Today my cat was diagnosed with dry FIP

So a few months ago I noticed my cat beginning to lose his balance and would have to stand in a wide stance to keep up,so I went to my veterinarian and he diagnosed him as having hypoplasia cerebellar, but I was not convinced due to my research online showing that cats with this  disorder can pointed out in their first early weeks after being born. My kitten nyanta was such an explorer, and would always jump everywhere. Due to my suspicions, I went to look for a second opinion with a cat specialist. Today I went to a cat specialist and the first thing she noticed was that he seemed very sad, she then went to go on and ask if this seemed to be progressive and I confirmed that I had noticed it getting worst, she recommended me that the best option would be to put him down since he seemed very depressed. I asked her if there were any other options and she recommended that I could try prednisolone to see if that could help him at all. After my visit I researched a little bit about FIP and noticed that it is a very hard disease to diagnose seeing as it can often be similar to many other diseases. She also gave me another option of taking him to a neurological specialist but did not recommend it seeing as how expensive it could be, but i just might, since I really do love my kitten and would hate to see him go. After my vet visit I came to a realization that I might really lose him and broke down in tears, but I decided to do some extensive research in hopes of finding something that could be similar and that he was just misdiagnosed. I've notice that the only symptoms my kitten shows are that he seems to be depressed and has a few neurological problems such as: uncoordinated movement and maybe a little loss of vision. Hopefully, this is really not a case of FIP and it something a little more minor, I was hoping to ask you guys if you had any experiences with FIP, or anything else similar to it cause I would really hate to lose my first kitten Nyanta. Thank you!

It is hard when you're not sure what is wrong but know there is something going on for your cat.  Very easy to imagine all the worst things possible too.  Did this specialist talk about FIP and tell you how they arrived at this diagnosis?   Are you going to try the Predisone that was suggested?

Lots of postive  

Yes im trying the prednisolone, she said that FIP was the highest possibility due to all the symptoms she had seen but if I wanted to get a solid answer then I would have to go through neurologist and MRI's.

I don't think a neurologist and MRI can diagnose FIP? We went through a lot of tests with Darcy, but none of those, and they can only rule stuff out not diagnose. It seems as though if Nyanta had FIP she would be gone by now. Darcy got sick very quickly from being a high energy kitten to sleeping and hiding under the bed, in a weekend, and she had a very very high temperature that wouldn't come down. Which I'm told is a symptom. We gave her Pred and syringe fed her and did our best, but she only lived maybe another month, and the vets all said that was actually a long time for a kitten with FIP.

I would NOT EVER put a cat down on a vet's recommendation because they seemed "sad."  I actually don't think it should ever be a vet's decision or a vet's call, but how on earth can anyone, vet or otherwise, know if a cat is "sad." I would more likely say just not feeling up to par.  I would be long gone from any vet who pulled that on me (sorry, but I just think it's wrong and so many kitties are lost who could have been saved because of vets saying things like this).

I hope you will not give up on your Nyanta just yet.  Maybe you need a third opinion?  I am praying your baby does NOT have FIP or anything else bad.

I am really hoping as well! Putting him down is way out of discussion atm! I have not noticed him in any pain or him having any fevers, so I am looking for anything else it  could be as well!

Is your cat playing and eating well?   You have said he seems depressed but it would be helpful if you could describe in what way this comes over.  

I am glad you are not taking the vet suggestion to say goodbye to your cat at this point where it is not clear what is going on.   

he eats fine always has an appetite. Playing is a bit hard for him seeing as he can barely walk but he does try and chase the toys.

Eating well and showing interest in play are both positive signs for how your cat is doing right now.  

You might find this article helpful, either now or in the future, as it gives some quality of life things to think about from your cat's perspective.   These things are always so difficult, and situations are very individual to you and your cat.  Hoping you are able to enjoy your time together right now.  

I suggest seeing a regular vet 1st. Putting down a cat because he is depressed makes no sense.

Thank you very much for the articles I'll take a read! :3 I am spending all my time with him atm hes been sleeping with me lately which is very pleasent.

I've seen my regular vet but he was really unsure so thats why i went to a specialist for a 2nd opinion.

When our last kitten had fip it took a few months as well. Progressed slowly she slept a lot didn't play but she ate up until the last days. She also had an eye infection that did clear up but her eyes started mutating near the end. She always had an unresponsive low temp and she had diareah. No weight gain. At the end she was frequently urinating with little coming out. at the end She lost her balance would fall out of window sills and the last day she stumbled out of the room (which she never came out of) and looked at me and let out a sad meow. I knew right then it was time. It sounds really worse than the whole process was. It was obviously an extremely sad thing to go through but I knew before that day she was not ready to be put down still as she loved to be with me and purred still. Maybe some of these symptoms can help you see if your cat has any more as well. I too battled myself about whether or not I should be doing more to see if it is something else ... But the rescue I work with really helped me realize that even taking her to the vet at that point was more stressful than needed to be and to just be with her for the remainder of the time. I think if you see the eye changes its pretty certain. Hope this helps

Im sorry for your loss reading through your message I could feel the sadness and I was to empathize with it since it seems like im going through the same thing. unfortunately my kitten doesnt purr anymore but he enjoys sleeping with me and it always my pains my heart when I have to leave him.  he stills urinates quite the amount a little more than I would like but he has been showing signs of weight loss. I have yet to see any changes in his eyes, since im a bit unsure of what you meant by that. would you be happen to be talking about color or if there is an apparent cloudyness? 

Yes. A lot of cats with dry fip there will be a cloudiness over the eye, or the iris will start to become brown or the third eyelid will become present. With my cat the pupil actually began to mix into the iris and the iris into the pupil. And she got brown spots on top of her eyes. The pupil eventually stopped dilating with light changes. It was very strange but I think as soon as I saw the eye changes I knew. I think the hardest part about the dry form is the not knowing... Waiting it out, feeling like you should be doing more. I understand that. Sometimes talking or writing about it just helps get through it even if you don't get answers. Which is why I'm back on this forum now. I have a young cat came into my yard recently and he has gotten a big belly over the last month. I took him in last week and vet said its either fluid on the belly (probably fip) or hopefully he's just overweight. I'm hoping for the second and trying to slim him down. But still it's waiting at this point. would've hard for my kids to go through this a second time.

One other thing I forgot was that her skin was very sensitive. When I would pet her her skin would crawl and when we attempted iv fluids it was clear that it hurt way more than it should and they wouldn't continue which is why we decided not to try anything more like that.

Always when she slowed down on eating I found these little fancy feast broth packets... They are just mostly liquid. She would still eat those. I know that they say they stop eating but she still ate up until the day she passed. But that was her description at the rescue when we adopted her (loves to eat