Paranoid about FIP!

She really does not look overly fat in the belly. But I will tell you there is something called chylousperitoneum. I had a feral cat Spot who I tamed. I kept watching her belly get larger and larger. I attributed it to spaying. It was not from spaying. Talk to your vet about this. It is caused by perhaps a tumor or injury. Please let us know what the vet says. Good luck with your little friend.

she does look a little round in the middle... i think by the time they get a pudgy belly with FIP there are some serious symptoms. not an expert by any means, i was staring at my gilly's belly obsessively a few months ago, he was really sick - high high fever which went away with antibiotics but then came back. it was the coming back part that had the vet concerned, he hadn't finished up the antibiotics even and his fever was up again. FIP fevers are supposed to be fairly resistant to treatment with antibiotics. i still worry, every time one of our little guys has an off day - doesn't eat as much, is not as playful, whatever. it is nerve-wracking.

i hope everything is ok with your girl

Originally Posted by kwren

she does look a little round in the middle... i think by the time they get a pudgy belly with FIP there are some serious symptoms. not an expert by any means, i was staring at my gilly's belly obsessively a few months ago, he was really sick - high high fever which went away with antibiotics but then came back. it was the coming back part that had the vet concerned, he hadn't finished up the antibiotics even and his fever was up again. FIP fevers are supposed to be fairly resistant to treatment with antibiotics. i still worry, every time one of our little guys has an off day - doesn't eat as much, is not as playful, whatever. it is nerve-wracking.

i hope everything is ok with your girl

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I do agree, her belly looks round. When Miss Kitty's belly got big, there were serious symptoms. She wouldn't eat or drink anything. The vet said that she was seriously dehydrated. She also was very very skinny. Go to the vet and have them do an x-ray. If there isn't fluid on her abdomen, then hopefully it's not FIP. That's how Miss Kitty was diagnosed. She only lasted 2 weeks after that. I hope your girl is healthy. I wouldn't wish the heart break that FIP causes the owners on my worst enemy. It's a terrible disease to deal with... absolutely terrible.

Thank you both for responding, its crazy how paranoid we can get about our babies but there is SO much that can happen and they definitely can't talk to us

She has had that belly since the day I got her. I remember being at the vet with her foster mom when I went to pick her up and the vet pointed at it and said she had a wormy belly. They dewormed her, and I recently got her dewormed last week at the vet...so thats why I got paranoid that it obviously isnt that. However, she decided to prove me wrong and she has been playing like crazy again She eats well, but I think lost her appetite due to the Clavamox [I read that it happens often with that med]. The problem is I started to feed her the wet food on a spoon so she'd eat SOMETHING and now that the Clavamox is done, she still wont touch her food but will scarf it down once I pull out the spoon. Oh boy....I spoiled her!

I really think shes fine, she has no symptoms and has had that belly since day one. She was just at the vet and he did a thorough check and said everything felt great, so I think I will let her be for now [dont want to stress her body with anymore vet trips if not necessary] and if I see anything funny she will be there ASAP!

Thanks SO much for the responses

FIP is very scary.
She does look round, but I've got a couple questions. First do you know what the vet used to deworm her? My Jordan had a pot belly like that when he was a kitten. He was "dewormed" at the shelter, but at that time we did not used a medicine that killed tape worm. Turned out that he did have tape worm. After the vet gave him a pill for that he was fine.

Second, do you know for a fact that she is only 5 months & how long ago was she taken off the street? I'm wondering if it's possible she is pregnant?

The first vet she went to was the vet the foster mom works with, she no longer goes there as it is far from home and I love the vet she has now. Im looking at her paperwork from foster mom and it says "Deworm/Fenbendazole 0.5ml" and she was 14wks at the time [and thats when the vet pointed out her "wormy belly"]. I would assume her foster mom didnt have her very long before that, maybe a couple of weeks. She had only her first set of shots and when I went to adopt her we went in to get the rest of them done, which is the appointment she was dewormed.

She was then spayed a week later after adoption. It opened after 2 weeks [they only used glue, another reason I chose not to go back to them] and I took her to an emergancy vet close to my home and she needed to go under again and clean out/close everything up because apparently she was rejecting some of the glue that happened to get inside. It healed up perfectly and has been checked since when sutures were removed.

