possible FIP :(

I brought Hugo home when he tested positive for FIV earlier on Wednesday. He has a terrible URI that won't let go, so I knew he was better off here. I took him to the vet yesterday morning.
He arrived at the shelter three weeks ago, a very beat up but friendly tom.
I noticed he was fat, but thought it was a monster case of worms.
Our vet thinks it may be FIP, which would be the first time we've seen it. He is, of course, isolated from everyone (that URI doesn't need to visit anyone else). I am watching him closely.
He has a good appetite, despite a canine broken off at the gumline & rotting and barely being able to smell.
He likes to be patted, but has a bb under the skin on his flank so you have to be careful not to touch it (no sign of entry wound, it must be old who knows how many more are in there).

He is running a 104 fever and was dehydrated so the vet gave him fluids yesterday. I had them give the fluids cuz he can be quite a handful and I figured it was best to have many hands.

His belly looked a little bigger last night, but about the same this morning. I'm not sure how fast it progresses. If his belly gets huge, the vet and I agreed to draw some fluid. The vet said that typical FIP fluid is yellow & stringy. If it is soemthing else, we'll have the fluid analyzed (assuming he can be made comfy) and go from there.
If it REALLY looks like he has FIP, we're going to say goodbye. Everything we have read and picts we've seen tell us what a horrible disease this is, and we don't want to keep him around wiht no hope of getting better and only suffering in his future.
But we're really hoping his belly goes down and this is something else.
It's hard to know at this point.
Please purr for him.

Bendy

Poor kitty! Positive thoughts and prayers are on the way for Hugo!

aww i am so sorry....purrs for Hugo.

Poor baby! Sounds like he already had it rough! Love on him as much as you can.

Bendy: Girl you just have the WORST of luck, I have followed your posts on animals since joining Acme years back.
It's tough, fostering ill or difficult animals is tough for me, I don't know if I could do what you do all the time.

I wish the best of luck!

you don't hear about them as much
Cassiel is healthy now, he came home with an abcessed paw. He is another beat up tom (well, former tom) he tested negative and is apparently healthy. He loves the other cats, too.

It can be hard, but I jut don't seem happy without somecat that needs extra love!!!!

sighs
Bendy

what is FIP? i have heard of Felv and FIV....but I don't think i have heard of FIP...something else for me to worry about.

hope the kitty is okay!!

Don't be too quick to determine FIP. Usually they just test positive for the corona virus and it does not mean they actually have FIP.

About a year ago, our Gezer was ill for about 3-4 weeks. Having ruled out several other options, and as he had the corona virus ("tested positive for FIP"). As the symptoms matched, FIP was the main suspect. We were getting ready to say goodbye but the vet decided to try several types of antibiotics first, just in case it was something else. And lo and behold, the third kind of antibiotics did the trick and got us our baby back!

We still don't know what it was exactly, probably some internal infection. We also now know that he is a carrier of the corona virus and so may potentially develop FIP some day - but only 20% of carriers actually develop the disease...

So, don't lose hope just yet! I'm praying for your sweet Hugo!

PS - moving this to the health forum. You can also search that forum for more FIP info. We actually have an article about FIP on the site here:
FIP - The Enigmatic Killer

Bendy, sending up prayers for you cat! Keep us posted on how he is doing!!

I am hope hope HOPING it is something other than FIP.
He is breathing fine and eating fine, and those are good things. The vet told us to watch for difficulty breathing, and several sources have said that FIP often causes them to vomit up food or just not eat.

But I think his belly *is* bigger than it was this morning. He is a bit grumpier than he was yesterday, but still alert and smiling when you don't disturb him. He wants out of his cage, which he will be allowed later, so that is a good sign.

thanks for all the support, we need it!

Bendy

Bendy,

You are really special person to help out these cats who need extra care. I hope your guy does OK, they all need so much love.

My heart goes out to you and Hugo! I've seen 2 FIP cases and they both were not eating, lethargic, depressed, had big bellies, and had a continual fever. They were both around 4 months old and didn't last long at all. Maybe if yours is eating and is wanting to get out it's a good sign! Hang in there, hope he turns out ok!