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

Several months ago, I posted a thread in which I mentioned that one of my babies, Winchester, was diagnosed w/ the FIP virus. He has been doing okay w/ the aid of antibiotics, but recently has had a relapse. I took him to the vet last week, and the vet prescribed Interferon for him - which, according the the vet's wife (who is also his assistant) has a high success rate for cats who have FIP. I'm hoping & praying that she is right: I obviously don't want to lose Winchester, and am not ready to give up on him yet.

Have any of you who have had a cat w/ FIP ever used Interferon? If you did, did you have any success w/ it??

Please help!!

KittKatt

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

Originally Posted by gayef

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.

Click to expand...

I think it may be hard on him - I don't know yet, b/c he just started it. But I did some research online, and from what I could gather, there could be some side-effects. If he suffers in any way, I won't allow it to continue, and even though it would break my heart, I would do the humane thing.

What experience did you have w/ the Interferon??

~KK~

Originally Posted by Laurie314

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

Click to expand...

I don't know if the Interferon will help Winchester or not: he just started taking it. I believe he has the dry FIP - the vet didn't say what form it is. Winchester was diagnosed in March, but the symptoms first started about a year or so ago. He's been off & on antibiotics for quite some time now, but they no longer seem to help, which is why the vet put him on the Interferon. He has a really huge belly too, but still eats & drinks, and so far, is not suffering in any way.

From what I understand, FIP is not necessarily a death sentence. I think it depends upon whether or not the cat has the dry or wet form. It sounds as if your baby had the fatal form of FIP. I am so sorry to hear that your baby didn't make it. I know how heartbreaking it is. But you did the right thing by ending her suffering.

Thanks for sharing the pics! She was beautiful!!

~KK~

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.

Originally Posted by Mom of 4

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.

Click to expand...

I give Winchester the Interferon at night before bedtime, and he usually sleeps on the bed or somewhere nearby, so I can keep an eye on him. I'm a light sleeper, so I notice if anything's wrong. So far, he seems to be doing okay, and has been in better spirits since his last coughing/wheezing attack. I'm trying to remain positive, and am hoping the Interferon does what it's supposed to do.

Has anyone else had any experience using the Interferon w/ their cats??

~KK~

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~

Thank you, GAYEF, for all the info regarding the Interferon. It is greatly appreciated!

Winchester has been on the stuff now for a week (I have to administer it to him orally) and thankfully, has not yet shown any signs of side-effects. As a matter of fact, he seems to be improving (with the exception of one coughing spell), and has even been running around and playing w/ his buddies. I think he may have overdone it the other day though, which I believe is what set off his attack. He really shouldn't be running around, but unfortunately, you can't control a cat who wants to play. I'm keeping my hopes up, and am hoping the Interferon does what it's supposed to do with little or no side-effects. I'm gonna call the vet though on Monday, and talk to him about what may or may not happen..

I'm sorry to hear that you have been suffering due to having to take the stuff. I hope that your side-effects will cease, and that it will help you to recover soon. I will keep you in my prayers.

~KK~

Hi KittKatt,

My Percy was just diagnosed with FIP.  What happened with Winchester and the interferon?  

Thanks,

Sam

Winchester was treated back in 2007 so I doubt you will get a reply.  There are some good websites about FIP:

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/fip/info.html

http://www.fabcats.org/cat_group/policy_statements/fip.html

http://www.dr-addie.com/

OrientalSlave said:

Winchester was treated back in 2007 so I doubt you will get a reply....

Click to expand...

Welcome to TCS, sedonasam!

If you put your cursor on KittKatt's name, you'll see that you can view "all posts"....now, the last post was on 4/28/12 and there is mention of personal health issues, but also that s/he sometimes stays away from here for periods of time. You could always send a Private Message.....

Now, if your kitty may be FIP+ you might want to ask about Interferon here http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/FIPCatSupport/  or here http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/FIP/

Those groups have been around for years and years and have the collective experience of thousands of people (about 4,000!) with FIP kitties.........if I had a cat with a possible FIP diagnosis, that's where I'd be!

Thanks so much for your reply!