FIP test results - I'm terrified, please help me figure this out

Hello everyone,

(disclaimer: sorry, this is going to be long – I’d still really really appreciate any help)

I’m new here and am hoping you all might be able to help me out. For a little background info, I have two kitties: a 3 year old female DSH and an 8 month old male Maine Coon-mix. Previously – before I got either of my current cats – I had a male Siamese-mix who unexpectedly passed away at 5 years old, after we had only spent 3 years together (that happened a little over a year old and I’m still having a hard time dealing with it). I’m also a college student about to graduate in May and have previously worked in animal shelters, so I do have quite a bit of cat experience.

Back in September, the male kitten (Charlie) was showing some URI symptoms and I brought him into the vet. After administering some antibiotics and examining him to rule out everything else, the vet brought up running an FIV/FIP test. My cousin had a kitten that had passed away from FIP and I’ve been so terrified the same would happen to Charlie, so I agreed to do the test.

We got the results back and Charlie tested negative for FIV and positive (though a low positive) for FIP. Obviously, I was upset and terrified but my vet assured me this was normal…most cats in multi-cat households test positive for the corona virus. Even though I wasn’t originally going to, he talked me into doing the FIV vaccine – “just to be on the safe side” – and that we would re-test him in a few months.

Fast forward to Sunday – my boyfriend took Charlie to the vet and they gave him the second FIV vaccine and the FIP test. I received a phone call this evening and the FIP test results were not only positive, but the titers had almost doubled. I have been a wreck all night since then.

The vet told me I shouldn’t worry too much because when he examined Charlie on Sunday, he didn’t have that “pot belly” that some cats with FIP get. He also told me that he currently sees a cat that was “diagnosed” with FIP a decade ago and is completely fine…and that FIP is similar to cancer in humans, you just have to treat the issues that can hurt them due to a low-immune system as they pop up (both of those last two statements kind of surprised me…that’s not exactly what I’ve read online, and I’ve done A LOT of reading).

So I’m hoping you all can ease my fears a little. I compared Charlie to the lists of symptoms typically found in cats with FIP.

1) “Pot belly” (no, though it’s hard to tell with a long-haired cat…the vet said he was normal on Sunday however)

2) Loss of appetitie (definitely not, Charlie finishes his meals in minutes…and if our other cat doesn’t finish hers – she’s a finicky eater – he’ll finish hers too)

3) Lethargy (definitely not again – he has endless amounts of energy)

4) Rough coat (no)

5) Mild/moderate URI symptoms like sneezing, watery eyes, nasal discharge (no)

6) Diarrhea (no, though – sorry for the TMI – he is sometimes gassy and the laundry room STINKS after he uses the litterbox)

7) Weight loss (no)

8) Depression (no)

9) Fever (not that I’m aware of…his ears and paw pads get a little warm but are never HOT)

10) Difficulty breathing (no – he does purr loudly and often but doesn’t wheeze or anything)

11) Excessive thirst/urination (not sure…I don’t believe so, but I might be being paranoid)

12) Jaundice (not that I’m aware of? I don’t really know what to look for)

13) Anemia (no – see above)

14) Vomiting (no – just hairballs from time to time)

15) Eye problems (no)

16) Neurological problems (no? Once again, I might be paranoid but last night he was in the cat tree laying down with his head hanging off the edge, staring at the floor…my boyfriend thinks he was staring at the bed frame trying to figure out how to get inside, but I’m still nervous. He “snapped out of it” after a few minutes and hasn’t done anything like that since)

What do you all think - am I overreacting? I’ve just been so upset and distraught since I got that phone call because I’m terrified Charlie’s going to die.

What test did the vet do that he said was for FIP? I haven't researched the topic myself, but I was under the impression that there is no definitive test to diagnose FIP. There is a test for the antibodies produced when a cat is exposed to the virus that causes FIP, but only a small percentage of the cats who are exposed actually develop the disease.

