Cat dies of FIP, questions about contagion and bringing home a new cat

Hi, a couple days ago I had to put my 18-month-old cat to sleep because he was in the late stages of wet FIP.  He went from completely healthy to being on the brink of death in two weeks.  It was absolutely heart-wrenching and I'm so, so sad that this happened.  He was SUCH a great cat and I was expecting to get at least another 10 years with him  I adopted him from a cage-free no-kill shelter 10 months ago.  I have no idea if he acquired the virus way back then or if my current cat is a carrier.  I don't know what the incubation period is for FIP is and it seems like there is a great deal of disagreement on the issue.

However, I have another cat.  She is ~5 years old, maybe older, and a ragdoll mix.  I am worried about her developing the disease, but I also know there's almost nothing I can do about it.  I was wondering if anyone could tell me about the experiences they've had with FIP and if it's spread to other cats in the house, especially to other adult cats.  My understanding is that there is no point in getting her tested for coronavirus, because she has definitely been exposed and that her titer may always come back positive for the rest of her life.

I am also interested in adopting another cat in the future, and almost definitely a cat that is at least 2 years old because I never ever EVER want to have to go through this experience again.  My roommate is also interested in adopting a cat of her own, so I want to know if anyone has had experiences with bringing a new cat home after an FIP death with another healthy cat still in the house.  I know that different vets recommend different time frames, ranging from a few weeks to over a year, and I know anecdotes aren't scientific in any way but it seems like the science of FIP is still really fuzzy so I am more interested in hearing about personal experiences.  I know the development of FIP has a strong genetic component but I still want to keep the risk as minimal as possible.  I'm wondering if maybe I should try and adopt a cat that is already coronavirus positive (which I'm guessing wouldn't be hard because SO many shelter cats have already been exposed), because they will already have a chance of developing FIP but at least I'll know it wasn't my fault for bringing them and having my other cat infect them.  Cats at risk for catastrophic illness need homes, too.  But either way, I'm going to wait for awhile because I know stress can trigger FIP and if my cat currently has high levels of coronavirus in her blood I'd really rather not stress her out by bringing in a new kitty at this time.

I am waiting to hear from my vet on this issue.  They did tell me that last week they had someone in who had both of his unrelated cats die of FIP, so that makes me worry.  I've read that more virulent strains can circle in different regions but again, it's all fuzzy.

Hi Elsie I've been through the same thing as you but back in March less than four months after adoption with Tsuki (black kitten in my avatar Sera is the tabby) who was just under 8 months old at the time and adopted in November. I've gotten two views on it from two different vets so I'll tell you what they said but the latter I never spoke to directly.

The former was my own vet the one I am still seeing and she told me it was fine to bring another kitten in at any time even though I still had Tsuki's sister Sera.

The vet of a shelter I tried to go through told them I needed to wait a month.

In the end I ended up waiting two months (went through another group and met a kitten who was still too young for adoption).

As for the coronoavirus I know they can check that the tither levels or whatever I opted not to but that is an option if you wish I'm sure.

As for Sera and Tsuki well Sera is about 15 months old and healthy as can be and I adopted a new 11 week old kitten in May that I named Vincent. He is presently a little over 8 months old (born March 1st) and is doing really well with no signs of illness. In Tsuki's case she was literally not growing which I thought was odd but just assumed she was going to be a small cat.

Once again I'm sorry to hear about your loss FIP is an absolutely horrific evil disease.  

Yeah FIP is awful    From everything I've read it seems like there's just not a whole lot you can do other than adopt an older cat and keep everything as clean as possible.  I'd really like to adopt from the same organization that I adopted from before but now that I had a cat from there develop FIP I'm not so sure.  But again, I feel like pretty much any cat I rescue from a shelter has probably been exposed already.  For this reason I'm probably not going to bother with a titer test, but probably wait a couple months so if Piper is shedding the virus hopefully the viral load with decrease with time.  If she develops FIP too I will be WRECKED.  I don't think she's ever lived in a shelter so this is probably the first time she's been exposed.  It seems to just sort of be like a really awful, almost inevitable lottery.    

The only good thing about FIP is that when a cat dies of it, it's very unlikely that other cats, whether they have lived with the ill/deceased cat or they have been adopted later, will develop it. This because the FIP is caused by a genetic mutation of feline Corona virus. Also consider that viruses, unlike any other form of life, can't reproduce themselves outside the organisms they infect and their survival in the environment is very limited. A thorough cleaning of all the cat equipment (mainly litterboxes and bowls) with bleach is normally sufficient to keep most pathogens, including viruses, under control. Personally I have had a cat which died of a suspect of FIP (we weren't able to diagnose it with certainty as she died before we could start a complete panel of tests): I didn't authorize an autopsy on her body (I was too devastated and I knew that, whatever the result of the autopsy, it wouldn't have changed anything for my other cats), didn't change their bowls nor their litter trays (I obviously cleaned them with bleach and hot water), didn't have the remaining cats tested and, after four years, they are perfectly healthy. Same with an acquaintance of mine; she lost one of her kittens to FIP, the other two that had shared bowls and litterbox with her until she died are as fit as a fiddle.
You can also test your cat after 6 months to see if she has eliminated the Corona virus, but even if she hasn't, there is no reason to worry; normally only 10% of positive tested cats will develop FIP in their life.

Yeah, I keep reading the 10% statistic but after this happened once those odds seem way too high for me    I think I'll just wait a bit and adopt an adult cat.  I'm still reeling from this.  I don't really want to adopt a kitten anyway.

I am so sorry. This is a terrible disease. I fostered some cats and had 2 die of it years ago and cleaned everything with a kennel disinfectant. None of my cats have shown any signs of it though I still worry all the time because of the trauma the whole situation put on me emotionally. I watch my older cats for any sign of illness now because I am paranoid.

You will reel for a while because of how fast the disease attacks we don't have time to process it emotionally. I got another cat about a month and half later and it has been 2 years. I recently got another kitten 6 months ago and am still paranoid so I know what you are going through.

Please reach out if you need to just talk and know we are all with you.

HUGS

I'm so sorry to hear of everyone that had cats & kittens with FIP. So sad.... I found a mother & 3 little kittens about 5 weeks old. They did great until 6 months old one of them got FIP. I took to 3 different vets, ran all kinds of test with them stating they are 95 % sure it's FIP but can't be 100 % positive until an autopsy. I couldn't do it when he was put down at the very end. I tried everything & never have I had an animal die from being just sick. I have always pulled them out of it but not this time. I cried for months. His two brothers are 1yr & 6 months old they have been doing great, mom & dad to. I caught them all they were feral & or strays. The whole family are doing wonderful. They drank out of the same bowls which I cleaned in dish washer daily, that's all. I pray all the time his siblings don't get it. The vet said it can show up within 2 years old & also happens to cats when they get old. So for now I will cherish them & enjoy them for as long as I am able to. I have caught many cats & kittens starving or hurt & have taken them to the vets with good luck. At the time I just didn't want to do it any more because my heart was broken but later I thought about how many I have helped so I just keep helping. I feel good when I do. To any one that has a kitty with FIP, My heart is with you & I wish you the very best.