FIP and contagion

Hi there,

This is my first time posting and I'm hoping to get some feedback regarding my current cat-status. Last Spring I lost a cat (basically to old age) and in July I adopted a kitten from a local rescue group. I had the kitten for 6 weeks along with my other cat who is currently 5 and in good health. After six weeks of conjunctivitis, colds and coccidia, the kitten began to display some difficulty breathing.

Short version of this is that he had a lot of pleural fluid and the most likely diagnosis was FIP. I won't go into the details of the week but it was emotionally wrenching at best.

Now I have been doing a lot of research on the question of when it is safe to bring another cat into the house. I have asked around and read opinions and I cannot find any concensus (answers ranged from 3 weeks to 1 year.) My current feeling is that there is no point in testing my surviving cat for the corona virus because it will not tell me much about the risk for FIP. Also, I have trouble with the notion that my home will become jinxed by this powerful virus. I've read postings suggesting that I wait as long as a year to adopt another cat and that I throw out my cat tree (which is no small matter...it's a huge cat tree.)

I don't want to live in denial but I struggle with where to draw the line. Life doesn't offer guarantees when you bring home any animal and part of me thinks that I want to strike a compromise. Wait a month or two and clean my house really well and give a quiet, happy home to a cat who is currently living in a cage or a foster home which can easily expose the cat to other illnesses anyway.

Would anyone be willing to weigh in on this? Has anyone had experiences with transmitted FIP that they could share?

I really appreciate the anticipated help with this.

L. Simone

Hi Simone,

I'm new here as well. I will tell you my FIP experience for what it's worth....

Four years ago, I had a Siamese who suddenly became deathly ill, and it turned out to be FIP. The only place he could have gotten it (we think) was from the so-called FIP vaccination! I've since read numerous articles advising never to use this stuff, but too late for him. We still had his sister and two other cats - a Maine Coon and an "alley cat." A year and a half later, no one had shown any sign of the virus. We asked our vet if he thought it was safe to bring in kittens and he thought yes. So we got two more Siamese. Only three months later, the older female Siamese developed FIP, thus exposing the kittens to the virus.

The other two cats never developed the virus, or showed any sign of it. Both have passed on now, but neither one died of anything vaguely resembling FIP. I never had them tested because all it would show of course is that they had antibodies to the virus.

I waited another two years before I brought in another kitten. So far everything has been okay, but honestly I am afraid there is no "safety zone." I actually had an FIP scare just last week -- one of my Siamese got very ill with unspecific symptoms, but he is responding well to antibiotics, so we think/pray it is just an infection. (Thank God!) There is just no way to ever know once that damned virus has been let loose if you will ever be free of it as long as you have one cat who was exposed.

But if it were me, I would wait an absolute minimum of a year before I brought in another cat. Two is probably better. The consensus of articles I've read indicates that most cats who were exposed will either develop the disease and die within a few weeks, or fight it off. Unfortunately, there is always the small percentage who become latent carriers and as I understand it, there is no way to tell one from another. My vet tells me that there are some new and better blood tests on the horizon. When/if those are developed, I will definitely screen my cats with them!

I hope this helps in some way and doesn't further confuse the issue....

Karen

You are absolutely right that there is a range of opinions about FIP. I lost an 18 month old cat (Boris) to what was thought to be FIP - lots of pleural fluid like yours. At the time, I had 6 other cats, 3 of which were so close to Boris that they were constantly grooming, sleeping together, shared everything with him, and Boris actually used to nurse off of one of the older cats.

None of the other cats ever exhibited any signs of FIP, and those cats have lived with lots of other cats (the cats in my household now lived with the exposed cats for years).

My vet's opinion is that most cats are actually exposed to the virus at some time in their lives. If you were to do a titer count on cats, most would show some exposure levels. But unless the cat is somehow genetically pre-disposed for it to turn to full blown FIP, most cats will shake it off.

Personally, I don't feel threatened by it. The way that cats find their way into my house (usually dumped or born feral), they are exposed before they arise. If you adopt a cat from a shelter, chances are it is already exposed and nothing in your environment will add to it.

Just my opinion.

Originally Posted by simone

Hi there,

This is my first time posting and I'm hoping to get some feedback regarding my current cat-status. Last Spring I lost a cat (basically to old age) and in July I adopted a kitten from a local rescue group. I had the kitten for 6 weeks along with my other cat who is currently 5 and in good health. After six weeks of conjunctivitis, colds and coccidia, the kitten began to display some difficulty breathing.