My most recent vet visit when she was sick was 9/16/09 and he dewormed her using Strongid, it doesnt say the amount.

As for her age, I personally can't tell myself but her first vet papers gave her the DOB of 4/14/09, obviously not her exact DOB since she was found off the streets, but they said she was 3 months. The lady currently as 80 foster cats/kittens so id assume she would know as well, and she has been to 2 other vets besides them [ER vet, and her actual vet] and nobody has said differently. She also went through 2 surgeries and since she's had that belly since day 1 of me adopting her, I dont think she could be pregnant.

Well if she was spayed she certainly is not pregnant.

I don't know about Fenbendazole, but I am prety sure that Strongid does not work on tape worm. I am sure it would be easy enough to look up.

It could also be that she is just shaped that way. Just like people come in all shapes & sizes so do cats.

I just read your post and am so glad to hear your kitty is doing better!! Yes, they DO mean a lot to us!

We had an FIP scare with one of my kitties that sent me all over the internet searching, looking at blood tests, etc. Thecatsite really saved me with that because I thought our Snowball was doomed.

You seem over the FIP scare, but I did write out an eHow article with all the info I found regarding the blood tests (specifically) and percentages whether they have FIP or not. It also has links.

If the bloodtest is pretty normal, it most likely is NOT FIP.

Just in case you are interested.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4629674_tell...-accurate.html

ok, I just re-read my article......."If your kitty does NOT meet EVERY single one of the three above criteria (POSITIVE FIP/FCoV, HIGH GLOBULIN, LOW LYMPHOCYTES) there is a 98.8% chance that your cat does NOT have FIP."

She hasn't had much of an appetite since her antibiotic, and while she was on it I had to feed her from a spoon [wet food] to make sure she was getting enough nutrients etc, and she really doesnt eat dry except nibbles in between meals. However even after the antibiotic she refuses to eat, unless fed [and even then sometimes turns her head], but is eating the dry way more than normal now! I decided to take her to her vet today...

Of course her belly wasn't so big today, and it sometimes is bigger than others. But, I showed him pictures on my phone [the ones posted above]. He said she looked great, she gained a pound in two weeks which is great, and shes just as normal and playful as always. He says the eating thing sounds like shes just being a brat, she got spoiled from the spoon feeding and now wont eat the wet unless shes fed that way. I also notice she eats more if I put it on a paper plate, could she be sick of her bowl? It sounds crazy but you never know, they are so finicky sometimes! He said just leave more dry out so at least shes eating, but to still feed her wet meals..it may waste for a little while but eventually after not getting fed she will eat.

As for her belly, he said if it was FIP it wouldnt come and go, it would be big and full of fluid and not go away. He did an ultrasound to be sure, everything looks beautiful, everything measured and looking good, and no fluid! He said she looks fine, and not to worry at all. Maybe she gets bloated? I guess all cats are different.

I also asked about her teeth, he said they are all her ADULT TEETH! As far as im aware shes almost 6 months in a couple weeks, and she never ever lost any of her fangs with me, and has had those same teeth since I got her. I was told she was 3 months when I adopted her, apparently not! So shes older than I thought, probably 6 or 7 months he says since all her teeth are adult.

Thanks for all who responded, I truly appreciate it!!

I'm so glad to hear she is doing well. She looks so darn cute in the pic in your siggy! It's no wonder you've gotten attatched to her so quickly!

Hi! First, sorry to hear you are going through a break-up, never an easy thing to have to go through but after the rain there always comes a rainbow.

I had a kitty that died of FIPS From what you've described I don't think your baby has it. What to look for: Extreme lethargy, eyes that looked glazed or have a drugged look to them, especially when waking up. Not wanting to eat *at all*. Not being able to control her bodily functions, swaying more than walking as if she was dizzy. And, If your kitty had FIPS she would be deteriorating very very quickly, about two weeks time.

I think your vet has done a very good job in checking her out, etc. and made an important point. If it was FIPS it wouldn't come and go. Because when it is, the deterioration is steady, and you can tell.

