FIP vaccine - administration?

I know that there's quite a bit of controversy surrounding the effectiveness of this vaccine, but, after some research, I decided to go with it for Jamie from the very beginning, since he tested negative for the Corona virus as a kitten. ZsaZsa has been exposed to the virus, so I haven't been having her vaccinated against it, although she's an indoor/outdoor cat. FIP is a major killer here.
My question is: How do your vets administer it? The "normal" manner is nose drops, which completely freak Jamie out. I took him for his annual exam and shots today, and the vets only managed to administer half the nose drops before he got really vicious. They therefore put the remaining drops in the inside corners of his eyes, saying that that would also be effective, as the vaccine would make its way into his nasal cavities. Fine - I know enough about anatomy to accept that, but it got me wondering why, then, that the nose drops are given? Do I have to assume that the eye drops offer less protection?
Both vets recommended today that ZsaZsa also get the vaccination. Jamie has to have his teeth cleaned next Friday, so I can easily take her in, too, for the FIP vaccine (her other inoculations are up to date). How many of you have had their Corona-virus-positive cats inoculated against FIP?

When my cat got well from a FIP scare, because she's an infoor cat only, my vet recommended no shots at all. (she's positive for corona virus). Its been 2 years and she's never had any shots for anything. I don't know if thats good either. Good luck

Sorry, no help here...I refuse to use this vaccine. I won't list any links or articles, because I know you are a good researcher and have already made your decision. I will be reading this thread with curiosity to see how many say "yes" to your question!

My cat is corona negative. Also indoor. I wouldn't vaccinate him against FIP. From what I understand, vaccine is not effective, but then I didn't do any extensive research on it.

There is ~so~ much conflicting information out there about it and so for me, the jury is still out. But from what I have read and from conversations with my vets, I don't give this vaccine and I don't allow my kitten buyers to vaccinate my kittens with it either. If they do, they are in violation of my sales agreement and it completely voids the kitten's health guarantee.

All that now being said ... there is something I remember reading and I am really wracking my brain trying to remember what and where it was, but it said that false negatives are common and should not be relied upon - it is next to impossible for cats not to have been exposed to the Corona viruses and so a negative titer is usually a false reading ... I will try to find it for you.

I know Zoey didnt get this my vet didnt think it nessasary .... I have no idea about Kandie she is 17 so it is hard to know... I trust my vet since he said to give the minimum of vaccines ... rabies and some 3 in one

Originally Posted by jcat

<snip>ZsaZsa has been exposed to the virus, so I haven't been having her vaccinated against it, although she's an indoor/outdoor cat. FIP is a major killer here.
<snip>Both vets recommended today that ZsaZsa also get the vaccination. <snip>How many of you have had their Corona-virus-positive cats inoculated against FIP?

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This tickled my brain, so I went to an article I trust - click here for Winn Foundation Article it states that there is no efficacy of this vaccine for cats tested positive for Feline Corona Virus (I assume they mean feline enteric corona virus, which many cats test positive for and have been exposed to). I don't understand why both your vets would still recommend that ZsaZsa be vaccinated with this?

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

This tickled my brain, so I went to an article I trust - click here for Winn Foundation Article it states that there is no efficacy of this vaccine for cats tested positive for Feline Corona Virus (I assume they mean feline enteric corona virus, which many cats test positive for and have been exposed to). I don't understand why both your vets would still recommend that ZsaZsa be vaccinated with this?

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Orders from above, meaning the county veterinarian wants all indoor/outdoor cats in our town to be vaccinated because there is an epidemic, presumably being caused by a very potent mutated corona virus. All the "wet" form. Instead of about 1% of the cat population getting FIP, and those cases being in catteries/shelters, our town is running about 10% this year, and it's among "only" cats or those living with just one or two other cats. That's what I meant about it being a major killer. I've been restricting Jamie's walks to the backyard, cleaning up any cat feces I find before taking him out, and pouring bleach on the spots, which is really irking my husband.
This is a desperate measure, IMO; I can see highly recommending that cats that test negative twice be vaccinated, but not any and all cats. I'm going to take ZsaZsa in to be tested again, but if she tests positive a second time, which is extremely (say 99.9%) likely, I don't know what to do. The way things stand right now, thanks to our fearless "Chief Veterinarian", you can't board any cats that haven't been vaccinated, so if she needs to be boarded at a vet's for medical reasons, it won't be possible. That's the reason my vets are saying I should get it done. She's a roamer, so the chances of her being hit by a car or injured by another animal are high. The one vet informed me that she often sees ZsaZsa at the stables where she boards her horse, which are over a mile away. Not to mention that she still tries to approach Jamie, and promptly gets attacked when she gets too close.
This guy has not only made rabies inoculations mandatory, which was reasonable, because there have been three cases in the county this year, but also started a big killing spree of foxes and martens. I wonder if he realizes that there's a big difference between the two vaccines?

