our gil may have FIP

he had an allergic reaction to flea bites a few weeks ago and last week he started to lose weight, lost his appetite and was lethargic and mopey. he hasn't been himself for a little over a week.

he went to the vet, she suspects dry FIP from his bloodwork and presentation. he has always been slightly smaller and seems to be declining. she sent us home with clavamox, i am forcefeeding him babyfood mixed with KMR.

what else can i do? i am making sure he eats, drinks, and giving him his meds. our housemate is flooding him with reiki (she is an energy healer so hey why not try, it can't hurt at any rate)

our vet is not very hopeful... she said we can't diagnose FIP without the rising titers and most cats don't last the three weeks between titers so she just told us to keep him warm fed and hydrated and he would either start to get better eventually or he would just waste away.

we don't want to just give up without a fight we have his littermate here as well and i am just broken-hearted thinking of how lonely he would be without his brother.

I do not have any experience with or knowledge of FIP, but I wanted you to know I read your post and was thinking of you and Gil.

Also, I'm floored your vet sent you home with a "Gil will either get better or he'll die" attitude. What the heck kind of care is that? (On a side note - is it just me or have there been a LOT of crazy vet stories lately? )

Would it be possible to get a second opinion? Although I've never had a cat with FIP, I can't help but feel your vet's response isn't all it could have been.

There are many folks here who have been through this and I'm sure they will post soon. Hang on, Kwren!

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fip.html

Very good brochure .. FIP is eventually fetal and there are NO solid diagnostic tests while alive

from the above link
To date, there is no way to screen healthy cats for the risk of developing FIP, and the only way to definitively diagnose FIP is by biopsy, or examination of tissues at autopsy. Generally, veterinarians may rely on a presumptive diagnosis, which can be made with a relatively high degree of confidence by evaluation of the cat's history, presenting symptoms, examination of fluid if it is present, and the results of supporting laboratory tests including a positive coronavirus antibody titer.

as this is hard to go threw.. I also suggest a second opinion

Hugs, vibes and prayers to not be FIP

Originally Posted by kwren

she said we can't diagnose FIP without the rising titers

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Perhaps a second opinion would be helpful from another vet.

There is no test for FIP, until they have already passed. You can test for Coronavirus, but even then higher levels do not mean it will develop into FIP. many cats carry coronavirus, doesn't mean it will mutate to FIP.

for you and your kitty.

So sorry you have to go through this. I will be sending up good thoughts for you and your little one.

thanks for the good vibes

we will take him in for a second opinion but have to wait until december (we already have spent all we can on vet care for the month, he had a sonagram and blood testing and some other tests run) the vet was very upfront, she told us the only way to conclusively diagnose FIP is through an autopsy, and that the rising titers was not a definite test one way or another. she said it would give us an idea but was very clear about the fact that there is no way to tell for sure, but he doesn't have anything else that she could tell, and he fits the group of symptoms associated with FIP.

yesterday he managed to escape from his towel-wrap and force-feeding he wriggled out and ran right up my shoulder and launched himself. that was the most energy i have seen out of him in days! he tried to wriggle free again today, and he actually went right over to his wet food and scarfed some down when i fed the kitties this morning! it was the most he has eaten on his own all at once in a week. he's been wandering around today - he was a little yesterday - instead of just sleeping in his little nest on the back of the couch or on a lap. i don't really think he has put any weight on though i am forcefeeding him 3 times a day, i think i will add in another feeding. i am getting about a can of cat food's worth into him, and he nibbles his dry food a little and drinks on his own.

I have only experienced the wet form of FIP with one of mine. The wet form will take them very quickly and I lost mine within a week. I have read others on this site who have suspected the dry form that have lived quite a while. And there are others that were diagnosed with dry FIP that really didn't have it.

FIP is the big, undiagnosable disease that everyone dreads. If your baby has FIP, there is no real treatment other than to keep them healthy and stress free. If it is not FIP, then keeping them healthy and stress free will help to get him over whatever ails him.