Since your cat has none of the symptoms, I would say just keep an eye on him and try not to anticipate problems.

GoldyCat said:

What test did the vet do that he said was for FIP? I haven't researched the topic myself, but I was under the impression that there is no definitive test to diagnose FIP. There is a test for the antibodies produced when a cat is exposed to the virus that causes FIP, but only a small percentage of the cats who are exposed actually develop the disease.
Since your cat has none of the symptoms, I would say just keep an eye on him and try not to anticipate problems.

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I believe it was the indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test for the coronavirus. I'm actually going to stop in to the clinic tomorrow and request copies of the results & both cats' medical records (hopefully this isn't going to be an issue...) - not only do I want copies of my own but my boyfriend's neighbor is a veterinarian and we're going to see if he can take a look at all of this as a second opinion.

Thanks for the response btw - I'm starting to calm down a little, like you said he's not exhibiting any of the systems, but since I've never had experience with FIP I'm not sure what to think.

Honestly? Hun, I think what you need is a new vet.
First of all, there is NO test for FIP. He might have ran a test for the corona virus, but in no way that means your cat has FIP.
Second, shame on your vet for pushing a FIV vaccine (if this is an inside cat) especially if he was already sick. And to retest him for FIV later? Well, now he will test positive for FIV for the rest of his life because of the vaccine.
And third, what he said about FIP is just so far from the truth it is hard to believe it even came from a vet :dk:

The way I see, your kitty is doing well..... He is not acting or looking sick- three months of FIP would likely break havoc on him. He would not be this well.
If I were you, I would not even go back to say good bye.... I would run out of there :nod:
I have a feeling your baby just got a cold and you git ripped off and scared to death in the process.
I am so sorry

Carolina said:

Honestly? Hun, I think what you need is a new vet.
First of all, there is NO test for FIP. He might have ran a test for the corona virus, but in no way that means your cat has FIP.
Second, shame on your vet for pushing a FIV vaccine (if this is an inside cat) especially if he was already sick. And to retest him for FIV later? Well, now he will test positive for FIV for the rest of his life because of the vaccine.
And third, what he said about FIP is just so far from the truth it is hard to believe it even came from a vet

The way I see, your kitty is doing well..... He is not acting or looking sick- three months of FIP would likely break havoc on him. He would not be this well.
If I were you, I would not even go back to say good bye.... I would run out of there

I have a feeling your baby just got a cold and you git ripped off and scared to death in the process.
I am so sorry

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1) I believe he ran the Indirect immunofluorescent antibody test (IFA) test for the coronavirus. I remember saying to him prior to this the same thing - "I didn't think there was an FIP test"...but since my previous cat passed away unexpectedly and my cousin's kitten did have FIP, I went along with it anyways because it seemed like he knew what he was doing and I was already getting freaked out.

2) I didn't want to do the FIV vaccine for the same reasons - to me, it seemed absolutely unnecessary. I said so at the first appointment and told my boyfriend that he was not to receive the vaccine (in the event that he brought him instead of me for some reason). In all honesty, I am regretting agreeing to it and letting them do that. He also told me we should have our other cat receive the vaccine when she comes in for her rabies shot...that's absolutely NOT happening.

3) When I talked to my mom & my boyfriend about what he said about FIP, both of them had the same reaction as you...and NEITHER of them are the least bit knoweledgeable about cats (my mom does work in the medical field though so she helped me figure out the test results the first time - and said the same thing, it's not a big deal)

4) My mom also brought that up...why are the titers increasing when he is an otherwise 100% healthy kitten?

I discussed the whole situation with my boyfriend tonight over dinner and he told me the same thing you said - that Charlie had a cold and I got taken advantage of. Apparently he's been suspicious for a while now but didn't want to bring it up because he knows how much I care about the cats. Just to put things in perspective: we got Charlie in mid-June. Since then, we've spent close to $1000 in vet bills for him (yes, a solid chunk of that was the normal kitten things, but still). Even today on the phone our vet made a comment to me, when I was obviously already upset, "He's such a good kitten and I want to do everything I can to save him" - in hindsight, I wish I would have called him out on that and asked what he meant.