Ah...now I understand. Oh boy

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

Ah...now I understand. Oh boy

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Oh boy is right. I don't mind putting out the money, even if the vaccine is totally useless in her case. I'm just wondering if the extra viral load will be too much on her. It's basically a matter of weighing that risk against the risk of her getting a major illness/injury that requires boarding.
My vets did show me the current "guidelines", which include doing "emergency FIP inoculations" of all cats in multicat households where there has been an FIP fatality. Supposedly that has been "effective", but I'd say it's inconclusive, since we're talking about a period of about 8 months.
Viruses are really scary. When we moved here, with a dog and a cat, Parvo was totally unknown. Within three years, it had become a major problem. I think this is happening with the Corona virus - I've noticed an awful lot of posts about FIP on German cat boards recently, and unfortunately many of the posters are from areas far away from here.

Well I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers, what a stressfull time. It's a nasty disease that I am grateful I've never personally dealt with.

I do sympathise with you, as i have had a cat with FIP, i had to make the pts decision 2 weeks after diagnosis and from what i have read since, i was lucky to have her that long (Although if i had to do it again, i would make the decision sooner, as she was barely eating and got depressed due to being kept in a room by herself). I know someone one another board posted a link about FIP (might still have it somewhere) which said that FIP can actually be triggered by the cats body overacting, so isnt necessarily 'caught', which would make me wonder if a vaccine would work.

Originally Posted by booktigger

I do sympathise with you, as i have had a cat with FIP, i had to make the pts decision 2 weeks after diagnosis and from what i have read since, i was lucky to have her that long (Although if i had to do it again, i would make the decision sooner, as she was barely eating and got depressed due to being kept in a room by herself). I know someone one another board posted a link about FIP (might still have it somewhere) which said that FIP can actually be triggered by the cats body overacting, so isnt necessarily 'caught', which would make me wonder if a vaccine would work.

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I'm sorry about your cat. The more I read/hear about this disease, the more I dread it.
According to the current literature, the vaccine is between 60% and 70% effective in cats that tested negative. The policy around here has been to test kittens at 10 or 12 weeks, and then a second time at 16 weeks, and vaccinate them if the second test is also negative. If the mother tests positive, the kittens are given the vaccine earlier.
It's the change in policy that has me worried. Going out and culling so many foxes and martens after three cases of rabies was overkill, since bait with oral rabies vaccine has been put out here annually for almost two decades. I think this guy is overreacting - people want results, and there's nothing available other than the Primucell. I did get a couple of replies from people on a German board discussing FIP cases. There are some areas here where the FIP vaccine has been made a "core" vaccine, because of a high incidence of cases, but only for cats that have tested negative.
I hope we're not brewing some kind of super Corona virus here.

Can you get a second opinion from another vet?

I lost Mattie to FIP last summer, and the vet never even did a coronavirus titer on Festus and Garfield, because he said they would certainly test positive since they were together. They both are healthy, althought Garfield sneezes alot, due to feline herpes virus.

Now I have a litter of foster kittens who I am afraid to let out of the kitten room due to fear of coronavirus/FIP. They may already have it from their Momma, but I would rather keep them in one room until they can be rehomed.

FIP is a scary illness. Best of luck with Jamie and ZsaZsa. Festus spent lots of time with Mattie, cleaning her and sleeping with her before I knew it was FIP, and she is doing just fine!

Originally Posted by Beckiboo

Can you get a second opinion from another vet?

I lost Mattie to FIP last summer, and the vet never even did a coronavirus titer on Festus and Garfield, because he said they would certainly test positive since they were together. They both are healthy, althought Garfield sneezes alot, due to feline herpes virus.

Now I have a litter of foster kittens who I am afraid to let out of the kitten room due to fear of coronavirus/FIP. They may already have it from their Momma, but I would rather keep them in one room until they can be rehomed.

FIP is a scary illness. Best of luck with Jamie and ZsaZsa. Fests spent lots of time with Mattie, cleaning her and sleeping with her before I knew it was FIP, and she is doing just fine!

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A second opinion won't do any good, because the boarding regulations apply to the entire county now. Just for the h**k of it, I called the animal hospital where ZsaZsa was operated on last year, because it's outside our county, and asked if they'd board her if it became necessary. The email reply I finally got after several hours said, "No, we will not board cats from R-M county that haven't been vaccinated against FIP." So we're pariahs, and my town and two neighboring towns seem to be the eye of the hurricane. Jamie tested negative for Corona twice as a kitten, and has been getting the Primucell vaccine annually ever since. Hopefully he'll be okay if confined to the backyard. ZsaZsa's test results at 4 years of age were "negligible", but because that was still positive, I was told the vaccine would be ineffective in her case. She'll be 6 next month, so not at an "at-risk" age. My understanding of the matter is that the veterinary board thinks they're dealing with a new kind of FIP, and that they hope or believe that the vaccine offers some protection.
I have talked to ZsaZsa's other owner, and she thinks we should just get her vaccinated.