2 year old cat possible FIP

Hi! I am going out of my mind about this...

Background info: I have a 2 year old cat named Stella, perfectly healthy, indoor cat. About 2 months ago we got a 6 month old kitten Kendall who has been vaccinated, also perfectly healthy.

Everything has been fine up until about 2 weeks ago. Stella and Kendall have been playing and everything good. Stella all of a sudden acted very strange, sleepy, tired. I took her to the vet on the following monday. She had a fever of 105. She had to go to the emergency clinic to be on fluids. Back and forth to the vet for a few days. Finally one of the vets felt a mass in her intestines and wanted to remove whatever it was. It ended up being a large lymph node that was blocking her intestines. The vet had said it doesn't look cancerous. They sent it to get biopsied. Meanwhile, her fever fluctuates between 103 and 104. They gave her pain meds, and antibiotics, none of which she has responded to. The biopsy showed she has "severe necrotizing pyogranulomatous lympho density, which is highly suggestive of FIP" I opted to get one more test done which is a immunochemistry stain to determine specifically if it's FIP on the infected lymph node. There are also a few other enlarged lymph nodes that I was told would enlarge over time like the other. 

I am freaking out because they are leaning towards FIP but they also don't seem to know much about it. She have been prescribed Clindomycin, and Covenia but the fever has only gone down to 103. Right now it is 102.5 the lowest it has been.

What could it be if it's not FIP? Also the other cat is perfectly fine so how would Stella have gotten this?

any information would be great!!!!

Can't answer your questions but sending positive vibes to you and your precious baby!

FIP is hard to really pin down, as far as I'm aware there's not a single test that can definitely tell you "yes, this is FIP" or "no, it's something else". Unfortunately, I don't know enough to begin to guess at what other possible diagnosis you could be looking at.

Many, many cats carry a corona virus that causes FIP. Usually, it doesn't cause any problems and you don't even know that your cat is a carrier. When that virus mutates is when you see the severe illness. It's very rare and unlucky, usually occurring in younger cats. Sadly, it's almost always fatal too. 

Thank you everyone. Unfortunately they biopsy of her lymphnode showed FIP , the only way to test 100% for FIP. My heart is in pieces for my little angel.

But does anyone know anything about prednisolone for helping ease the symptoms of this disease? I don't want her suffering at all and want to weigh my options

I am, knock on wood, not personally familiar with this horrible disease. But I do know there are different forms, and that the wet form is more aggressive than the dry form. Which one does your baby have? That will likely have a big influence on your options.

She has the dry form. The vet gave her a pain med to bring her fever down and make her more comfortable. She is still eating, but isn't very active. The vet says she actually gained 1 lb since her last visit about a week ago. He said she is actually doing pretty well right now

I don't know if a steroid is something you would want to try, have you asked your vet?  It is true that it is an anti-inflammatory that does help with making a kitty feel better but it also depresses the immune system.  I am so sorry that you are dealing with this, FIP is a horrible disease.  I would kind of look at it the same as with any other terminal illness, whatever alleviates symptoms and increases quality of life is okay.  

It's very sad. She's the love of my life...it pains me deeply.

They gave her metacam to keep her comfortable

what an awful illness, I am sorry. 

I am so sorry I had a cat die of FIP a couple months ago.  I gave him the prednisone and it helped for maybe 12 hours, but then he just continued to get worse.  I had him put to sleep pretty quickly, but I wish I did it sooner. 

I'm so sorry you lost your kitty too! mine isn't too bad right now. My vet didn't even mention prednisone. But I just want to cuddle and love her as long as I can

I know what you mean   dealing with an FIP diagnosis is really tough.  Where did the other kitten come from?  If she came from a cattery or a multi-cat household, it is possible that she was shedding the FeCV virus when you brought her home, gave it to Stella, and then she developed FIP.  

The ugly truth of FIP is that it is 100% invariable fatal, and there really isn't any treatment aside from prednisone.  This was really hard for me to accept.  I sort of hoping that he would just miraculously get better, or that the vets were wrong.  I wanted more time with him...but the thing about FIP is that it doesn't get better, it only gets worse.  I wish so much I had put him down sooner, because he went downhill very, VERY fast.  It was horrible seeing him sick like that.  I am so, so sorry this is happening.  Best wishes for you and Stella !!!

Thank you!

She was from a foster mom, so she had a few siblings. But the vet said stress triggers this mutation as well... We recently moved Stella and got her a new playmate.

There really isn't a treatment, not even prednisone because the disease is ultimately fatal. As long as she's comfortable I'm ok. The vet said she isn't too far along but as soon as I see a sign of suffering that's it for me, too sad to watch. She's responding very well from the metacam and eats like crazy so all is good right now!

I'm so sorry for you and your cat.  FIP is an insidious disease that takes way too many of our precious companions, and I hope that modern science will be able to eradicate it soon.  Keep your cat comfortable and cherish the time you have.  Don't be afraid to help her over the bridge when it's time.  I manage several apartment complexes and I see so many suffering cats every day.  Some are feral and some are just left behind, in a continual loop looking for their owners  who've discarded them.  There's one grey tabby who has waited by the same apartment door for the past six months thinking that his owners will finally let him back in.  They moved and just left him behind.

Your cat has been incredibly lucky in its short life and you're to thank for that.  Just know that you've loved her, sheltered her and kept her in the best health possible.  So, so, so many cats never even get a modicum of kindness,  You've been a spectacular custodian to your animal.

That breaks my heart. Thank you that really makes me feel better. I treated my precious kitty SO well and she had a wonderful 2.5 years and was extremely spoiled. Unfortunately our time had to be cut short but I have peace knowing that when it is time I will know I have done everything I could have done and I just hope she knows that. She is my (own) first pet and was with me through so much...I'm a college student and losing her soon will break my heart more than it already as been broken thank you for your kind words

Sorry to hear about your kitty. I have been all over the board fighting this stupid disease since my Ace was visually diagnosed in '12, and it got him and nearly half of his kittens over the next year. I thought I was in the clear with a few scares until this last week. A kitten of 9mo, unrelated to Ace(I'd read and felt my experience was sufficient to say they're much more likely to get it through genetic predisposition if one gets it) began showing signs of lethargy and fever. A week of clavamox and a shot of covenant and onsior later and the fever keeps going up and down, she wants to but won't eat, and muscle waste seems to have set in. It seems too fast for dry FIP, but there isn't any effusion noticeable. I've read don't give them steroids it accelerates it, I've read it's the only chance they have to prolong it. I've tried homeopathic, nutritional, medical(draining the fluid and giving subq fluids), but it's just too brutal and fast. I never got a positive post FIP test, but can't see it being anything else. It was Iike clockwork, fever;appetite;effusion;syringe feed;the eyes sink;a bizarre rubber band sound while chewing;then a matter of days. This little girl isn't following the pattern, but it's going too fast to even get to testing anything. Yet, here I am again digging for answers. It sucks to see others find out about FIP the hard way.