If you don't trust your vet, get a second opinion. If you normally trust your vet, look inside yourself to see if you are reacting to the diagnosis, or you think she is beyond her abilities on this. Not all vets are good at all different types of diseases, and realize that a second vet without the benefit of seeing your baby before is at a disadvantage. I'm not trying to discourage you from getting a second opinion, just to think it through before you do.

to get you through this and for Gil.

hi, i hope your gil is ok, will be thinking of you.x

thanks, momofmany, for your post. we do normally trust our vet that is part of what is making this so hard. i go back and forth between wanting to take him to as many vets as it takes to hear something better and at the same time i have been trying to look back at his health and growth objectively and the vet is very right about a lot of things. he has always been smaller, weaker, played less, been less sturdy than his brother. he had a bacterial infection when he was teeny and i have watched him like a hawk ever since, because of it, and he has always made me nervous because he just has never been totally healthy. he had been eating less and less over the past few weeks, and he had been sleeping in the same hunched over slightly uncomfortable looking position that our percy slept in before he got so sick. so i am trying to be hopeful but also prepare for the worst, because our vet is very sweet and one of the best in our area and obviously wanted to find us a different answer but thinks that FIP is what fits best.

right now our little guy is maintaining. he doesn't seem to be any better but he doesn't seem to be any worse. his fever is gone, but he is skinny as can be and definantly seems to have stopped growing (he is starting to look like his brothers smaller much frailer shadow) he is not playing, he is sleeping all day. i am pretty much force-feeding him everything he eats, other than a nibble of dry food every once in a while and drinking his water he isn't eating on his own. he still wants love and cuddling and gets purry but he looks so tired he has been escaping from his feedings though, and he still has the energy to kitty swear at me when he has had enough. i just don't know. it is so sad watching his brother trying to get him to play.

TROANT - thank you for the thoughts, i was so sorry to read of your loss

thank you kwren, please keep us posted.xx

right now we don't think he is going to make it past the end of the day. he has been getting weaker and weaker all week, and this morning he can't even walk. he is limp and floppy, breathing shallowly, and can barely move. he used the litter box and then fell over he is snuggled up on a blanket on my lap right now, i'm going to keep him next to me today. if he starts looking and acting like he is in pain we will take him in but he does not seem to be in any pain. i hope he passes quietly and peacefully on his own. my poor little guy

So sorry about Gil.
You are right he will not make it.

ah shame man Kwren, i am so sorry for what you and your little Gil are going through, heartbreaking.keep us posted please.xx

Originally Posted by kwren

right now we don't think he is going to make it past the end of the day. he has been getting weaker and weaker all week, and this morning he can't even walk. he is limp and floppy, breathing shallowly, and can barely move. he used the litter box and then fell over

he is snuggled up on a blanket on my lap right now, i'm going to keep him next to me today. if he starts looking and acting like he is in pain we will take him in but he does not seem to be in any pain. i hope he passes quietly and peacefully on his own. my poor little guy

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Just hold him in your arms and give him gentle kisses and tell him how happy you are that he has been in your life. Keep him as comfortable as you can. I wouldn't take him in, all that will do is cause him stress and fear and possibly more pain. Just let him know he is loved. That is the most beautiful gift you can give him.

I lost a baby to FIPS as well, so I know how heartbroken you must be right now. My tears are just flowing right now and my heart goes out to you. I still cry when I think of my poor little Shadow.

I'm so sorry for you and your sweet baby *hugs*

...for all of you during this exremely difficult and sad time.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I hope he passes peacefully.

How sad. I am so so sorry you and your sweet kitty have to go through this.

he passed peacefully in my husbands hands this afternoon, being petted and loved on and told what a good kitty he has been.

he was such a sweet little lovebug, and he is the first cat i have ever lost at such an early age. i am so sad i never got the chance to see who he would have grown into