FIP in a multi-cat household

We just lost our youngest to FIP. We are devastated and want to do what we can to keep the rest of our family healthy. Here is some info about our household as well as what I know about FIP. Please tell me if I have anything wrong.

-Atlas was a year old and he went downhill very quickly. He was adopted as a roughly 4 month old from a shelter in December 2012. There were some signs of illness initially(mild URI, swollen lymph nodes) but he became a happy, playful kitten.

-We have two 3 year olds, a 10 year old, a 15 year old, and a 16+ year old. The three who spent the most time with Atlas(a lot of mutual grooming/play/sleep) are the two 3 years olds and my 15 year old. It is my understanding that cats/kittens under 3 years of age are most at risk. I am concerned about my 15 year old, though, as he has had lifelong URIs/asthma and has had other health concerns. Less than a month after adopting Atlas, my 15 year old had three URIs in a short period of time that were like nothing he had experienced before(lots of nasal/ocular discharge/decreased appetite/mild fever). He also had bouts of diarrhea(off and on, nothing currently) starting in June but none of the vets I've brought him to(including the university) were too concerned about it. I have read that the virus can mutate into FIP in geriatric cats with poor immune systems.

-The caring vet who examined Atlas on his final day is looking into testing for the rest of our cats. My understanding is that there is no test for FIP, they'll all most likely test positive for the coronavirus, and even a high titer means nothing. I am leaning towards not having anyone tested.

-I have considered Interferon for my 15 year old but I read it has contraindications for heart and lung diseases. I'm not sure if it would be a good option for him at this point. He takes a variety of supplements for immune support but I don't know that anything can really stop the virus from mutating, if it's going to happen.  He will be making a trip to our newest vet but I'm not wanting to stress anyone further right now.

-Cleaning. Should we toss our litter boxes(3 MacCourt Super Tubs and one regular large box, currently) or just dump the litter and clean them? We just bought new bags of World's Best but are now considering throwing the boxes away - is it necessary? The boxes have some deeper scratches on them. I was going to do my best to disinfect them with hydrogen peroxide(what I usually use). We're going to use a Hoover SteamVac filled with vinegar(the 6% acidity kind) to do the carpets. I've been washing clothes/bedding but the cats have a great deal of bedding, beds, cat trees, lounges, and so on - should I spray everything down with peroxide? I'm throwing some things out but would like to hold onto what we can for the cats' sake. Also, is scooping once-twice a day enough or should I be scooping every time we see a bowel movement in the boxes? We do this, on good days, but I have read that as much should be done as possible to prevent repeated exposure to the coronavirus via feces. Is this something we need to be very concerned about?

I am so sorry to hear about Atlas. I too lost a young cat (age 3) to FIP in 2009. At the time we also had a 13 yr old and an 11 yr old.

Here is my knowledge of FIP.
FIP is caused when the Coronavirus mutates and gets outside of the GI system...much like a cancer. I was told young kittens and older cats are most susceptible to FIP. The instances of the Coronavirus mutating into FIP are very low. I work with a rescue an over the last 5 yrs (and several hundred cats) have only had 2 cats develop FIP.

On our vet's recommendation, we threw out all of our litter boxes and the toys/bedding that Stormy mainly used. We sanitized everything else (much like your description above.)

Our 13 yr old came down with similar symptoms 3 wks after we lost Stormy and we put him down. However, in hindsight, I truly believe Tipper developed congestive heart failure vs FIP. He had a heart murmur and had had other issues as well. I was a teenager at the time; but, even so, do not know that we could have done much for him other than buy a little more time.

Lucky, who was 11 at the time is thriving and is 15 now. We were on *high* alert for about 6 months as that is when our vet said we would see any symptoms in him. He never developed anything.

All 3 were very affectionate with each other.

Also, I don't think you can scoop the litter box too often in a multi-cat household regardless.

I am so very sorry to hear about Atlas   Such a shame. 

