Bloated 5 mo. Old kitten no worms and other wise healthy

Before I explain the situation, I just want to put out there that FIP is already suspected.

BUT I've dealt with fip, and many symptoms seem diferent. Can anyone tell me anything else this might be? I've researched and the only other idea I've gotten is a possible blood parasite.and this kitten has been dewormed.

5 month old kitten. Symtoms;
Bloated belly (hard, not water Baloon like)
Not growing
On and off diarrhea / vomiting

Otherwise perfctly normal- running, playing, eating A LOT.

In my experience with FIP, the belly was water Baloon like, not hard or at all firm. The cat had no energy, and barely ate- as soon as abdominal symptoms began to show.
Also note- *not my cat- has not been exposed to FIP in my house hold at least.*
Any suggestions?

I also want to add that by not growing I mean she's been the same size since 3 months, but she is not skinny or appearing malnurished.

catwoman707 Do you have any thoughts here?

Sad to say but it is likely FIP.

Very different signs show in every victim, but the classic bloated tummy, vomiting, etc points to FIP>

There is really nothing else that will cause this in young kitties.

The hardness is also common, just means more fluid build up, which will be effecting the breathing soon, as it takes away the ability for the lungs to expand fully.

Some stop eating and get lethargic, while others continue the morn until suddenly there is enough damage done to bring them down, fast then.

FIP is not contagious.

Parasite won't cause the bloat like this. At least not in what I have ever seen, and I think I've seen just about all there is! Close to it anyway, unfortunately rescues see the worst.

@catwoman707 FIP is not contagious? So they would only get it from their mother, and not shared litter or grooming? Just asking because ive heard so many things

Is the first cat to show signs always the one to spread it? Or can one cat give it to another and not only til long after become symtomatic?

HarrisonsHeart said:

Is the first cat to show signs always the one to spread it? Or can one cat give it to another and not only til long after become symtomatic?

Click to expand...

FIP is NOT contagious.

Let me explain it better.

There are several upper respiratory infections that are common in cats and kittens. (URI's)

The 2 worst are rhinotracheitis (herpevirus) and calicivirus. 

Cat colds in other words. Both of these are lifelong and can be very bad.

Another very common uri/cold is coronavirus, not a bad one, it often passes through a cat and you wouldn't even notice, some might seem a little under the weather for a day or 2, but that's it, it runs it's course and leaves.

Once in a while, it does not leave, and will settle someplace in the cat and just hide out.

This is where it changes, it mutates somehow and becomes FIP.

No reason why, no telling who those few victims will be, but it begins causing big trouble and destroying them internally.

It is 100% fatal, it is mostly found in young cats/kittens of about 3 months up to 18 months.

FIP is an individual illness, it can not be spread to other cats who are in contact and/or living with the sick kitty.

The corona virus is contagious, but the chance of 2 cats in the same household coming down with FIP is considered so rare it's almost impossible according to the odds.

If so, then it was random and just purely coincidence.

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

catwoman707 said:

 

HarrisonsHeart said:

Is the first cat to show signs always the one to spread it? Or can one cat give it to another and not only til long after become symtomatic?

Click to expand...

 
FIP is an individual illness, it can not be spread to other cats who are in contact and/or living with the sick kitty.

The corona virus is contagious, but the chance of 2 cats in the same household coming down with FIP is considered so rare it's almost impossible according to the odds.

If so, then it was random and just purely coincidence.

Click to expand...

I have to disagree with the "chance of 2 cats in the same household coming down with FIP is considered so rare it's almost impossible" statement because of my own personal experience over the past few years.  One kitten brought it in and she had "dry" FIP and was handed to me by the Humane Society's director (along with a few of my own fosters that had just been neutered/spayed at their vet) to "fatten up" because at 4 months she hadn't made the 2 lbs necessary to be spayed, and her previous foster was moving and did not plan on getting her back.  It didn't take long for me to figure out she was not just a picky eater, she didn't feel well and was grumpy, and I called the previous foster and then found out that yes, she had had FIP in her house while the kitten was there.  Too late for me, of course, because the kitten had not been planned for and had already spent a few days in the general population of my house rather than the rescue room, which was full.  (None of those rescue cats ever got it!)  That kitten was taken to the humane society's vet and euthanized and was not even buried here.  Prior to that, I had never had a case of FIP in my house.  Following that kitten's brief visit, I have lost a string of them over the next couple of years: Weegie (age 4 months), Lurch(3 months), Butterscotch (8 months), Ruggy (8 years!), siblings Keiko & Nikko (4 months), and Weegie's sister, Coonie (18 months, a full 14 months after her sister died, likely brought on by serious stress & surgery.)  Coonie died in December 2014.  By April, 2015, when all the kittens left over in the rescue room turned two years old, they and the two mama cats, who are both a couple of years older than that, were merged with the general population.  I would feel safe adopting them out with disclosure because none of them ever had it.  There has been no recurrence of FIP in the house.  In September I brought in an adult rescue, but did not merge her with the general population for 4 months.  Now she is merged, and so far, so good.  But I don't believe I am free of it, and I actually went out of rescue because of it.  I do believe there can be a carrier, or many carriers.  No, the corona virus is not passed as FIP, but the corona virus that can mutate into FIP is probably alive and well here.  No cat under 2 years of age is allowed here now.  (The bottle baby I am fostering until he can eat o his own is kept in a room the other cats are never allowed in, AND he is caged hen I am not with him.  Then he must stay on a futon covered with a clean sheet untouched by other cats, and has no access to the floor.  I still worry and am eager for him to start eating solid food so I can leave him with his permanent family, which is where he spends his weekends now.

