2 cats with FIP

Hello,

My cat Ipek she's around 1 year old and has FIP. I've been trying my very best to keep her healthy and sound. A couple of weeks ago I found a cat on the street, with infected paws barely can walk and barely no teeth. Anyways we took him to the vet and he stayed at the vet for 3 weeks. Now he is out of the vet. Here is the problem. We think that he is a senior around 8 or 9 yrs of age, has FIP but the dry form cause there is no swelling in the tummy. I cant leave her back on the streets as he can't survive, I tried to look after him at the garden but because he is crippled and cannot walk very well, he is beaten by other cats, so I tried adoption. A friend in the neighborhood has a cafe pub sort of place and said that he will take care of the cat, but because he is too scared of humans he tries to escape. Now I really don't know what to do. I cant leave him back on the street, cant leave him to at the garden, cant take him in the house as my cat ipek has FIP too ! and worried sick that if I take this cat in then she might be re-infected with the virus and her healthy condition might worsen. I'm lost in despair and don't know what to do. Can anyone offer me some advice. Are there any risks with 2 cats having dry FIP living together ? If yes what are the risks ?  Please help   

Hi ipek

The main risk with introducing cats is the possibility one has more than one viral infection. A cat with felv and fip would be more of a concern. As then you would be exposing an already sick cat to felv.

You are certain you are dealing with fip? Remember most cats are "infected" with the virus but only the mutated form kills.

Think of small pox in people. 95 percent of people who are exposed to the small pox virus do not get sick at all or even show symptoms. This is without vaccination. Less than five percent of the population would get sick, if exposed.

FIP, the mutated form is extremely deadly. Do both cats have the deadly form of Fip? Or does one have the deadly mutated virus, and the other has the non deadly virus?

Remember two different strains of the same virus can act completely different. You have the deadly strain which quickly kills and the non deadly strain which does not cause harm unless it mutates.

Testing for antibodies only indicates whether or not the cat has been exposed. It doesn't mean they will develop the disease!

If both have the deadly dry form of fip it is probably safe to put them together provided you have ruled out most other diseases with similar symptoms of fip. The gold standard for diagnosis is a biopsy often done during necropsy. While the cats are alive there could be some doubt that this is not fip. Before introducing make sure what you have is two cats with the deadly form of fip!

Otherwise you can keep both in the same house in separate rooms. Dirty litter boxes is the main route of exposure. It may be better not to let them share boxes.

Also introducing a new cat is stressful which can make things worse for your sick cat or cause a relapse. Avoid stressing them out. Probably a good idea not to keep moving the older cat around. Find a permanent place to keep him

Good luck

Cats who have FIP don't survive very long. Usually they go pretty quickly. We kept Darcy doing pretty good for maybe 2  months after diagnosis, and the vets were amazed she lasted that long.

FIP is always 100% fatal, there is no cure.