I wash my litter boxes with water and bleach (just a small amount), then rinse them really, really well.  Would that be an option, rather than throwing them out?  What did your Vet say?  As far as anything else goes, since there really is no definitive test, and as you said, they will probably all test positive for the coronavirus anyway, I'm wondering if it's worth doing.  I'd probably just keep an eye on them and see what happens.  Really, what else can you do, other than what  you are doing.  . 

Did your Vet give you any advise on whether or not you should toss all their toys, clean your carpets, etc.  I'm just wondering if it's necessary since they've already been "exposed". 

Maybe you'll find this helpful:  http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_fip.html

I tried cutting and pasting just one portion, but it didn't work.  It was the section on surviving roommates and it basically said they were at no higher risk of getting FIP than any other cat

Thank you for all of the advice.  This is a difficult time for all of us.  The vet we saw who performed his euthanasia was the only vet who had any answers for us, though she wasn't certain on some aspects of the disease(such as.. whether we should test the other cats).  She said she would get back with us and we're waiting on the phone call.  It was also an emotional experience for her as well. :/  We put the old tubs(what we used as litter boxes) in our garage for future use and purchased new ones(they're under $14, we felt it was worth the cost).  I've been washing toys and whatever bedding I can.  I know they've all been exposed to the virus and understand that all cats react differently to it but there seems to be an emphasis on "re-exposure" through feces and whatnot.  And it seems like it's possible to eliminate the virus but it's a trickier thing to do in a 5+ cat household.  

One question I did have: is this a bad time to buy a new cat tree and new toys?  I just received birthday money and I want to do something special for them but if they're "shedding the virus" at this point maybe it's a bad time?

I've read countless articles and forum posts and my mind is still buzzing with questions.  It seems like having a family of five cats puts them at greater risk for experiencing the same mutation as Atlas.  And I'm terrified for my 15 year old, with everything he's been through/is going through.  

At one point, the doctors thought one of my guys had FIP so I read up on it.  My understanding is it is basically a failed immune response to Corona virus which most cats are immunized for as kittens, but after a few years those immunizations no longer protect them without booster shots.  When I had a new introduction years ago with cat flu (either Corona virus, herpes or both) , my others got deathy sick from it..  My 17yo senior had had kitten immunization for Corona virus, but it no longer protected him.  He eventually recovered by mounting his own new immune response to Corona virus, but a cat with FIP is unable to combat it.  My vet had told me at the time that almost all cats had antibodies for Corona virus.

While I was reading about FIP, it sort of reminded me of the shingles.

Just the same, being squeeky clean for awhile probably wouldn't hurt.  When I had the cat flu outbreak, I did an awful lot of hand washing, also isolation rooms with separate dishes until I was sure everybody was OK.  At the end of the whole thing also bleaching of the litter boxes.  Probably to baby your weakest until he has recovered completely.

Dan32 said:

While I was reading about FIP, it sort of reminded me of the shingles.

Click to expand...

I made that comparison to my partner last night in our very long viral discussion.  

There's a lot of information out there to try and process..

We brought my 15 year old into the same vet who diagnosed our youngest with FIP(tests are back, confirmed).  She's still researching options for diagnosis/protecting the rest of the cats and I'm eternally grateful for that.  Unfortunately, she thinks my 15 year old could have the dry form of FIP.  Looking back at his medical history(which is filled with respiratory disease, mysterious neurological events, and more recent potential signs, etc) I think it could be a possibility.  He's scheduled for an ultrasound and some blood work next week.  We don't believe the other cats are at too much risk and continuing to keep stress down, good nutrition, and cleanliness seems to be all we can do.

A positive diagnosis of FIP is not something easily done by the average vet as stated here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_infectious_peritonitis#Diagnosis   It is mostly a presumption based on accumulating symptoms.  The ultrasound would rule out things like lymphoma.  Many of these GI illnesses seem to respond to prednisone, so I wonder if the vets are ever sure.

I would still think if the 15yo can mount his own immune response to cat flu, he might recover.  When my 17yo caught the cat flu, he was sick for several months.  He did recover, but it wasn't anything short.