We decided to at least go and get a second opinion. I am leaning towards changing vets...which sucks because until now, I thought our vet was awesome and the staff there has been so wonderful. But things aren't making sense and even though I would max out all of my credit cards to pay for my cats' health bills (remember, I'm a college student here, I'm already in debt...), this is getting ridiculous. And it's not fair for little Charlie to have to go to the vet once or twice a month - you can tell the poor guy is getting stressed....

Thank you for your response. It really helped ease some fears of mine   glad I found this board full of other cat lovers like myself!

Carolina said:

Honestly? Hun, I think what you need is a new vet.
First of all, there is NO test for FIP. He might have ran a test for the corona virus, but in no way that means your cat has FIP.
Second, shame on your vet for pushing a FIV vaccine (if this is an inside cat) especially if he was already sick. And to retest him for FIV later? Well, now he will test positive for FIV for the rest of his life because of the vaccine.
And third, what he said about FIP is just so far from the truth it is hard to believe it even came from a vet :dk:
The way I see, your kitty is doing well..... He is not acting or looking sick- three months of FIP would likely break havoc on him. He would not be this well.
If I were you, I would not even go back to say good bye.... I would run out of there :nod:
I have a feeling your baby just got a cold and you git ripped off and scared to death in the process.
I am so sorry

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Our vet was on vacation. One of our cats was sick. One of the other vets at the practice examined her, and ... well.. this happened 10 years ago now, so I don't remember the details, but we ended up bringing in all 4 cats to go into quarantine at the vet practice while they were all "tested" for FIP. The corona virus titres came back relatively low for three of them, and REALLY high for one of them. We were crying and freaking out... but what was there to do?

Bring the cats home and hope. Well, our vet came back from vacation. And he basically apologized for what happened, explained that FIP is a diagnosis of exclusion (unless there is the obviously collection of abdominal fluid, which can be seen in imaging diagnostics, when combined with the other symptoms, and often certain irregularities in the blood work). He explained that FIP is a mutation of the corona virus, and that the corona virus is present in low or high numbers is meaningless.

And none of our cats developed FIP, and 10 years later, they are all fine and healthy (and we have four more cats. :lol3: ).

************************

I'm so sorry for the loss of your siamese-mix.

And for the future.... unless you live in the panhandle of FL, southern LA, AL, or SE Texas, the FIV vaccine is useless. There are different strains of FIV, and the vaccine is only effective against the one present in those locations. I'm so sorry your vet pushed this on you. The only vaccines I get for my indoor kitties are rabies and distemper - and that's only when they're first rescued. We do not do annual vaccinations. This thread has a good discussion and informative links: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/245463/do-indoor-cats-really-need-vaccines

By the way - Laurie (LDG, above) has an FIV kitty living inside her tiny home with 7 other kitties, and they are all just fine :nod:

Anyways........
Sometimes it takes something like this for us to see the difference in between good and bad vets
Most vets are ok, or even good, when all is well - but when something goes wrong, which is when you need them most, you really find out the ones who you can count on.
I had a couple of bad experiences too and once walked away from a vet I had from a while - he had a great reputation.... Had I stayed there, I have no doubt my Bugsy would be dead. It was during one of the many crisis Bugsy had (IBD) and I noticed his pattern of just following protocol. Thing is, his protocol was downright dangerous long term. I I had to act for Bugsy - I walked out of there and never looked back.
Most of the people in my building have animals, so I started asking around who their vets were. My landlord gave me rave reviews about her vet, and after researching him, I decided to go there. I feel I hit the lottery :bigthumb:
Don't see this as a bad thing, or that it is a shame..... Yes, what happened was not cool (to say the least), but the kitty is fine, and you were given a second chance
I have seen some here on TCS who haven't been given the same chance......
So...... in the end you will end up with a better vet, and a healthier kitty :bigthumb:

BTW - if you don't feel comfortable in getting the records from the vet, just go to the new one and tell them to request it - they will have them faxed it over. You don't even need to deal with it.....

