Fip

aircraft

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Hello,
I am devistated, overwhelmed and confused. I found out last week that one of my cats has FIP.
I would greatly appreciate any help, comments, or support.
 

jennyr

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I am so sorry. FIP is a horrible condition. Does your cat have the wet or dry type? The treatment and prognosis are different, though sadly the outcome is always the same, only on a different timescale.
 
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aircraft

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I dont know. The vet didnt tell me. He sent me home with reading material and gave me information. But honestly I was so overwhelmed that it is still sinking in and now I have so many questions. I also have 2 other cats I have to worry about. I am planning on going back to the vet and asking more questions.
 
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aircraft

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I understand now what you meant about wet or dry. I am assuming that he is dry b/c he is not retaining fluids. He had an extremly high temp. and wouldnt eat and was secluding himself. He responded very well to the antibiotics, and is home now resumming all normal activities, but I can't keep thinking about it. Every time I touch him I think he is hot, etc.
 

zoeysmom

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Hi there,

Having just gone through a suspected case of FIP with my 8 month old kitten (we have put her to sleep, but I still do not believe she had FIP), I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I have definitely done plenty of research and have plenty of advice for those facing an FIP "diagnosis".

The first thing you should know (and I wouldn't be surprised if the vet approved literature didn't tell you this) is that FIP is very difficult to diagnose, especially the dry form. It is often misdiagnosed. The only definitive way of diagnosising FIP is through autopsy. This is not to say that your cat does not have FIP. But, there have been many cats who have been "diagnosed" with FIP and lived for years after. Whether they had FIP or not, who knows.

So, my first question to ask the vet would be what are they basing the diagnosis on. I'm hoping they have done blood work. If they are diagnosing FIP without doing blood work, find another vet...immediately.

Things they might see in symptoms (you will notice these symptoms match many other cat illnesses):
- lethargy
- weight loss (often over a long period of time, before symptoms are noticed)
- inappetance
- neurological symptoms (loss of balance/coordination, tremors)
- occular problems (uveitis, inflammation in eye, etc)
- persistent fever that typically does not respond to antibiotics (your cat's immune system is in overdrive)

Things they might see on blood work:
- low albumin to globulin ratio (these are blood proteins and aren't always included in standard blood work, you may have to ask for them to check this - and check it everytime you do blood work)
- high globulin (usually, the low a:g ratio is caused by high globulin - there is a test that can check which globulins are high, and "gamma globulins" are usually eleveated with FIP)
- high neutrophils (a type of white blood cell)
- low lymphocites (your vet might refer to this as "lymphopenia")
- high coronavirus titer (this is usually a separate test...and again, if your vet is basing the FIP diagnosis purely on a high coronavirus titer, find another vet - most cats will be positive for this...it DOES NOT mean they have FIP, but it is a possibility (if the test was negative, then FIP would be ruled out))
- anemia

None of these things, in isolation, tells you it is FIP. The more of them that accumulate, the more likely FIP is. However, there are a lot of diseases that FIP mimics and causes similar symptoms/blood work values.

I'm sure you are quite upset right now, so I will post this section, and continue typing.
 

zoeysmom

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I would suggest joining this group: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/FIPCatSupport/

I would say a couple of them are "experts" on FIP. If you post your cat's blood results there (just ask your vet for a copy), they will help you interpret them. I will look out for your post!

My best suggestion would be to be sure you ASK QUESTIONS and DO RESEARCH (search FIP, as well as your cat's symptoms to see what else could cause those). You are already on the right path by coming here and trying to find out more. I would also recommend a second opinion. My experience is that once a vet has FIP in their mind, it's hard to change it. Find a reputable vet in your area and take your cat and his blood work there for a second peak. They may very well say FIP as well, but at least you gave it a shot. I wouldn't even be afraid to ask for a third opinion, if you still weren't comfortable with the diagnosis. I had 3 vets say FIP about Zoey - and I KNOW 2 of them based that information solely on the "diagnosis" of the first vet. Had they looked at her most recent blood work, FIP would not have been on the top of their list (for the record, I believe she had an severe infection that became harder to fight after she broke her tail, somehow - a broken tail that was MISSED on the first look at the x-rays because the vet was so set on FIP).

Without knowing what other symptoms your cat has and what his/her blood values are, I can't give you a whole lot more information at the moment about other possibilities. There are a lot of them, however, and posting some info about your cat would be helpful.

