Advice please - FIP or not?

timeforaction · Feb 17, 2015

Has anyone heard of this test, or had a vet try it? (Also provided is the description)

Rivalta’s Test: This is a test with which few veterinarians are familiar, but it can be helpful in the diagnosis of FIP. A test tube is filled with distilled water and one drop of 98% acetic acid is added. To this mixture one drop of effusion is added. If the drop dissipates, the test is negative. If the drop retains its shape, the test is positive. A negative Rivalta’s test is 97% accurate in ruling out FIP. A positive test is 86% accurate in ruling in FIP.

I also came across this video by Dr. Addie, which described a Rivalta test, but in it, she uses household vinegar. So I am a little confused at the percentages. Not sure if my vet has ever heard of this. Does anyone have info to share from their own experiences?

Here is a video:
I hear a high level stress event can bring about FIP is a cat already vulnerable. When treated for constipation (2 nights, three days) it was after that we noticed something else was wrong. He is a very gentle cat who stresses VERY easily, so it may be that if the corona virus was present, the hospital stay triggered it.

Cathy

timeforaction · Feb 22, 2015

Sadly, my other beautiful kitty, Captain PiCat, had to be put to sleep yesterday. So hard. After watching so many of his entertaining videos where his true personality shone through, it was a sad reminder how how far down he had gone. It was time. But it was not easy.

catmom69 · Feb 22, 2015

TimeForAction said:
Sadly, my other beautiful kitty, Captain PiCat, had to be put to sleep yesterday. So hard. After watching so many of his entertaining videos where his true personality shone through, it was a sad reminder how how far down he had gone. It was time. But it was not easy.
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My heart goes out to you because I know - in spades - exactly what you're going through. Two years ago, I lost two precious little ones to cancer within five months of each other. I thought I would never be able to bear the grief. Then I adopted four kittens from an animal shelter and, since I'm a senior citizen, I prepared to just sit back and enjoy as they outlived me. Unfortunately that may not turn out to be the case and here we go again.

It's been about three months since my last post about the possibility one of my new little sweethearts, Ayesha, had dry FIP. Since she is a very "dainty" diner who refuses to eat any dry food (except treats) and prefers to eat only small portions of moist foods at a time (leaving my other three babies to gobble up the leaving), I clung to the hope (and still do - sort of) that she was so thin because she wasn't getting enough to eat. Maybe I'm just deluding myself, but feeding her more often with a better quality of food seemed to help her gain a little bit of weight and more energy. Then, because she has never actually refused to eat or has ever had any diarrhea or vomiting - plus the fact her eye infection totally cleared up (after I switched to a more expensive
dustless litter) I really began to believe my former vet mixed her blood test up with that of another cat. Call me a craven coward, but I'm not about to have her retested, because if that's not the case it will absolutely send me into another downward spiral.

Not that I'm doing all that well emotionally anyway however. Yes! I did get a second opinion and a more inclusive blood test which ruled out a lot of other potential causes for her thinness but a fat lot of good that did for my mental wellbeing. As my new vet said, "Well, we know a lot more about what she doesn't have. However we still can't be sure (my addition: without spending an entire Trump-size fortune - if even that would do any good) whether she has FIP or something the second test can't diagnose."
Then, to ice the cake and add sprinkles, my vet won't even venture a guess and none of the zillions of articles I've read by "cat experts" seem to agree on
when cats have "survived" long enough to totally rule out the FIP possibility. BIGGEST HORROR? One guy wrote that a cat with dry FIP can live up to two years before expiring. Of course, I don't believe I could become any more attached to her between now and then and I will treasure every second I have with her. However, I am already beginning to sink into a well of frustration, worry and depression at the mere thought of that Sword of Damocles hanging over my
head for that length of time.

This whole experience has left me with one firm resolution. Although it pains me greatly to say so,
I will never never NEVER get another cat from a rescue shelter.

timeforaction · Feb 22, 2015

Oh my, that is so horrid what you are going through. Sometimes it just seems to be all or nothing. Although my cat Cream Puff had been of 'dainty health' off an on for some time, I NEVER anticipated anything with Captain PiCat (or for that matter, my dog Kiara, as she might have an eye tumour rather than Horner's Syndrome). We are hoping that what is driving it is an inner ear infection might be receptive to treatment. So ... at 4.25 per pill (3 a day for 30 days to weeks) it adds up!

I had never heard of FIP before, so when the vet told me that was the likely prognosis and that if that was the case, it was bad news, I was numb. It didn't help to hear that the other likelihoods were quite possibly equally dismal ... cancer or heart disease. Just didn't seem real given he was the picture of health. I so hope this works out for you. I am curious why they think it is dry FIP. I find that one even harder to pinpoint. My kitty ... wet FIP.

You sound like a lovely person. And they really are 'family'.

I did a little self-therapy today by creating a nice little video for each of my beautiful kitties. Here they are if you would like to meet my kitties in cyberspace, so to speak. The videos make me intermittently smile, and cry.

(Cream Puff)

(Captain Picat)

Cathy

catmom69 · Feb 27, 2015

Hi Cathy,

I was waiting to reply until after I watched your videos. But having no internet except my phone which doesn't handle videos well and the horrid weather making a trip to the library an impossibility at this time, that's not about to happen for a while.
I just wanted to say thanks for your kind words. I'm currently in a state of merely existing and every little bit of consolation helps.
I was also horrified to hear you're having health issues with your dog as well. I really don't understand! Having one animal in trouble is devastating, but why do such disasters seem to be either follow one right after another and/or hit all at once? Again, I know what you're going through and am praying your pooch pulls through and recovers.
I am also hoping that, since I can't get even a halfway decent answer from my vet or the internet, either you or someone else on the site can help answer my major questions. How long can a cat live before succumbing to FIP? And, are there any studies out there being conducted on the disease which can allow me to get the medication, PI, at little or no costs?

Thanks,
Claire

timeforaction · Mar 1, 2015

Hi there Claire, aka CatMom 69. I wish I had an answer to your questions, but it sounds like (relative to life span) each kitty is different and that varies likely with the type of FIP as well. I also wonder if age plays a role. And I am not really certain about dry FIP.

I am not sure if there is an organization out there that would help with costs. I know that the Dr. Addy site does studies, but I imagine she depends upon vets, etc. for her research as compared to it being publically funded. I am not sure though.

I do know that in future, I will keep the # of pets in the house somewhat 'less' as like many things, you need to anticipate possible expenses. As much as I got hit with a fair number of bills in the past 1.5 months, in the 'big scheme' of things, meaning over the years, I have been lucky. Most definitely the more pets we have, the higher the risk of incurred expenses.

t feels very strange to not have any cats in the house. But I must abide by the recommendation of my vet not to bring another cat into the house at the very least for a few months, in the chance that he virus remains viable n the house. I think my pooch is a little lonely.

My pooch's eye appears to look worse despite the meds, so it will likely be a trip back to the vets on Monday or Tuesday. P.S. I am environmental, and apparently, so is my pooch (see photo). These photos were taken before her eye went 'icky'.My dog has been a prop in numerous videos I have done.