Interferon For FIP: What's the Success Rate??

Wow! Interferon for FIP? I must admit that I had not heard of this before now, but considering my own experiences with Interferon, I would say it would be extremely hard on a cat.

I am glad your kitty responded to the medication, It is wet or dry FIP? My kitty (only 10 months old) developed FIP..stopped eating and went downhill so fast. She did not repond to antibiotic at all , and was skin and bones except for a huge distended belly. The vet said she was suffering immensly so we put her to sleep on Feb 14, 2007. How long has your Kitty been ill with this? My vet let me believe this was a fast and fatal disease. I hope the medication helps!
I put pictures up the first one is wthin weeks of her getting sick ..she was so so beautiful. She's the cream tabby


http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r...rrent=c2a8.jpg

http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r...ent=18ba-1.jpg

Interferon, in people, makes them feel like they have the flu - achy, nauseated, tired. We always had our patients take it at bedtime, so they would sleep through the worst of it. For humans, we had them take a huge dose of Tylenol, which you can't do for cats.
And usually our patients would develop a bit of an improvement in the side effects after a couple of weeks.

I would expect similar side effects in cats.
Good luck and positive thoughts.

I do not have experience in Interferon's use in cats, but I take a 1 ml injection of it subcutaneously every week. During the administration of the Interferon, I feel a burning sensation at the injection site and it remains sore for several days afterwards, sometimes raising a nasty bruise or welt that takes a good long while to go away. At around 6 to 7 hours post-injection, my body temperature soars ... the highest was 104.8 degrees F. I experience nasty headaches, body aches, muscle-soreness and severe joint pain - so severe that I am normally required to take a 50mg Demerol just to take the edge off and be able to sleep. Tylenol or Ibuprofen doesn't cut it on shot days. It's the Demerol or suffer. I also experience a dry, raspy throat, a productive, deep cough and shortness of breath. I am ~extremely~ weak and tired all the time. I get horrible dizzy spells and cannot navigate the hallway from my bedroom to my bathroom without assistance for at least 3 to 4 days post-injection. I have a low-level of nausea constantly and suffer from frequent bouts of diarrhea and vomiting. I have lost 35 pounds in just over two months due to not being able to keep anything down.

While I think that cats may tend to mask their symptoms when they aren't feeling well, I most certainly can say how I feel, and personally, I would find it extremely hard to administer this chemical to a cat. I sincerely hope you have a better time of it with your little guy than I have had - it hasn't been easy even possessing the intellect and reasoning skill to know it is necessary. My heart goes out to you.

*hugs*

~gf~