Short version of this is that he had a lot of pleural fluid and the most likely diagnosis was FIP. I won't go into the details of the week but it was emotionally wrenching at best.

Now I have been doing a lot of research on the question of when it is safe to bring another cat into the house. I have asked around and read opinions and I cannot find any concensus (answers ranged from 3 weeks to 1 year.) My current feeling is that there is no point in testing my surviving cat for the corona virus because it will not tell me much about the risk for FIP. Also, I have trouble with the notion that my home will become jinxed by this powerful virus. I've read postings suggesting that I wait as long as a year to adopt another cat and that I throw out my cat tree (which is no small matter...it's a huge cat tree.)

I don't want to live in denial but I struggle with where to draw the line. Life doesn't offer guarantees when you bring home any animal and part of me thinks that I want to strike a compromise. Wait a month or two and clean my house really well and give a quiet, happy home to a cat who is currently living in a cage or a foster home which can easily expose the cat to other illnesses anyway.

Would anyone be willing to weigh in on this? Has anyone had experiences with transmitted FIP that they could share?

I really appreciate the anticipated help with this.

L. Simone

Click to expand...

I have experienced it... And working for a vet, they said wait one month, if your cats don't show any signs go ahead a bring the new cat in!!!

i lost a cat to FIP 2 1/2 years ago - the odd part was I had a 5 yo and an 11 yo, and it was the 5 yo that became ill. The first vet told me to get the other cat tested, when I tried to make the app I was told it wasn't worth it - he has only had to have dentals and a fatty lump removed, healthiest cat I have owned. I wasn't told to wait a certain length of time, but it ended up being 4 months before I got another cat. She had liver probs, and when she saw the new vet in Dec, she asked about FIP, and I was then told I should have waited 6 months before bringing a new cat in.

I have not had experience with this particular problem so I can offer no advice. However I hope you find the answer. Good luck to you.

I lost Mattie, Festus' jet black sister, to FIP. The vet did not test Festus or Garfield, who were very close with Mattie. Mattie was quarantined for the last weeks, and I did not let the others back into that room for 6 months.

My understanding is that coronavirus is very contagious, and most multicat households have been exposed. But coronavirus rarely mutates into FIP. That said, I am very cautious, and it would break my heart to have another FIP case. In your shoes, I would wait 6 months and then adopt from a multicat household, like a foster kitten.

Condolences on your loss, I know how heartbreaking it can be!

After losing Tank to FIP, I took it upon myself to conduct a major research operation on FIP. I was at first startled and then frustrated to realize that there was quite a bit of information available, but very little of it agreed with each other.

From my understanding, FIP is a rare mutation of an extremely common corona virus. I had two cats at the time, brother and sister. Tank (the brother) got very ill and was eventually diagnosed with FIP and we put him to rest. His sister, however, remained unscathed by the virus. I, too, was very concerned about her; I could not imagine going through everything that I went through with Tank again. It is nothing short of devastating to watch your baby fade before your eyes and know you can't do anything to stop it except putting him to rest.

Tank and his sister shared litter boxes, food and water bowls, they slept together all the time, groomed each other regularly, and played together. But for whatever reason, he fell ill and she stayed healthy.

I don't have any research to back up my suggestion, as you have already seen how much it varies. But my opinion is very similar to Momofmany's- if you are considering adopting (as I understand you are?) from a shelter or foster home, this future kitten has more than likely already been exposed to the virus that may cause FIP. I don't believe that your house is cursed. I know that you would like to avoid any kind or reoccurance of your past experience, but I don't think that your house will make another kitten sick. Your existing cat may be a latent carrier, but that is something that you won't know until you bring another cat into your house.

I know this is a difficult decision for you, as your heart is just as confused as your mind. I am very sorry for your loss; I know how devastating and painful it is. There are far too many questions for the lack of reliable answers available.

Hi just reading this thread.

How did your Vet(s) actually diagnose FIP?

I went to 6 different vets and one "guessed/ agreed" with me that from my research and his symptoms, that it could be dry FIP.

All the Vets... I still don't know if the Corona virus is definitely in my cat(s) / house.

I had to make the decision myself to have him put down, last week just after his 2nd B-day.

This brother has always been a strange one... but misses him terribly.

He is either totally depressed or starting the neurological (sp) beginnings of FIP.

Long story... Vets won't tell me unless I go in again... $70 - $200 to walk in the door.

Hope I made the right decision to have him put down...