I know that red top, you have had far more than your share of experience with fip loss, and honestly, your specific situation deserves to be considered in what is known about fip.

My statement came from a symposium I attended at UC Davis, with Dr. Neils Pederson, Dr. Kate Hurley, and Dr. Leslie Lyons, who all have greatly contributed to information about fip, what is thought about it's contagious nature, etc.

During intermission I went to Dr. Pederson and asked specifically about this, because I have a foster who, a few years back had 3 cases in a row, so naturally I was very concerned.

This is what I was told, almost quoting, that it to their knowledge at the time, it is not believed to spread from one cat to another, except for the virus which it originates from.

I was assured it was purely a bad coincidence.

I think myself there is still so much to be learned from this mysterious and horrible illness, and maybe it will surface that there is a specific corona virus which tends to mutate more than another, I don't know, so my statement was coming from what I was told about it.

Also the symposium was about 6-7 yrs back, but from what I can read there is still no evidence of finding that it is contagious.

If I were to look at your cases, it would surely appear they have alot to learn still, many more case studies, sure looks like more than coincidental.

This all being said. Do you think it is possible for the original carrier to pass it on before becoming symptomatic themselves? Even after surgery ect.

Thanks, @catwoman707.  I just took the 56 minutes to watch the video of the seminar (Feline Infectious Peritonitis:  A Review and Update) that @Harrison'sHeart just posted above and learned even more.  If you haven't found the time yet, I think you will be as interested in some of the new thinking and discoveries as I was.  I just learned that there is a form in Asia which is a combined form of dog corona virus and cat corona virus that appears to have created a NEW Type 2 FIP, and that one can spread directly, as FIP, not just as corona virus.  Scary.  Fortunately we have Type 1 in this country, but because this particular type of virus mutates so frequently, there are even sub-classifications of feline corona virus, and they are no longer ruling out the contagion factor.  They do see a genetic predisposition, and in my group, I had two sets of siblings that got it, two of them concurrently, and the other two 14 months apart.  Interestingly enough, the first one that died after the original carrier was brought in was the sister to the very LAST one that died of it 14 months later.  It could be she was the only carrier here.  I doubt it though, since I still have the sister of another one that died, and she is turning 3 years old this month.  I would expect her to be a carrier too.

HarrisonsHeart said:

This all being said. Do you think it is possible for the original carrier to pass it on before becoming symptomatic themselves? Even after surgery ect.

Click to expand...

Yes, I certainly do, since corona virus itself may cause no visible symptoms in one cat, yet may mutate into the virulent FIP virus in another cat.  In my own experience, the first of the kittens to get FIP from the original carrier was the sister of the very last one who came down with it 14 months later.  It's possible I only had one carrier through all this, the cat who was the last to die, and she had no symptoms for 14 months, until a week to 10 days before she died.  She could have been the one who passed it to all those who died in my "FIP epidemic," but it could also be true that they all carry it but are now old enough for their immune systems to keep it in check.

HarrisonsHeart said:

5 month old kitten. Symtoms;
Bloated belly (hard, not water Baloon like)
Not growing
On and off diarrhea / vomiting

Otherwise perfctly normal- running, playing, eating A LOT.
 

Click to expand...

I would want an x-ray or ultrasound of this kitten to see if she may have a partial obstruction of the bowel and/or megacolon.  I took in a kitten like that years ago and took him straight to the vet, and it turned out he was extremely impacted,  After several days in the hospital and numerous enemas, he was finally unblocked, but I was instructed to add pumpkin to his food to add soft fiber and make it less likely for him to get impacted again.  That worked and he went on to become my biggest Household Pet show winner.  He met an early end due to a terrible accident, but the megacolon didn't become a problem again. 

Red Top Rescue said:

 
Thanks, @catwoman707.  I just took the 56 minutes to watch the video of the seminar (Feline Infectious Peritonitis:  A Review and Update) that @Harrison'sHeart just posted above and learned even more.  If you haven't found the time yet, I think you will be as interested in some of the new thinking and discoveries as I was.  I just learned that there is a form in Asia which is a combined form of dog corona virus and cat corona virus that appears to have created a NEW Type 2 FIP, and that one can spread directly, as FIP, not just as corona virus.  Scary.  Fortunately we have Type 1 in this country, but because this particular type of virus mutates so frequently, there are even sub-classifications of feline corona virus, and they are no longer ruling out the contagion factor.  They do see a genetic predisposition, and in my group, I had two sets of siblings that got it, two of them concurrently, and the other two 14 months apart.  Interestingly enough, the first one that died after the original carrier was brought in was the sister to the very LAST one that died of it 14 months later.  It could be she was the only carrier here.  I doubt it though, since I still have the sister of another one that died, and she is turning 3 years old this month.  I would expect her to be a carrier too.

Click to expand...

Thank you, I certainly will be watching this!