Positive Test for Feline Corona Virus

nellers

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Hi, I haven't posted here in awhile, but I am in need of some advice from the wise posters here.

My cat, Penelope, has had a warm head and ears since early August. She was acting a little "off" as well - not finishing her dinner in 5 minutes (she can be piggy! lol). But she was finishing her meal, just more of a grazer. At any rate, after weeks of this warm head feeling, I talked my husband into taking her to the vet. I couldn't go as I am pregnant and trying to avoid the litterbox and other animals (more on that later). I made husband demand that they do a blood test. They thought if anything, she may have heartworm. But they noticed (as had we) that she was wheezing a bit. They gave her an injection of a steroid for that, took her blood, and home she came.

I called for the lab results today. They told me that she has the feline corona virus. She also has toxoplasmosis. Now I know the issues I have with the toxo, I am dealing with that. My worry now is the FeCV.

I know it can lead to FIP. What I didn't get from the vet, since they were focusing on the Toxo diagnosis, was the likelihood she could get full blown FIP. I've read up on it, and in my opinion, she doesn 't have the symptoms. Toxo can cause the respiratory issue, and personally, its not that bad. She wheezes a bit but its not constant and she's had breathing issues for over a year which we dismissed as allergies since it was prevalent when I was suffering as well from the elements.

She's still eating in portions, which is unusual from her typical behavior. But she has also gained 3 pounds since her last vet appointment in Jan 2007. She is currently 15 pounds. The warm head and ears is not constant. She did not even have a fever when the vet took the temperature.

Am I paranoid to think she has FIP now? I'm actually taking her next Monday for a second opinion with a different vet because I felt that they were not concerned about the FeCV in spite of my continued questions.

Any thoughts or advice is much appreciated.
 

tamgirl99

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Originally Posted by Nellers

Hi, I haven't posted here in awhile, but I am in need of some advice from the wise posters here.

My cat, Penelope, has had a warm head and ears since early August. She was acting a little "off" as well - not finishing her dinner in 5 minutes (she can be piggy! lol). But she was finishing her meal, just more of a grazer. At any rate, after weeks of this warm head feeling, I talked my husband into taking her to the vet. I couldn't go as I am pregnant and trying to avoid the litterbox and other animals (more on that later). I made husband demand that they do a blood test. They thought if anything, she may have heartworm. But they noticed (as had we) that she was wheezing a bit. They gave her an injection of a steroid for that, took her blood, and home she came.

I called for the lab results today. They told me that she has the feline corona virus. She also has toxoplasmosis. Now I know the issues I have with the toxo, I am dealing with that. My worry now is the FeCV.

I know it can lead to FIP. What I didn't get from the vet, since they were focusing on the Toxo diagnosis, was the likelihood she could get full blown FIP. I've read up on it, and in my opinion, she doesn 't have the symptoms. Toxo can cause the respiratory issue, and personally, its not that bad. She wheezes a bit but its not constant and she's had breathing issues for over a year which we dismissed as allergies since it was prevalent when I was suffering as well from the elements.

She's still eating in portions, which is unusual from her typical behavior. But she has also gained 3 pounds since her last vet appointment in Jan 2007. She is currently 15 pounds. The warm head and ears is not constant. She did not even have a fever when the vet took the temperature.

Am I paranoid to think she has FIP now? I'm actually taking her next Monday for a second opinion with a different vet because I felt that they were not concerned about the FeCV in spite of my continued questions.

Any thoughts or advice is much appreciated.
You're vet is most likely right that it shouldn't be a concern at this point, but then again I'm only going off of what you said since you didn't post lab values. I personally wouldn't waste the money on a second opinion. From what I've read, the chance of this virus mutating into FIP is between 5-10%. The majority of cats have a positive FIP titer. This is especially true if your cat came from a breeder or shelter.
 

mews2much

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Can you have the cat checked for Asthma?
The wheezing sounds like it can be Asthma.
It should be ok.
They think my Meeko is a carrier of the virus and she does not have Fip.
She was 3 months when the vet told me that.
She did get very sick this last Jan though with a high fever.
Her son they belive had fip and I lost him last Jan.
In most cats it will not turn into Fip.
 

zoeysmom

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I'd be exponentially more concerned about the toxo than the Coronavirus.

Unless your cat has come from a very careful, coronavirus-free, you would be very lucky to have a coronavirus-negative cat. If your cat has toxoplasmosis, it has obviously had access to outdoors or other cats, so it makes sense that she would test positive for FeCV.

If she was negative, than it would completely rule out the possibility of FIP developing. However, she is at no greater risk for FIP than most other cats out there (since most of them would be FeCV positive). FIP usually affects kittens, older cats, or cats who immune-supressed cats (ie. sick, stressed by injury, abuse, overcrowding, etc.).

I wouldn't be too concerned about your cat developing FIP. It could happen, but it is much more likely that it will not happen. And if it did happen, there is not much you would be able to do to prevent it.

If you're concerned, I would recommend feeding your cat a high quality food and keeping stress at a minimum (depending on the cat, that could be car trips, addition of new animals, long absenses from you, etc).
 
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