My 6 month old kitten Howie died of effusive (wet) FIP last year and so I have done a ton of research on this disease. It sounds to me like your cat does NOT have FIP and that your vet has given you quite a few misconceptions about what FIP, wet or dry, is. The fact that your vet is even bringing up or "testing for" FIP when your cat is only displaying signs of a URI is just bizarre. Why go there? 

If I were you, I'd find a new vet. I'd also stop worrying! If Charlie was in danger of dying from FIP soon you would know something is very wrong. The virus ravages their organs and they shut down quickly - they stop playing. They squint their eyes and their third eyelid shows all of the time. Their eyes may become glassy with a fever that does not respond to antibiotics. They experience GI issues. If it's wet, they usually develop obvious ascites (swollen belly) that feels like a water balloon.

As long as Charlie is still happily playing and his eyes are big and clear and round you have nothing to worry about. There is no reason to even suspect FIP unless Charlie is symptomatic, which he is not, now or at the time your vet brought FIP up. This is not to say it is impossible for Charlie to ever develop FIP, but I believe that right now you have no reason to believe he has FIP any more than any other random person with a cat. 

If you want to read some very good information about FIP from one of the leading researchers on the disease, go to this link: http://www.dr-addie.com/.

Sorry for the delay - I came down with a cold that seems to be going around last week & then my boyfriend's grandmother passed away after a long illness...not the best start to 2013 but we can only get better from here, right?

First off, thank you all for reassuring me. I am starting to relax a bit and after reading more about the "FIP test" (why it was even labeled as such is beyond me) I'm beginning to agree with you all - it's useless.

Charlie is still playful as ever. He's got endless amounts of energy, a healthy appetite and there has been zero change in his demeanor. I feel like its safe to rule out FIP, even though I'm still slightly nervous.

I still find myself checking his abdomen a couple times a day (ridiculous, I know) as he's a long haired cat and I can't really seem to tell if anything is larger. This is probably a stupid question but do you guys have any tips in signs that a long haired cat has a distended abdomen? He lays on his stomach (he's actually doing so and sleeping right now) without any problems, doesn't walk any differently and whenever I ask my boyfriend if he looks any bigger he says no....if I can get a good picture or two of him, I'll upload it here - if nothing else, just to show my kitty off
(I KNOW I need to stop worrying - and annoying him by feeling his stomach - but those stupid test results have made me obsessed)

As for the vet, we are looking into finding a different one. I'm hoping to swing by and pick up the test results in the next few days as well. The consensus from everyone seems to be that the current vet is not working for us and I agree with them. I can't handle the anxiety and obsessiveness that I've been dealing with & Charlie doesn't deserve the stress with all of these vet appointments.

Once again, thank you all for the input. It's helped me tremendously - even if I still sound like a basket case worrying. Howie, I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your fur baby by the way


Here's to moving on & stopping with all these stupid worrying! I need to enjoy my time with my kitties rather than obsessively stress because of some vet.

Here is the fluffball himself






It's probably important to note that while I tried to push the fur back so you can actually SEE his body, I didn't have much luck. He really is about 90% fur for a tiny kitten - it's got to be nearly an inch thick and there is an undercoat...

Hi

I am so sorry for the beginning of your new year and your boyfriends Grandma's loss.... Give him a hug for us

I don't see a distended tummy, but you might want to start watching his dry food intake - looks like he might be getting chubby :lol3:

What a cuttie pie :love:

Glad to see you are getting better and he is doing great too!
Hope you stick around!!