Abdominal cavity fluid? WET FIP or not??

I trapped & rescued a feral cat. Set him up in the "holding". He was shy at first & warmed up quickly! He snorted, missing half his tail & hair was thinning, so I knew to get him to the vet. After a month of observation & acclamation, came time to see the vet. Very friendly & hated being alone.
In March, the vet did his examination & it led to xrays! Come to find out his chest cavity was filled with fluid! I was told WET FIP! He had days to weeks to live! I cried hysterically.
To date, it's days from November. My sweet baby is still with us!
His tail filled in & extremely fluffy! His hair is long, thick & full & still GROWING! He grew a main around his neck!
PLEASE!! Can someone explain to me why my baby was diagnosed WET FIP?!?!
Can someone explain what OTHER reasoning he would have fluid in his chest cavity??
I found out he is a designer cat! A Tiffany! More recent name change is Chantilly/Tiffany! He is a mix of Burmese & Persian!
Persians snort!
Do I need to get a second opinion?!?!
Do WET FIP cats live 8 months?? Grow their hair & tail?
Yes, his belly does extend a bit more, but he eats like an ox!! No appitite loss.
Occassional he does throw up in his water, but all fluffy, grooming cat throw up hair balls.
HELP me understand what is going on?
Was he misdiagnosed???

Time will tell.  I did have one that started with fluid in the chest that they thought was pneumonia, but it did eventually migrate to the abdomen and it did become FIP  Her brother got it too, and when they stopped being happy and stopped eating and playing, they were put to sleep.  They were only about 4 months old.  Since it is impossible to get a 100% positive diagnosis of FIP on a LIVING cat, the best approach is to give him time and a healthy environment and don't stress him with additional diagnostic procedures. If he was tested for corona virus, that is still not diagnostic even if he is negative for it, as it takes time for them to show antibodies to corona virus too.  Here is a good link on FIP.

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/Health_Information/CW_FIP.cfm

If your cat does NOT have FIP, fluid in the chest could be associated with heart problems or even chylothorax.  The fact that your cat is eating and enjoying life means he COULD be one of the strong ones that fights off FIP on his own.  At the moment it seems that those who do are determined to have had something else, but since there is no positive diagnosis in living cats, we will never know for sure.  I hope yours is a survivor and as long as his quality of life is good, just hang in there and love him and pray to the Cat Goddess.

Ok my bad. It heavy fluid through his abdomen. Vet gave him days to maybe a week to live. Said that much fluid is crushing his insides. Yet, it's been 8 months & he looks AMAZING! All his hair grew in, his tail had half hair & it huge & fluffy!

I read everything on FIP & worthless info. My cat is showing ALOT of symptoms but eats a ton of food, drinks a ton of water. The opposite of hairloss. His stomach/abdomen has extended. He is bigger around than in March, but alive & happy.

I'm wondering if it was a misdiagnosis. Why is my miracle baby still here? He HATES being in a hospice room all alone!

What other disease shows up on xrays with the entire cavity with fluid??

I dont want to stress my baby out but if he does not have FIP, I want him out of solitary confinement. (No, that does not mean I am just opening my door right now) I spoke to my vet in May about how he looks gorgeous & the fluffy mane & eating & active. Vet said regardless of looking good, he can kill the cats if exposed.

I get it. But I just need a second opinion. What other disease fills a cats cavity with fluid?? Not one thing pops up when I google. Nothing I read about on FIP says OH look, cats look FANTASTIC months after diagnose & will show very little signs...
Yes, he snorts. Yes, he used to fever & the fever broke & is doing great. Yes, his nose starting running. Yes, on occassion he mouth drools nonstop. Yes, he fails to groom because his belly is too big to bend & clean & last but not least. Yes he has very runny & soft stool & at times omits a poopy smell.

My argument is 8months alive. Hair growing back. Energy, eats & drinks.

I just need to know IS there another disease that fills a cat with fluid?? Is it specifically an FIP identifying element??

