FIP diagnosis but could it be something else?? ( Test results attached)

gisela

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Oct 20, 2013
Messages
1
Purraise
10
Greetings to all and thank you in advance for all the info posted in this group.
Like many of you, up until a couple of weeks ago i had no idea of what FIP was and i never thought  one of my cats would end up being diagnosed with it.
I have two 11 year old british shorthair that have had a pretty much problem free life in terms of health other than a few bladder infections (Max) and stomach worms (Molly).
As is usually the case with this breed, my boys were a bit overweight so we put them on Hills r/d food to get them a bit back to 'normal' levels as per out vet's advise.
They gradually lost weight and were on good track. At a certain point i noticed Max lossing weight a bit quicker than Molly but i thought it was due to the fact that Molly is an eating machine so i thought she was getting more share than she should but didnt give it much importance since both cats were acting as good as always.
Last june i saw Max using the litter box and he was growling was he peed to i  took him to the vet concerned about a bladder infection ( which it was) so with some antibiotics and antiinflamatories it was cured. I mentioned he was loosing weight and to be safe they made a blood test and it all came back good so i didnt think about it anymore ( he was still having normal behaviour)
a couple of months after i shaved my cats ( i do it once a year) and it is only then that i got shocked at how skinny Max was, i could see and feel his back bones. I started then monitoring his food intake and realized he was hardly eating so i took him to the vet.From the previous visit to the vet 3 months earlier he had lost 800 gr,
He was now 3.8 Kg.
She noticed he had a bit of yellow int he white membrane of his eye (more like an off white rather than really yellow) and she made a blood test (Geriatric Profile  results attached below). And also noticed a murmur in the heart ( which has never been detected in previous visits to the vets ) I started feeding him Hills a/d with a syringe to make sure he gets enough food. She called a couple of days later to tell me that there were some abnormal results for the liver and asked  me to do an Echo and when i took him  they saw that they thought it was Lymphoma in this liver. They took several samples and sent them to the lab. Result for lymphoma came negative so now my vet thinks Max has FIP. He was put on Prednisolon. After a few days he started showing  some interest in food and after 10 days of eating consistently he is a bit more 'active' he doesnt move much but at least he is not sleeping all the time.
I am concious that all the symthoms and test results do indicate FIP but the only time they were exposed to a multicat enviroment was at the breeder when they were born which is not very likely since the breader is very careful on breeding cats with  no health problems  and good genetics, and  10 months ago when i left them at a cat pension during my vacation ( pension is a profesional one, clean and not overcrowded and upto date vaccination passport is required. i know there is a chance but  also the chances of having another infected cat shedding the virus in the week they were there are also not so high ( i think .. or maybe i am just trying to fool myself). Anyways i am only wondering if there are other illnesses that are consistent with the test results and that are the signs i should be looking for in Max to either confirm that is FIP or to help my vet maybe treating another illness that mimics FIP. It is not that i dont trust my VET but she based her diagnosis looking at the internet and never asked me the background of my cats.
I have been reading a lot about FIP but the more i read the more confused i get. Also besides the fact that Max doesnt eat on his own  and it is less active he seems to be ok
When i took him to the vet i was expecting fatty liver due to the fact he had been eating hardly anything and i also see judging by the test results that he is anemic.
At the moment i keep feeding him a/d and chicken liver and he eats some dry food a couple of times a day but not enough to stop feeding him with the syringe. My vet told me to day to start reducing the Pred dosis so that next week we can start with the medication for his heart.
What else could we check for? How can i help him. and in case it is indeed FIP how and when will i know that the disease is  getting worse?

Many thanks in advance for your kind advise.

another heartbroken cat owner
G.

