Is it really FIP?

First a little background....I first brought Figaro home from the breeder at 7 weeks old. He is a beautiful silver maine coon! He was limping when we let him out of the crate. I thought he might have pulled a nail on the metal door. The next day, he was limping on a different foot. I called the breeder and asked if she had noticed him limping, her reply was "no". The next day, he was acting depressed and limping on a different foot, so I took him to my vet, where he was discovered to have a fever, and thought he probably just had a virus. He had no other symptoms. After a few days, he did recover. I did a search on the internet for kittens with his symptoms, and discover an illness called kitten limping syndrome. This usually appeared after the first immunization, the kittens immune system appear not to fully contain the live virus and it spreads to the joints, eventually the symptoms disappear.

I decide to change vets and go to a cat only vet for Figaro's next set of shots. On the exam, he looked great but did have a fever, vet thought maybe stressed induced. He was febrile on his subsequent visits for his shots as well.

At 9 months of age, I brought him for a well kitten visit, and the vet found an abdominal mass, the only symptom he had was the fever. The vet was thinking lymphoma, I thought this was very unlikely due to his age. He had sonograms, a needle biopsy that only showed inflammatory cells. He had a multitude of infectious disease testing, all of which was negative, including coronavirus. He had additional testing, which showed that lymphoma was unlikely. I was unwilling to put him though an exploratory laparotomy for biopsies.

At this point the vet was thinking IBD, but he never had and diarrhea or vomiting, the only symptoms were the abdominal mass (enlarged lymph nodes) and the fever.

Thanks for hanging in with me, sorry this is so long. Anyway, he was getting monthly checks, and 2 months ago, his weight did not change. He should still be gaining weight since Maine coons don't mature until around 2 years of age. The vet decided to start him on steroids, to help with his appetite and inflammation. Still no other symptoms except fever.

We bring him back a month later, his weight is the same, his appetite is down. He has no fever!! I guess the steroid is working. We start him on Cerenia, and add A/D cat food. The vet states this may be FIP. I am heartbroken, I lost another Maine Coon 18 years ago to FIP, not fun!

This past month, his appetite is better, still no fever, has gained 3 ounces, and the mass is gone! The vet still thinks maybe FIP, but she is less sure than before.

Does anyone have any ideas? THANKS!

Lisa

Hi there and welcome!

I do not see where vet is thinking fip.

Wasn't he tested for coronavirus? Was that negative?

If so, it is not even remotely possible for fip to be considered.

Even if pos, it doesn't sound like fip, nor IBD. The fever of an unknown origin is the one and only thing in common with fip.

Surely he had calici/limping syndrome.

There is something else that needs exploring, and I don't mean literally. I mean considered as a possibility.

My concern is breeders. It doesn't matter how many great reviews they have, there are things done that are not detected like inter breeding cats, overbreeding from the same blood lines, etc. that can cause all sorts of issues.

When you don't feel satisfied with one vet, try another. Vets vary a tremendous amt.

So how long did he have a fever? Even more important, was he given antibiotics for this, and did the fever respond at all?

Thanks for your response.  He has had fever ever since we got him at 7 weeks of age.  He is now 15 months old.  He did have a couple of rounds of antibiotics, no real change.  He was negative for Coronavirus, the vet thought that maybe it was a false negative due to an immune complex formation, where the virus is bound to proteins.  It has been 6 months since the abdominal mass was discovered (now resolved).  He really has not progressed in anyway, no weight loss (though no weight gain either), still playful and bright eyed.

Is this long presentation typical of FIP?  I am wondering if he has some type of primary immune mediated disease, especially with his response to his initial set of immunizations.  Maybe an immune mediated arthritis, which can present with fevers, decreased appetite, lymphadenopathy, and some stiffness.  He does seem a little stiff with his rear legs, and he dislikes being touched.  This can be from FCV, which we thought to have caused his initial problem at 7 weeks of age.

Thanks!

Lisa

Between the negative coronavirus test and the extremely long period here, in my experience, absolutely NOT fip.

That said, which is great in itself simply because of the 100% outcome of fip being death, this really requires finding a specialist and figuring out what is going on here.

Could be easily fixable/treatable but may progress too, it does need identifying.

BTW-great name!

Another Lisa

Ask if the immunology included tick diseases such as lyme, ehrlichiosis, babseosis, and if not, get it done - tick disease can present symptoms you've been describing.  If not, see a new vet (should see one anyway, Figaro is not showing signs of FIP).

I would also press the breeder for any information on any of her other cats, particularly any of Figaro's siblings and if those owners have brought to her attention any health issues in their kittens.