.

here's a link to a website that has quite a bit of info on it, a lot of it is pretty technical, but it's still very informative http://www.bemikitties.com/felv/fipfacts.html

The website above says there is no test for FIP but my vet told me there is a test for it now. Anyone know anything about that? It looks like the info on that site may be a little outdated? (2003) The one my vet told me about is apparently around $120. Used to be they could only test for antibodies, which just means the cat has been exposed. And just being immunized will make a cat test + for exposure.

My vet is suggesting Jake get tested for this because of his recent weight loss. Just as a "rule out". I'm reluctant because he is getting better now and has a known earlier diagnosis of an autoimmune disorder anyway. BTW, Jake is from dragonpass too. I've had him for 3 years now.

there's a test for the corona virus which is the virus that can mutate into FIP, but my Izzy died of a suspected case of FIP 2 weeks ago and my vet said there was no test, the only way to diagnose it beyond a shadow of a doubt was a necropsy. The corona virus is fairly common but not all cats that have it will develop FIP

Originally Posted by katiemae1277

there's a test for the corona virus which is the virus that can mutate into FIP, but my Izzy died of a suspected case of FIP 2 weeks ago and my vet said there was no test, the only way to diagnose it beyond a shadow of a doubt was a necropsy. The corona virus is fairly common but not all cats that have it will develop FIP

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I'm sorry for your loss of Izzy. And Thanks for the info... this is what I thought.

Sorry for sort of hijacking this thread for a minute.

Originally Posted by mzjazz2u

I'm sorry for your loss of Izzy.

And Thanks for the info... this is what I thought.

Sorry for sort of hijacking this thread for a minute.

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No problem, I just read through your thread about Jake and I hope he continues to get better Izzy started showing neurological symptoms on Sunday (her back legs would not do what she wanted them to do) and by Wednesday she was gone Izzy was also FeLV postive so she couldn't fight it as well as a healthy cat could have but I elected not to get the necropsy done so I'll never know for sure. One of the ways to try and diagnose "wet" FIP is to due a simple x-ray and if the abdomen is full of straw-colord liquid then there's almost a 100% chance that the kitty has FIP. Izzy did not have this so if she did have FIP is was of the "dry" variety

I reside in Great Falls, Montana and do cat rescue. This year we have had a larger number of FIP kittens than normal. You are correct regarding the corona virus. Most kittens are exposed but some can not sluff off the virus and it mutates into FIP. Unfortunately, their is nothing that can be done! I have lost 3 this last summer to FIP. From very young to even an adult that was in our local animal shelter. It is a horrible disease! If your Vet feels your kitty has FIP, and the kitty is failing rapidly, the kindest act of love is to help her/him pass. As of today, there is no cure. I pray one day there will be! My thoughts and prayers are with you! Les

My roommate in Florida had a kitten die of FIP a couple years ago. She had the wet version of it. It's not pretty and to those of you who have suffered along with your babies, I am truely sorry.
My other roommate immediantly went and got her two girls checked out. the only test avbl. only tests for the corona virus as stated, and it's only 70% accurate. One of girls tested P and the other N. that was three years ago and both girls are still alive and heathly, thankfully.
The most common symptoms (at least for the wet version) are very cold like, except that they continue to get worse rapidly. They stop all activity and will even protest being woken up. At least Serenity did. We noticed something was wrong on a Tuesday, she made an appt with her vet for Fri., and she was put down. It's very quick, but not pleasant at all.
My thoughts go out to you.

In the UK, there is one test that is supposed to be quite good - it is only done by one place though, and tests for 4 different things, just can't remember more than that. There are 4 ways the cat responds to the corona virus, and it all depends on their immune system - a very healthy one will 'shrug' it off, a fairly healthy one will shrug it off but it may stay dormant in the system and come out with either age or stress, a poor one will allow the virus to mutate slowly, which is what causes dry, and a very poor one will allow it to mutate incredibly quickly, which causes wet. I have had a cat with FIP, and I personally feel, along with the articles I have read since (no access to hte net when that happened, and my neighbour hadn't dealt with it in over 20 years of cat ownership), that as soon as they were fairly certain of the diagnosis I would pts immediately, I had 2 weeks with Tigger, but looking back, I gave her too long, and we had battles with food and to get meds into her, plus that was when they thought cats had to be isolated, so she was upset at that. I had 2 cats then though, and Ginger died recently, nearly 4 years after Tigger.

