Kitten with fever... FIP?

Hi,

I need advice. I'm panicking!

So I work at an animal shelter and a vet hospital.
At the shelter, a stray kitten came in at the beginning of August. We estimated the age to be about 1 month. He was at the shelter for 5 days. He went into foster with a reputable foster mom. I believe there were a few other foster kitties in the home. As far as I know, they were all healthy.
When he was about 2.5 months, I took him from the foster (on 9/17/15) because I was planning on adopting him. He visited the shelter again once (9/18/15) to be neutered. Since then he has only been at my apartment. He's the only cat I have.

He's been healthy since we got him, save for a day or two of diarrhea and slight lethargy.

On Tuesday (2 days ago) he started to act lethargic and seemed a little warm. Appetite normal. Peeing normally, pooping but maybe a little bit less than normal.
Wednesday he was very lethargic. Sleeping most of the day. I took his temperature and it was at 105ish. He wasn't dehydrated, and his appetite was still normal. Still not pooping very much.

I brought him to work (vet hospital) with me this morning. He seemed playful and happier this morning. Not back to himself, but better. His fever was 103, but it rose up to 105.6 by the afternoon. He's on antibiotics (Clavamox) and subcutaneous fluids now. He's a little dehydrated. His gums are sometimes pretty pale, and sometimes very deep pink/reddish. Not sure if it fluctuates with the fever?

Appetite has decreased a bit in the last day. Still eats, but not ravenous like usual.

The vet heard a heart murmur today, too. The vet at the shelter did not hear a murmur during his exam last month. Possible "innocent kitten" murmur or symptom of something going on?

He is pretty skinny. 3 # 6 oz. Spine is fairly easily palpated.

He "lost his voice," too. His meow is faint. At one point his meow sounded crackly when he was distressed while I gave him SQ fluids.

His belly seems a little poofy. But it's always been a little poofy. I can't tell if I'm just being paranoid or if some fluid is accumulating. Or he could be constipated since he's not pooping much.

I'm terrified that this may be FIP. The vet I work with said it's part of his differentials. Not at the top, at this point, since we aren't sure if the fever is antibiotic resistant. And we don't know if fluid is accumulating and all that. It could be a URI about to break, or a heart valve infection, or a congenital heart thing, or a kidney infection, etc etc. All part of differentials.

I just can't shake the feeling that this is FIP after reading horror story after horror story online. I've also seen stories of kitties with high fevers that disappear and never come back, possibly from just a simple infection. I don't know what's going on since it's so early, but I wanted to know if anyone has experienced something similar and what their diagnosis/prognosis was. Is there something I should be looking out for? Could this be FIP or is it more likely just a kitty virus?

Thank you.

-paranoid mom.

I think there are so many stories about FIP going around now that every time any furbaby gets sick we automatically think FIP .  Heck, I worry about it myself, and, of course, it's justified, by all of us. 

I cannot tell you it IS, and I cannot tell you it Isn't.  Wish I could.  All I can tell you is try not to worry until there is absolutely reason to.  You're working with a Vet, and right now, that's about all you can do.  Don't torture yourself by looking up things that it might or might not be.  If, heaven forbid, it IS FIP, as you probably know, there is nothing you can do.  If it is, hopefully, just a "bug", or constipation, you'll know sooner than later and you can deal with THAT

wolfgangAP said:

Hi,

I need advice. I'm panicking!



-paranoid mom.

Click to expand...

As @mrsgreenjeens  said, we can't tell you what it is, but there are a large number of causes of fever that aren't FIP, and a cat with a 105F fever is going to be lethargic with depressed appetite.  FIP is very rare. And most cats who get wet FIP go south very very quickly.  Your vet should be able to palpate for fluid build up or do a ultrasound.  Regardless kittens are fragile and he is obviously very sick, hopefully he will turn around soon, and i'm hoping the best for you.

Thanks guys. He's doing a little better.
I found a tapeworm on his bum today, so I'm hoping it's a mild infection exacerbated by a worm load. Gave him Drontal. His fever broke today, but now it's back up in the 104's. It hasn't gotten to 105 since antibiotics started.
Should I expect antibiotics to have this effect-- this slow decrease in fever-- or should the fever simply break after a few days?
I don't want to annoy my vet with constant questions so I'm hoping the Internet can give me a little bit of advice first!

Dont write it off as FIP. If youre unsure about the belly, an ultrasound should be able to tell you if the belly is filled with fluid. Worms can give a pretty big belly too! Comming from a shelter he could have contracted any type of infection, from stomach viruses/bacterias to upper respitory infections, lung infections and such. Some of these don't come out with the sympthoms you'd expect, at least not right away.

From what you say, theres no reason for FIP to be the main suspect at this point!

Also for the antibiotics to help the fever, they need to treat with the right antibiotics! If they dont know what they are dealing with, they might not get it right on the first try.