 

they offered no drugs, less some herbal anti-anxiety meds that made both cats throw up.

I am sorry about your kitty.

There is no way to be 100 percent sure of a diagnosis with FIP, even more difficult with the dry form.  It's a combination of clinical signs, history especially with the dry form and blood work results that are strong indicators of FIP.  You were offered no treatments because there are none.  There are a few holistic practitioners that will offer treatments but none of them have withstood the testing to prove that they have any positive effect on the course of the disease.

My sincere condolences on your loss.  I know first hand how horrible this disease is.  From my experience with Darcy, there's no way to diagnose it unless there is a necropsy after the fact.  However, with Darcy, all the tests (and her symptoms) pointed to FIP.  My vet told me that there was no reason to get my other cat tested because Darcy would have had the corona virus before we brought her into our house, and that's what is contagious. She did a lot of research when she first started looking at Darcy and never told us for sure that it was, but most likely was. I was freaked out at first thinking that I had probably killed my other cat Swanie by bring Darcy into our home, but  both by my vet and the shelter where we got Darcy told us that by the time we got her, she was not contagious with the virus and FIP itself is not contagious. They also told us that there was no need to wait any particular length of time to get another cat.  I think we waited maybe a month before getting Cricket, and she is (cross fingers) healthy so far.5

kkmauss said:

Four years ago, I had a Siamese who suddenly became deathly ill, and it turned out to be FIP. The only place he could have gotten it (we think) was from the so-called FIP vaccination! I've since read numerous articles advising never to use this stuff, but too late for him. We still had his sister and two other cats - a Maine Coon and an "alley cat." A year and a half later, no one had shown any sign of the virus. We asked our vet if he thought it was safe to bring in kittens and he thought yes. So we got two more Siamese. Only three months later, the older female Siamese developed FIP, thus exposing the kittens to the virus.

Click to expand...

I  didn't think there was  FIP vaccine?  From what the vet told me, they don't know what causes the virus to mutate, so they can't come up with a vaccine for it.

Beckiboo said:

My understanding is that coronavirus is very contagious, and most multicat households have been exposed. But coronavirus rarely mutates into FIP. That said, I am very cautious, and it would break my heart to have another FIP case. In your shoes, I would wait 6 months and then adopt from a multicat household, like a foster kitten.

Click to expand...

My Darcy was a foster kitten, born into the rescue program.  None of her siblings got FIP (although I'm sure they must have all been exposed to the corona virus.)  No one seems to know why some cats get .it and some are okay.  It's a horrible, horrible disease that no kitten should ever have to suffer with.

Here's a link a cat rescue site sent me:

http://www.maddiesfund.org/feline-infectious-peritonitis.htm?p=fbde927d-b340-4cab-f472-040a5a8e32cd

Late for work! Thanks for your input.

I have more research papers by Vets, about meds thought to help.

But I still never had a definite FIP diagnosis, seem some of the above posters did , before death?

Never had the fluid issue, so that would have been more visible, obviously that the dry form.

Thank You!

God bless all the kitties that have passed before their time.

RIP little Sweet Sushi

This veterian cured FIP in one cat, here is a case study:

http://www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/fipcase.html

Here is her complete research on FIP and recommended treatment:

http://www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/fip.html

Thanks for you input!

 post #2 (the recent study) blew my mind!

Still have to take some time to deeply & properly read & digest.

Sad brother still alive, thought all was getting better before work today.

Came home and just a couple dry poos & a tiny bit of pee in litter box.

This is in 24 hours... stress or? 

Then our neighbor's loose cat, not feral just a stupid neighbor,

came to the glass front door, and tried to start a fight w/ my sad indoor cat, have not seen him since the winter,  as my cat(s) enjoy watching our neighborhood skunk family, so leave front door open (glass part shut), until I go to bed, for them all to interact... known all since mom came by w'/ babies, knew mom since she was a baby.

Every neighbor on both sides and across also has acquired a dog in the past weekend. 

New neighbors next door, moved in w/ dog, our forever neighbors other side (said they were thinking about getting about a dog last month, and asked if we would go 1/2' s on a fence for their dog).

What! NO! politely.

No Fence, new dog !?! Surprise! 

Obviously they don't think we will do anything.

If stress accelerates this FIP, then cat poor  #2 is sure to get it!

If humans can ever acquire it, I will patient zero!

Less these are all large loose dogs, could knock down my elderly parents in a second.

It is the LAW to keep all dogs confined on their property, or on a leash.