FIP in certain breeds

I have just very sadly lost my 15 year old cross
seal point burman/tabby to FIP. My vet said that
there is a lot of research going into FIP and how
cats can catch it, he said, unfortunately, a lot of
breeders are finding it is in certain breeds of cats,
can anyone tell me if burmans are succeptable, could
my cat have been carrying it from birth?

Christine

There has been a lot of research and most experts have conflicting views. It is a very touchy subject. I personnaly feel it is an immunity problem. If a cat is weak for a hundred different reasons it is easier for the cat to catch it. Vertually all cats are exposed to it at one time or another. Some get it and some dont. It can even differ in the same litter. One kitten might catch it and the others may be fine their whole lives. It is hard to detect and I think most cases go unnoticed. Unless it is the wet form.
I have heard though that there is a breed that cannot catch it. It is not in their makeup to get it. I believe it is the main coon.
I am sorry for your loss. It is horriable to lose a cat to any illness.
Denise Russell

Thank you for your answer. I am finding it difficult to
come to terms with Toby dying of FIP, as it is not something I
understand very well. The blood tests showed very high corona
antibodies and aneamia plus liver enzymes going up. He had lost
2 lbs over a period of months without me noticing because he was
so fluffy, I picked him up one day and said this isnt right and
weighed him, then off to the vet, and we gave him a strong tapeworm
tablet, that seemed to finish him off, he never ate again really
for 4 weeks when he just seemed to starve himself to death, it was
awful. He wasnt sick and didnt have a bowel movement for 4 weeks,
the vet said there was nothing in there. Apart from getting weaker
and weaker from not eating he seemed ok, not in pain. (he did have
the dry form). We asked the vet who tried 3 different injections to
try and get him to eat but he refused to eat anything. I had my cats
vaccinated every year agains FELV and cat flu and I didnt think there
was anything else that they could catch like this. I am still finding
it hard to come to terms with. I would be terrified now to get another cat though I would love another cross burman like Toby. This
is why I wanted to find out about FIP in certain breeds and wonder if
Toby was born with the cornona virus already.

Christine

I am so sorry about your lost.

Like Denise said, there is still a lot that is not know about FIP. She also mentioned the fact that most cats are exposed to the corona virus that may or may not produce the FIP illness. I believe the statistics are that a cat that was the exposed to the corona virus has a 20% chance of developing FIP later in life. Which 20% of the cats wil actually get sick is still a mystery. Like Denise said, it's very likely to do with weak immune system, whether because of environmental conditions or genetic disposition is hard to tell.

One thing is known - once a cat develops FIP they usually die within weeks or months. So, while your cat may have been exposed to the corona virus since an early age, it's not possible that he actually had FIP since then.

And lastly, the only way to confirm the dry form of FIP is by conducting an autopsy. Otherwise you can't tell for sure.

My sympathies go to you for your loss!