blood test for FIP?

I adopted Silk (9mo female kitten) about a month ago and now she has a fairly severe cough and is sneezing quite a bit. I took her to the vet Friday where they examined her and since she didn't have any fever or other signs of illness they gave her a depo shot thinking it might just be allergies. The shot didn't help any so I took her back in yesterday and left her there for a few hours so they could see all of her symptoms. The vet called and said they wanted to do a blood test for FIP but I wanted to talk to the foster parents I got her from first since Silk has had a lot of problems with diarrhea and the fosters had done quite a few tests already.

I called the foster (who is a 3rd year Vet Med student) and when I said the vet wanted to test for FIP he said that blood tests for FIP are inconclusive and usually a waste of money. The tests only indicate whether the animal has been exposed to FIV, not whether or not the animal actually has a mutated form or even if they ever will get it. He also said the test is not species specific so even if Silk has been exposed to the canine version she would still test positive.

What advice can those in the know on here give me? Should I have Silk tested for FIP or is it inconclusive as the foster said? The vet was busy when I picked Silk up yesterday so I wasn't able to ask her about what the foster said.

Mez

PS - The foster determined through trial and error that Silk was probably allergic to chicken, which was causing the diarrhea. I've been feeding Silk a chicken-free dry food (Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck) and while she has diarrhea every 3-4 days, most of her stools are soft but round.

i would agree that the test for FIP is inconclusive. also the coughing and sneezing aren't something i've heard as a direct link to FIP. maybe someone else here can tell you more.

if you do a search on the forums for FIP there are some excellent links and good advice that may help you.

i lost my boy last oct to FIP and i hope and pray that isn't what silk has.

good luck and keep us posted.

Thanks for the reply. The foster also said the symptoms didn't match FIP and thought that the vet was either being overcautious or just trying to get a little extra money. Anyway, the question was whether the test was worth it or not and I'm going to say not at this time.

Thanks again,
Mez

Coco Sneezes and Coughs alot of times from her Asthma and Allergies. The Depo Shot does not always stop it. I hope she feels better. My Coco has had 2 Bad Colds Since Jan. Your Cat might just have bad Colds. Yoshi had the Fip test and it was Pos and they think he had the Dry form. The Vet did say you can get false Pos too. I think the test maybe a waste of money for you,

The only conclusive FIP test is one that is used during an autopsy. Don't waste your money. Giving depo for coughing and sneezing tells me the vet thought it was allergy related. If it's a upper respiratory infection, then they should have given you antibiotics, which btw, aren't as effective with steriods. Most vets will start with antibiotics and then switch to steriods like depo.

Honestly? Find a new vet. If he/she doesn't know that the FIP test doesn't prove anything, and is prescribing things out of order, I would question their knowledge.

I'd definitely wait for the FIP test.

Spend your money on a full blood work up and tests for other things that could be going on.

In my opinion, FIP is a vet cop-out. If they can't figure it out, they jump to FIP. The test is inconclusive, but a lot of vets overly rely on it and diagnose with FIP. Then, they stop treating the cat and start treating the FIP - and the treatment for that is mainly palliative.

Zoey just died from FIP, but I don't think she had FIP. I think my vet stopped looking for anything else the moment he saw the positive coronavirus test. He was treating for FIP when he should have been treating her symptoms.

If symptoms and blood tests show a good possibility of FIP (high neutrophils, anemia, low A:G ratio, lymphopenia), tests for other things come up negative,(these vary based on the symptoms), and she doesn't respond to antibiotic treatment, then yes, maybe I would test for FIP. But not until the other options were tried first.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

The only conclusive FIP test is one that is used during an autopsy. Don't waste your money. Giving depo for coughing and sneezing tells me the vet thought it was allergy related. If it's a upper respiratory infection, then they should have given you antibiotics, which btw, aren't as effective with steriods. Most vets will start with antibiotics and then switch to steriods like depo.

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As I originally said, the vet did think it was allergies since she couldn't detect any signs of illness and Silk didn't sneeze/cough while I was there. When the depo shot didn't have any effect I took Silk back in yesterday and left her there for several hours so that the vet could see the symptoms I was seeing and have a clearer idea of what's going on.

The vet gave Silk a 1/2 tablet of Azithromycin 250mg with instructions to give her the other half in one week. Silk seems better tonight. In the hour since I got home I've heard her cough once but haven't heard any sneezing. An hour isn't long enough to be positive though.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

Honestly? Find a new vet. If he/she doesn't know that the FIP test doesn't prove anything, and is prescribing things out of order, I would question their knowledge.

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Thanks for all of the information. This isn't the first time I've questioned the vet's practices/knowledge (I also questioned her "dry food good, wet food bad" opinion) but since I've only had cats for about 7 months now, I'm not in any position to say for sure. I also hated taking the word of a vet med student over that of a licensed vet but the foster sounded very confident in his answer concerning the FIP test.

Thanks again,
Mez