FIP

Hi, I'm new to this forum. Joined yesterday.
Today I had a meeting with my vet. She found my SPHYNX kitten has no less than 4 diseases. The worst being FIP. I have two other kittens in the house, one showing signs but not diagnosed.
I've had cats all my life but never had a sick cat.

What should I do?

I have meds for all my animals to treat giardia. Two weeks for everyone.

Any advice is appreciated

If you really mean FIP and not FIV, I would suggest searching FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) and reading about it because that isn't just a light diagnosis and in fact, it's a very hard disease to diagnose, and if she really has this disease, you should not be treating her for giardia.

If you mean FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus), as I suspect, that's a much better diagnosis and something that CAN be diagnosed with a simple test, and with good care she can live a long life.   If you are confused, please ask your vet again and then come back and we can go from there.

Twizzler said:

Hi, I'm new to this forum. Joined yesterday.
Today I had a meeting with my vet. She found my SPHYNX kitten has no less than 4 diseases. The worst being FIP. I have two other kittens in the house, one showing signs but not diagnosed.
I've had cats all my life but never had a sick cat.

What should I do?

I have meds for all my animals to treat giardia. Two weeks for everyone.

Any advice is appreciated

Click to expand...

Hi and welcome to TCS.

FIP is a very VERY rare and extremely dangerous illness that is usually only diagnosed after a cat has become so sick that the owner is worried for the cat's life. The cat usually appears to be profoundly ill and a diagnosis is usually based on symptoms and usually includes fluid in the abdomen that can be removed by syringe.  There is no test for FIP  The presence of a corona virus titer proves nothing except that the cat was exposed to a cold, like many others.

Are you sure you meant FIP and not FIV?

What are your cat's symptoms?

How did your vet diagnose FIP?

Please list all 4 illnesses  that were diagnosed.

I asked a number of times and was told fiP.
She said she was concerned for my other pets and I have antibiotics for them.
He was tested positive for

Feline coronavirus

C perinfengens enterotoxin

Giardia

tricrichomonas

His symptoms is yellow discharge from his eyes and completely water stools.
My other cat was recently diagnosed with asthma and he now has diarreah. I'm concerned he was misdiagnosed with the asthma. I plan on having him checked in two weeks after he finishes the antibiotics.
My oldest cat whose 10 has no symptoms.

With test results like you got, I would expect nothing less than watery diarrhea. The yellow discharge from the eyes makes me suspect an URI.

How long have you had the Sphynx? Are the other kittens in the house related to this one? Do they have outside access?

How is their appetite? Any weigh loss?

It appears to me that a GI PCR was sent out to obtain the diagnosis? A positive corona test doesn't equate a diagnosis of FIP. And, with a diagnosis of Tritrichomomas, Giardia AND C. Perfringens, I'm not surprised about a positive for corona virus.

Twizzler said:

His symptoms is yellow discharge from his eyes and completely water stools.
My other cat was recently diagnosed with asthma and he now has diarreah. I'm concerned he was misdiagnosed with the asthma. I plan on having him checked in two weeks after he finishes the antibiotics.
My oldest cat whose 10 has no symptoms.

Click to expand...

OK you came here for help and we will try and help you.  I will say this up front, i am suspicious about your vet.  Your cat did NOT test positive for FIP.  The corona virus titer test is NOT a test for FIP and to say otherwise is bad medicine and incorrect.  Most cats with FIP are so terribly sick they are more or less dying in front of you and have to be euthanized immediately or soon.  A very small percentage with the rarer :dry" version of the illness can hang on for a while with supportive therapy.

Important:  

- How long have you had this vet?  

- Do you have history with them that causes you to trust them deeply? -

- How old is your cat?

- Where did you cat come from?  Was your cat living with a lot of other cats?

Also, may I ask approximately where you live?

Watery diarrhea needs to be treated, and the eyes do as well.  But there is nothing  in what you describe that suggests your cat has FIP. NOTHING.  It is true that cats with FIP will test positive for Corona Virus, but the vast majority  of cats who have Corona Virus never develop FIP.  SO the test by itself doesn't mean much except you cat was exposed to that very common virus.  It is very premature to go with a FIP diagnosis.  Its basically impossible to diagnose without symptoms, and your cat doesnt have them yet (for FIP) and likely never will.

Your cat has diarrhea and a cold.

See these inks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_infectious_peritonitis

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/health_resources/brochure_ftp.cfm

Just glancing over this thread, I would strongly recommend a second opinion and a new vet.  My kitten died in December from FIP.  It can't be diagnosed, it can only be suspected and other things ruled out first. 

Does your kitten have a fever?  The first sign my Darcy was sick was that she was less energetic. I suspected maybe a cold, but her temp was almost 1.06 and it never went down very much, despite antibiotics.  They were able to remove some fluid from her abdomen, and that came back with 2 or 3 possibilities but based on everything else vet was fairly sure it was FIP.  Darcy lived another month or so, but finally got so sick there was no more hope.

I sincerely hope and pray your kitten does NOT have FIP.  FIP itself is not contagious, and most cats have been exposed to the corona virus.  It's only in rare cases that it mutates and causes FIP.

Please, for your kittens' sakes, consider another opinion and another vet.

I whole heartedly agree to seek another opinion. There is NO test for FIP, only for the corona virus from which it mutates. FIP can only be positively diagnosed posthumously with a fluid sample. The majority of cats would test positive for the corona virus. What type of testing was done to give the vet the results for all 4 diseases? While FIP is not contagious, the others are ( a couple I have no first hand experience with, but I have dealt with Giardia in my cattery.). Antibiotics will not take care of Giardia. It is a protozoa, not a bacteria.

Thank you for your responses. I feel a lot better with the new knowledge .
He came from a cattery who breeds SPHYNX balinese and another breed, I firget.
I got him at 5 months old"
My other kitten is an abyssinian. He too came from a cattery. They breed abys and Somalis. They were quite shocked when I told them he has asthma. And they weren't too nice about it, where my sphynx lady has been very interested and helpful.

I feel better about his diagnoses and have looked a few things up on line. The only problem researching on line you read horror stories and so many different points of view it gets muddy.

So I thank you. There isn't another vet I would take him to where I live. But I'll be better prepared when I see her next time.

Here is a good link to a short but clear article explaining what FIP is.  In a nutshell, it is a disease that is caused by a normal feline corona virus MUTATING and going from harmless to harmful.  Testing positive for the corona virus only mean the cat has been exposed to, or even has, the corona virus.  It does not mean ithe corona virus has mutated, or that it WILL mutate to the form that causes FIP.   The mutated form lives inside the cells and is not in itself contagious.

No horror stories here, just concise information. 

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/health_resources/brochure_ftp.cfm

I had to look up info on coronavirus back when I adopted two cats who happened to be known positive. This was disclosed before adopting them, an extra hindrance to people adopting them in addition to them having to go together and them being all black.

Somewhere around 50-70% of ALL cats would test positive for coronavirus! We don't really know because the vast majority of cats never have cause even to be tested for coronavirus. And even then most of those never develop FIP. Just as an example my prior cat spent her entire 17 year life with me and we never even had occasion to learn what coronavirus was.

Anyway, so, as others have noted, be cautious of anyone suggesting coronavirus means FIP already. It is possible, and it's good to be prepared for the possibility, but it is the less likely possibility.

Another question. Now my cat is dry coughing like the one that was diagnosed with asthma.

Should I be concerned?

The dry cough sound goes along with the goopy eyes, likely a uri. (upper respiratory infection)

I also agree with others here about the diagnosis of fip. There is no such thing. No test for confirmation.