So I think it's safe to say your baby is safe! I don't remember if you mentioned you had her dewormed a second time. If you haven't already, it won't hurt. Bring in a fresh stool sample. When you collect it, put it in a baggie and keep it in the fridge until you can go. As long as it's within 24 hours it's ok. Although I prefer to bring in the sample the same day.

As far as the food issue goes, that she likes eating from your hand, yes she is spoiled and possibly training you. My cat Samson *loves* for me to pet him while he eats and he will come to get me. If I stop petting him while he is eating, he will come back and get me again until I do. It's sweet and wonderful, but there are times when I just don't have the time to stand there for 10 - 15 mins. to pet him while he's eating. So be careful of starting that habit, as it will be hard to break.

Hope this brings you some peace of mind!

*hugs*

Originally Posted by Shanynne

Hi! First, sorry to hear you are going through a break-up, never an easy thing to have to go through

but after the rain there always comes a rainbow.

I had a kitty that died of FIPS

From what you've described I don't think your baby has it. What to look for: Extreme lethargy, eyes that looked glazed or have a drugged look to them, especially when waking up. Not wanting to eat *at all*. Not being able to control her bodily functions, swaying more than walking as if she was dizzy. And, If your kitty had FIPS she would be deteriorating very very quickly, about two weeks time.

I think your vet has done a very good job in checking her out, etc. and made an important point. If it was FIPS it wouldn't come and go. Because when it is, the deterioration is steady, and you can tell.

So I think it's safe to say your baby is safe! I don't remember if you mentioned you had her dewormed a second time. If you haven't already, it won't hurt. Bring in a fresh stool sample. When you collect it, put it in a baggie and keep it in the fridge until you can go. As long as it's within 24 hours it's ok. Although I prefer to bring in the sample the same day.

As far as the food issue goes, that she likes eating from your hand, yes she is spoiled and possibly training you. My cat Samson *loves* for me to pet him while he eats and he will come to get me. If I stop petting him while he is eating, he will come back and get me again until I do. It's sweet and wonderful, but there are times when I just don't have the time to stand there for 10 - 15 mins. to pet him while he's eating. So be careful of starting that habit, as it will be hard to break.

Hope this brings you some peace of mind!

*hugs*

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Thank you so much, it definitely does!

I dont think I would ever get it out of my mind until she had that ultrasound, so im glad I did it! She was dewormed a second time two weeks ago

As for the eating, I know its definitely my fault! Shes such a piggy normally so Its strange to see her this way, but I must realize..when she is hungry, she will eventually eat! Shes gaining weight, so it can't be too bad. I only did that because she wasn't eating when on her antibiotics so I was trying to do whatever it took to keep her healthy, of course with my little princess...it stuck around after hopefully she comes around soon. Its so cute when they depend on you so much, but like you said...there isn't always time for that!

Im very sorry for your loss.

Originally Posted by Starrxx

Thank you so much, it definitely does!

I dont think I would ever get it out of my mind until she had that ultrasound, so im glad I did it! She was dewormed a second time two weeks ago

As for the eating, I know its definitely my fault! Shes such a piggy normally so Its strange to see her this way, but I must realize..when she is hungry, she will eventually eat! Shes gaining weight, so it can't be too bad. I only did that because she wasn't eating when on her antibiotics so I was trying to do whatever it took to keep her healthy, of course with my little princess...it stuck around after

hopefully she comes around soon. Its so cute when they depend on you so much, but like you said...there isn't always time for that!

Im very sorry for your loss.

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That's how it started with Samson too . Last year he was really sick and I nearly lost him. I literally spent hours hand feeding him, petting him, etc. doing everything I could to encourage him to eat. And it stuck around with him after too!

Yes, it is so sweet and also very loving you know. What he does sometimes too as he's "leading me" to the kitchen, is he will pause and wrap his tail around my leg, just gently, as if he's saying "c'mon cat mommy" ... sigh... it's so hard to resist sometimes . Sometimes I'm the one who picks him up and carries him to the kitchen. He *really* loves that! (I can be so bad)

I just love my cats so much. No matter what is going on in my life their sweet loving presence always makes me feel better. I'm delighted your baby is doing better!

<hugs>