Vet thinks FIP, but kitten appears healthy?

I'm here because I'm desperately trying to figure out anything this could be that isn't a death sentence. She's only 6 months old and she's my entire world.

I took my kitten, Perdita, into the vet on Thursday to get spayed. They called around 11am saying that her bloodwork had come back abnormal and that they couldn't spay her because they were concerned about FIP... bloodwork revealed high white blood cells and high liver enzymes: bilirubin and immunoglobulins. However Perdita shows absolutely no symptoms of being ill with something so serious. I understand that cats are very good at hiding pain, but her exam came back normal; her abdomen is firm, chest and heart sound good, and she tested negative for leukemia, heartworms and FIV. Her coat is soft and shiny, she's grooming as normal, has a great appetite, she didn't have a fever, she is still gaining weight, and is extremely active and playful.

Vet started her on antibiotics and an antiviral to rule out anything else and hope that it's just another infection, but because of the bilirubin levels, she said it's probably unlikely... Something I am particularly worried about is that after being put on the medicines, she had a single convulsion yesterday--or at least, I think it was a convulsion. She hasn't had one since and displayed/displays no other symptoms of a seizure disorder, and I am hoping it was either a severe tremor from dreaming or a reaction to the penicillin and viralys. The vet said to keep an eye on her and she goes back in on Monday.

So I am here terrified that she is going to die before she even gets to grow up, and was hoping someone could help me to think of other possible infections or reasons for her bloodwork to be abnormal.

supernuclear said:

I'm here because I'm desperately trying to figure out anything this could be that isn't a death sentence. She's only 6 months old and she's my entire world.

I took my kitten, Perdita, into the vet on Thursday to get spayed. They called around 11am saying that her bloodwork had come back abnormal and that they couldn't spay her because they were concerned about FIP... bloodwork revealed high white blood cells and high liver enzymes: bilirubin and immunoglobulins. However Perdita shows absolutely no symptoms of being ill with something so serious. I understand that cats are very good at hiding pain, but her exam came back normal; her abdomen is firm, chest and heart sound good, and she tested negative for leukemia, heartworms and FIV. Her coat is soft and shiny, she's grooming as normal, has a great appetite, she didn't have a fever, she is still gaining weight, and is extremely active and playful.

Vet started her on antibiotics and an antiviral to rule out anything else and hope that it's just another infection, but because of the bilirubin levels, she said it's probably unlikely... Something I am particularly worried about is that after being put on the medicines, she had a single convulsion yesterday--or at least, I think it was a convulsion. She hasn't had one since and displayed/displays no other symptoms of a seizure disorder, and I am hoping it was either a severe tremor from dreaming or a reaction to the penicillin and viralys. The vet said to keep an eye on her and she goes back in on Monday.

So I am here terrified that she is going to die before she even gets to grow up, and was hoping someone could help me to think of other possible infections or reasons for her bloodwork to be abnormal.

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Of all the many (sadly) cases of FIP that i have heard about either online or from colleagues, i have personally never  heard of a legitimate case being diagnosed even tentatively by blood work particularly in advance  of symptoms showing.  And in fact, there is no blood test for FIP, it's diagnosed symptomatically (and generally cats with FIP become very VERY sick very quickly) so much so that the owners usually rush their cat to the vet as an emergency.  All that being said, it sounds like your cat has something, but i am concerned about your vet's quick diagnosis especially absent fluid build up in the abdomen and complete lethargy, the two most common symptoms.  

I would seek out a second opinion right now.

I am apt to agree with StephenQ, I would definitely look for a second opinion on this. I've also never heard of FIP being diagnosed in advance of symptoms.

Trust me, we know what you are going through.

We have 30 rescues in our home. You read that right, 30. About a month ago, we noticed one of the girls had a limp. Since we live in the Philippines, getting vet care is difficult, as most vets here only deal with dogs and know very little about cats. In the Philippines, cats are widely viewed as rodents, sadly.

Anyway, when I first saw the limp, we gathered her up and noticed that she had swelling with pitting edema in her front left paw. There was no obvious sign or injury, no cuts or punctures, but we took her to a local vet as a precaution. They drew blood and looked at her paw (x-rays are not available), and sent us home. We got a call that night, and were told that she had high white blood cells and high kidney function numbers as well, but everything else was normal. The kidney number scared us most, because we lost our beloved Gimpy this past November to acute kidney disease, so that test is always the most frightening. Anyway, the vet prescribed an anti inflammatory for the swelling and started her on an anti-biotic.

That same night, after I was done feeding the cats upstairs in isolation (all new rescues), I came downstairs to find Lilo in full convulsions. This lasted for nearly an hour, and was the most frightening experience ever. Her eyes were open, dilated and fixed, with no response to light. Holding her the entire time was so painful and scary, I was certain we would lose her that night. Towards the end of the hour long seizure, she released from everywhere, at the same time, vomit, urine and poop. But this marked the end of her seizure, thankfully. I thought that was the end of her. We cleaned her up, and were happy she was still breathing. One of our other cats, refused to leave her side, and continued to groom her while she was unconscious.

Anyway, we have a friend that is in a veterinarian program at a local University. We had planned to bring her there in the morning, but we knew we could not wait. Anyway, make a long story short, when the WBC count is high, it always means there is an infection of some kind. Figuring out whether it is bacterial or viral is extremely important, but most vets will probably start her on a strong dose of anti-biotics, to be on the safe side while testing is being done. Waiting even a day, can make all the difference in the world.

During times of illness, there should be expected rises in function tests, and while alarming, I don't get worried until after the original condition that may cause these elevations, is controlled. Our Lilo had these higher numbers, but once the infection was under control, the numbers quickly returned to normal. Find out the cause of the problem, and treat the infection first. Don't even let the other numbers affect you right now, it is stress that you don't need. When we got Lilo to the school, they put her on an IV with a diuretic to flush her system, with anti-biotics. Her paw, which continued to grow to an incredible size, finally burst open, and they drained a lot pus out of the open wound for almost a week. We still don't know what started the infection in her paw, but we don't care, only that she is better. Her numbers all returned to normal, and we are looking forward to a decade of love from one of our favorite little princesses.

Good luck with our baby, and don't get ahead of yourself, handle A, then B, then C, in that order. You will often find that taking care of A, will clear up B and C without any additional efforts on your part. I hope that you have an outcome equal too or better than our Lilo.