Originally Posted by katiemae1277

One of the ways to try and diagnose "wet" FIP is to due a simple x-ray and if the abdomen is full of straw-colord liquid then there's almost a 100% chance that the kitty has FIP.

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My cat went against those odds. He died of Hepatic Lipidosis and the vet REALLY suspected FIP before they did exploratory surgery because of the fluid (which ended up even straw-looking like typical 'wet' FIP)...however after doing a biopsy of the fluid and several organs, it ended up not being FIP. He died the day after surgery of the HL, but it was not due to FIP. In his case, the fluid was due to his liver failing. We never did find out if his HL was the primary issue or if it was secondary to another illness, as I didn't find it necessary to go further because it was most important to know if it was FIP due to my having other cats in the home.

It's a shame there isn't an easy way to find out for sure without invasive treatment like biopsy or necropsy.

I am wondering if the cat mentioned in the OP is just testing positive for the corona virus...because if it is not symptomatic, I am not sure why they would suspect FIP?

I got some more information myself today! Actually I work in a large reference laboratory and we have a Vet Pathology lab (research). So I went up and talked to one of the doctors. He said there is no test that is reliable and can diagnose FIP. The only way to know for sure is necropsy once the animal is dead. He actually had an article on FIP sitting on his desk when I went in there! He also mentioned that as high as 85-95% of FIP diagnosis are erroneous.

Hepatic lipidosis is a secondary diagnosis. It usually happens because there is something else going on with the cat and stops eating or is eating very little. So for example, a cat suspected of having FIP or any other disease eventually develops fatty liver because of loss of appetite and will die of the secondary health issue (the hepatic lipidosis). This happens with humans and AIDS as well. Someone with AIDS usually ends up dieing from something else.

Originally Posted by mzjazz2u

I got some more information myself today! Actually I work in a large reference laboratory and we have a Vet Pathology lab (research). So I went up and talked to one of the doctors. He said there is no test that is reliable and can diagnose FIP. The only way to know for sure is necropsy once the animal is dead. He actually had an article on FIP sitting on his desk when I went in there! He also mentioned that as high as 85-95% of FIP diagnosis are erroneous.

Hepatic lipidosis is a secondary diagnosis. It usually happens because there is something else going on with the cat and stops eating or is eating very little. So for example, a cat suspected of having FIP or any other disease eventually develops fatty liver because of loss of appetite and will die of the secondary health issue (the hepatic lipidosis). This happens with humans and AIDS as well. Someone with AIDS usually ends up dieing from something else.

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Very interesting!!

Here is a good article about FIP


http://www.shelterpetsink.com/FIP.htm

Originally Posted by mzjazz2u

I got some more information myself today! Actually I work in a large reference laboratory and we have a Vet Pathology lab (research). So I went up and talked to one of the doctors. He said there is no test that is reliable and can diagnose FIP. The only way to know for sure is necropsy once the animal is dead. He actually had an article on FIP sitting on his desk when I went in there! He also mentioned that as high as 85-95% of FIP diagnosis are erroneous.

Hepatic lipidosis is a secondary diagnosis. It usually happens because there is something else going on with the cat and stops eating or is eating very little. So for example, a cat suspected of having FIP or any other disease eventually develops fatty liver because of loss of appetite and will die of the secondary health issue (the hepatic lipidosis). This happens with humans and AIDS as well. Someone with AIDS usually ends up dieing from something else.

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Exactly, and in our case...we never did find out if there was a primary cause (ie another disease) or if the HL was the primary illness caused by something else (ie anorexia due to environmental stress, poisoning, gastrointestinal virus etc). Our main concern was that he had an infectious primary illness because we have other cats. In that respect, he did not.

From what I understand, a biopsy of the affected organs (particularly lesions on the organs) is pretty much as definitive as necropsy. That is where my cats negative dx came from (exploratory surgery, biopsy of organs and fluid analysis).