Geriatric Profile

                        Result      Sign    Reference Value        Unit
T4 (Total T4)        21.9                             10-60            nmol/l

Kidney

Urea (BUN)           9.4                              5.7-13.5        mmol/l
Creatinine              67                               <168            umol/l
Sodium                 148                         147-159            mmol/l
Potassium             3.7                          3.3-5.8            mmol/l
Inorganic Phosphate    1.6                     0.8-2.2            mmol/l

Liver

Bilirubin                 21.4    +                      <6.8            umol/l
ALT (GPT)               45                              <175            U/l
Alkaline Phosphatase   4                            <73            U/l
GGT                             2                           <5              U/l
AST(GOT)                    36                          <71            U/l
GLDH                          1                            <11            U/l
Total Protein                104    +                  59-87            g/l
Albumin                        22    -                   27-44            g/l
Globulin                        82    +                  29-54            g/l
Albumin/Globulin Ratio 0.27    -                 >0.57

Pancreas

Glucose                       5.2                         3.5-7.8            mmol/l
Cholesterol                   6.8                            <8.5            mmol/l
Fructosamine               229                       190-365            umol/l

Muscle

CK                              69                           <542            U/l
LDH                           163                           <185            U/l
Calcium                      2.3                        2.2-2.9            mmol/l
Magnesium                  0.8                       0.6-1.1            mmol/l
Triglycerides                 0.3                       0.2-4.9            mmol/l

Haemogram


Leukocytes                     21.4    +                 6-11            G/l
Erythrocytes                    5.9                        5-10            T/l
Haemoglobine                   5.9    -                  9-15            g/dl
Packed cell Volume (PCV)  20    -                  28-45            %
MCV                                  34    -                 40-55            fl
MCH                                  10    -                 13-17            pg
MCHC                                30    -                  31-35            g/dl
Thrombocytes                     270                    150-550            G/l
Reticulocytes (rel)               0.38                                        %
Reticulocytes (abs)             22000                                     /ul



Differential Blood Count

Basophils                       0                                0-1            %
Eosinophils                     0                                0-6            %
Band neutrophils              0                               0-3            %
segmented neutrophils    76    +                      50-75            %
Lymphocytes                 22                             15-50            %
Monocytes                      2                                 0-4            %
Basophils (absolute)          0                                                 /ul
Eosinophils (absolute)       0                             0-600            /ul
Band neutrophils (abs)       0                            0-300            /ul
Segm. neutrophils (abs)    16234    +            3000-11000        /ul
Lymphocytes (abs)           4699                     1000-6000        /ul
Monocycles (abs)              427                         0-500            /ul
Atypical cells                      0                                  0            %
Anisocytosis                       +    +                            0
Poluchromasia                    0                                  0       
 

ondine

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
5,312
Purraise
780
Location
Burlington, North Carolina
I have no idea about FIP other than it's pretty serious.  I just wanted to say I was sorry to hear you and your kitty are going through this.  There are many people here who are experts are cat health.  Hopefully, one of them will be by to help you.
 

mrsgreenjeens

Every Life Should Have Nine Cats
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
16,391
Purraise
7,131
Location
Arizona
As far as I know, there is no definitive test for FIP, so why would they think this is what Max has?  Hepatic Lipidosis, yes, but FIP?  Are you giving him anything other than the Pred and syringe feeding him the A/D?  I understand Denamarin is good to help the liver.  Here is a thread that discusses it a little bit, and if you do a search under "denamarin" at the top of the page, you'll find lots more threads on the subject.  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/265534/hepatic-lipidosis

What about the anemia?  Did your Vet SAY he was anemic?  Your blood test is different from I am used to seeing (I think you're in a different country from me...I'm in the USA).  I'm used to seeing RBC and  HCT to determine Anemia and how bad it is.  Anyway, what are they doing to address that?  Is that why you are giving him the chicken livers?  There are medications that can help try to bring up his values too.

I don't really know what else you can check for, but in the meantime I would just try to get him back to his normal weight by doing what you are doing with the syringe feeding, probably add in the Denamarin (if it isn't bad for his heart), and once he gets back to normal weight, then do another blood test to see where everything stands. 

 
Top