Thank you, Red Top Rescue! I do appreciate the links! I appreciate your insite. I failed to be more clearer on the fliud. My baby is a feral trap kitty. His left ear is clipped. Scares me that the city NEVER tested him & the exposure to how many other kitties on the TNR program. But I AM thankful they didn't test. They could have killed him instead!

He is a designer cat! He is a Tiffany kitty! Absolutely gorgeous & became extremely loving after a short time in our acclimation room. It kills a part of him from being away from humans. He is very clingy, by breed standards.

He also isn't a tiny kitten! I am extremely shocked after 6-7 months the fever broke! He is cool to the touch now. I pray every day he is a survival. But it's a double edge sword. If no other cat has walked in his shoes, is he forever contagious?? Is he going to have to be confined to a solitary existence??

I am also terrified to get him tested. "What if" the stress of this alone causes his demise?? Ugh! My heart can't live with that guilt!

What is this mommy to do??

This is my big bellied gorgeous baby!! He is a cuddler.

Did they ever take a sample of the fluid in his abdomen?

Talkingpeanut, no. The vet took a few photos/xrays & showed us the massive fluid surrounds all his organs. The said it was wet FIP & he only has a few days to a week to live. I went hysterical after that. I trapped him to save him.

Is it possible to take feces samples to test? That limits the stress on him & I don't want him a pin pushing. I am panicking that the stress of extra tests could push him out of "remission" IF this is what he has.

I did read about carriers.
Do carriers show signs?
Do carriers ever stop transmitting the disease with saliva & feces.

First photo is in March. Straggly baby

Second photo in August & you can see how the fluff grew back & his tummy has extended a great deal from 5 months previously

I would want a look at the fluid if I were you. FIP is quite distinctive.

How is your cat doing now? I have a 5 months old that her belly is swollen up and it keeps getting bigger but she's eating and drinking but not very active. What is this wet fip and is there anything u can do about it?

Kayazell330 said:

How is your cat doing now? I have a 5 months old that her belly is swollen up and it keeps getting bigger but she's eating and drinking but not very active. What is this wet fip and is there anything u can do about it?

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Have you been to a vet?

No not yet. Was trying to see if she had worms so I wormed her last week so I was kind of waiting to see if that worked but she's getting bigger. Do u think she may have this wet fip?

Kayazell330 said:

No not yet. Was trying to see if she had worms so I wormed her last week so I was kind of waiting to see if that worked but she's getting bigger. Do u think she may have this wet fip?

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It's possible. She really needs to see a vet. Not being active is a huge indicator that something is wrong.

They can be symptom free for quite awhile with nothing but the swollen belly, but eventually if it IS FIP, they will stop eating, stop playing, and often withdraw and even hide. At that stage, having the vet draw out a little fluid is pretty much diagnostic. The fluid has a viscous thick egg white consistency (not watery) and is straw-colored yellow (not clear or bloody). The fluid itself does not seem to cause pain, but the cause of the fluid is a reaction to the mutated corona virus attacking and destroying the organs, so eventually the sickness gets bad enough that you just can't ignore it. I am in agreement with you that you don't want to turn your cat into a feline pin cushion running multiple tests if FIP is likely, but the single withdrawal of fluid (which doesn't appear to be painful, I've been there and watched it) can spare you and your cat further suffering. If the fluid is not yellow and not thick, then it's not FIP and you need to search for other causes. My personal experience (far too much) with FIP is that if the cat or more often kitten has a background of being in a group situation (shelter, breeder, rescuer, any multi-cat situation), is under the age of 24 months, and has a growing swollen abdomen with loss of appetite and activity, if the vet gets that yellow fluid on a belly tap, I will euthanize the kitten that same day and not wait for it to get worse. Dry FIP is different and they can live with it quite awhile and it takes many forms, but the wet FIP usually moves very quickly, so by the time they stop eating, it will just go downhill from there. This is based on my personal experience with approximately 12 cases of FIP over 20 years of rescue.