The one thing that strikes me is that your cat responded well to antibiotics. From my understanding, FIP should not respond to antibiotics, unless it is fighting a secondary infection (which could certainly be the case). FIP is caused by a virus, not a bacteria. Standard treatment for FIP is prednisone and antibiotic (antibiotic only because prednisone supresses the immune system). Be careful with prednisone - if your vet puts your cat on it, and he/she does not have FIP, but some other infection instead, prednisone could worsen the infection.

Please do not write your cat off yet. And certainly don't let your vet write him/her off either!

I hope this helps a bit! I know it is very hard to get such bad news and to feel there is no way you can help him/her. But try to stay positive and hopeful!
 

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I had a cat named Glitch that died of the Wet form of FIP November 16th, 2007. I know how difficult it is!

How old is your cat? Boy/Girl? Still have an appetite?? How long has "it" had the high fevers??

Glitch was first diagnosed with FIP by ruling everything else out, later on when his belly swelled and they had to drain the fluid they got a positive FIP diagnoses then. The dry form is very different from the wet form, and theres someone on here that has a couple cats with the dry form of FIP that have had it for a couple years now. How many times has you kitty been to the vet for the high fevers?? Do they give her Metacam for the fevers??

There are several of us who have just recently gone through this. Saya lost 2 of her kitties in 2 days! Hissy has written articles on FIP and I would have to say is the resident expert. She has more information on the disease than many others! We also have a vet on here sometimes that may be able to help you out with some advice. I would try to get a second opinion, make sure to have blood work done again, that way the new vet can make an educated decision without soley basing it on the fact that another vet said it was FIP. If you need to talk feel free to PM me! (go to my user name at the top of this post, click on it, it will have a drop down menu and one of the options will be send private message)

 
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aircraft

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Well I am very thankful for the responses everyone has sent me. I am even more confused, but I am learning so much. I really appreciate all of the help. I am not at home right now, but I intend on getting the blood results and following the suggestions that everyone has given me. Again, thanks so much.
 

tab

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i lost my 13 year old cat to FIP on the 6th October 2007, and like far too many others here, was confused and scared by the information (or lack of) around. janet's death is actually what brought me to this site where all my questions have been answered, whether by reading other peoples experiences or by the information posted.

zoeysmum has laid it out really clearly and in a user friendly way. when you're feeling strong enough, read her words and search FIP on this site. there are many useful threads here.

for your kitty and
for you at this difficult time.
 
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aircraft

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Hello everyone,
Your support has been tremendous. Thank you
Per suggestions I got the blood test results, but I am not sure what I should be looking for.
Any thoughts?
 

zoeysmom

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Originally Posted by aircraft

Hello everyone,
Your support has been tremendous. Thank you
Per suggestions I got the blood test results, but I am not sure what I should be looking for.
Any thoughts?
If you post them here (scan the entire results, or type the results out, including the reference ranges - if you're gonna do this, I suggest doing it in a word processing program and saving first...it takes some time, and I'd hate for it to get erased on you somehow!), I can take a look, and others can as well. However, I still recommend that you introduce yourself and post the blood at the yahoo group I linked in my earlier post. They have some folks over there who are VERY good at interpreting blood results!
 
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aircraft

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I am not good with coputers. I scanned the pages into my computer as saved as JPEG. How do I get them to you. And how do I put picutures of my cats on here?
 

ninababy

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I lost my beautiful kitty Nina to FIP last November. I understand what you're going through as it was a very difficult time for me. My biggest advice is to educate yourself, like you're doing, and continue to think postive and stay strong!

Sending lots of good vibes your way!!!
 
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aircraft

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I am sorry to hear about your kitty. She was beautiful. Thank you for the support
 
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aircraft

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From what everyone has been telling me, I am not sure if my cat has FIP or not. But he is home and resuming all normal activities. He was even playing with a mouse this morning. His attitude has come back (he is very vocal) and he is once again begging for canned food and interacting with us and the other cats. I am glad to see him doing so well, but this also makes me think more that maybe it is not FIP. Is this normal?
 

mews2much

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Maybe its not Fip. Yoshi never acted normal once he got sick. Can you post some of the numbers here. Just look at the results and tell us some of the numbers. Do you have photo bucket? Maybe upload the file to that then link it here.
 
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