FIP and/or pneumonia???

[nowonder]

The first two went to the vet, and the first one was assumed FIP based on all symptoms. The second one showed FIP the last few hours before he died. The third one was full of the yellow fluid as well. The vets have said nothing can be done with FIP and that all we can do is what we are doing: sub q's, amoxi drops, pedialyte, syringe feeding, and nutrical, etc... We have three very sick ones now, three others that are doing better but still getting amoxi drops, and just watching around for any others, which a few are showing some signs. All we can do is watch, try to give them a boost and special care, and go from there. The only food I use is Purina cat chow, which has never been an issue. One time I switched to 9 lives with a lot of dye in it, and one of my cats got very sick but we didn't know from what. But Purina is all we use ( we were going through almost a 18 pound bag a day with all the cats indoors and out). Right now everyone seems to be eating less, I think they know things around here are not right and they may be stressed. We gave alot of them the b-complex one night and they were all very calm and quiet. This virus definetely seems airborne or very highly contagious through contact, the vet has even said it can be tracked from dogs or people as they walk through the house. Am trying to keep things very clean, am using clorox cleaner to distenfect (where I was originally using Windex to clean crates but would have done nothing with this virus.) It is likely the FIP virus. I am just wondering what are the symptoms of Corona Virus before it turns to FIP. WOuld there have been signs prior to the actual FIP outbreak?? If it wasn't so cold here I would open all the windows and air out the rooms. I wonder if the virus would be less if it was in the summer with the windows open? Whatever has happened here, we are just trying to do what we can to help each one to the best of our capacity....I looked into the FIP support groups on Yahoo that someone here mentioned-and there seems to be a few with similar experiences. The problem is since it is viral it can not be treated, making it almost always fatal.

 

[wingss2fly]

I had 2 toy poodle pups go from PARVO, same type thing.
We had taken them to a city where the vets in that city says it lives in the ground, we had not had them to the vet yet because we did not know how young shots should have been given. They were 12 weeks when we lost them. My heart goes out to you, I am so sorry for all of this mess. I know you have been doing everything under the sun. Bless you.

 

[misskitties]

The only true way to find out if it was FIP is to have an autopsy done. Did you have one done on any of the cats that passed away?
My sweet kitten died from a supposed case of FIP in October. The vet did take some fluid out of his stomach to see if it was characteristic of that of FIP. It was, but there was no way for him to test it. Even blood work is not a definite test. This is because most cats have the virus that turns into FIP. Yet, this virus doesn't mutate into FIP in most cats. The blood work only detects the mother virus, not FIP itself. So you can have a perfectly healthy cat and an FIP positive cat show the same results in the bloodwork. You can send the fluid away to be tested (at least, I had to do that with my vet), but it's still very inconclusive. The only way to tell is after the cat dies, unfortunately. I didn't have any further testing done on the fluids because it was rather expensive and my vet said it wouldn't really tell us anything. Even if it wasn't FIP, the vet had no clue what it was and didn't know what to do for my cat.
The symptoms in my cat began about a week after he was neutered. I thought he just has a little infection or cold. He just seemed a little less active. Gradually, he became even less active, pale (he was white, so his skin already looks pale to begin with), and then he began eating and drinking very little. I tend to overract with animal illnesses, so I thought I'd just watch him and see how he did (to make sure I wasn't imagining things, as I'm a worry wart). When I took him in, they said he probably had FIP. They pointed out his bloated belly (which I hadn't noticed). It didn't look overly bloated as the pictures I've looked up of FIP cats online. Anyway, my poor baby stopped eating and drinking completely within a day or two. He passed away a week after the diagnosis.
In my research of this disease, I found that FIP itself is not believed to be contagious. It is the mother virus, the coronavirus, that is contagious. It is spread through feces. They shed the virus in the feces and it is spread by sharing of the litter box. This is why so many cats carry the coronavirus. It mutates into FIP in individual cats based on various things, such as stress, surgery, etc. I think it is odd that two of your cats died from it and others possibly have it in such a short span of time. It is supposedly a pretty rare disease. Unless they all carried the coronavirus and experienced some traumatic event that caused it to mutate into FIP, I don't understand how all of the cats could now have this deadly illness. Plus, when a cat is already in the FIP stages, they are not thought to be contagious. It's just strange that the virus would mutate in several cats at the same time. I think it could be something else, but I'm sorry that I don't know what it could be. I hope you find out so that you can keep the others healthy.

 

[nowonder]

Am not sure how much of what is going on is FIP or just the corona virus. Am currently treating seven with amoxi drops. Three have improved, are eating and playing like normal. Two of the three that were very sick, are improving a little, eating and drinking a bit more, and one made a normal poop, unlike the really bad diarreah that they have had. There is one little one who is struggling a bit, the sister of Smudgee who did not make it. And then the last one was not eating or drinking a few days back, but is now doing a bit better. I don't know if it is the amoxi that helps, or just the virus circluating. It really is unclear who has what, or if there is a secondary issue going on. Back in November, a few cats ended up with this really bad diarreah. At the time I figured it would pass, but now I am wondering if that couldn't possibly be the beginning of the Corona virus, which could have been brewing all along. Also, did bring in two cats and five kittens since late October. One cat was very sick to start, so it is possible any one of them are carriers. Or it could be someone who was here previously that was a carrier. Or it could have come in through me having contact with it somewhere when feeding the ferals/strays/outdoors. I don't really know. Am trying to continue to stay on top of keeping litters clean, crates clean, limiting/eliminating each groups contact with other groups, etc...It also seems like keeping stress for them to a minimum is very important. This is the first night that I am done before 5am doing antibiotics and sub q's. This has been a very long week, doesn't even seem like what happened was real. All we can do is try to do the best we can to try to help our cats be okay!

 

[zoeysmom]

Can you speak with your vet about maybe getting a different antibiotic for them? Something a little bit stronger (even Clavomax?).

Amoxil did nothing for Zoey....with Clavomax she made good improvements. I'm guessing that it was the Clavomax that made the difference, because within a day of not being on it anymore, she took a rapid decline.

Different things will work for different cats, but everything I have read about Amoxil indicates that it is pretty weak.

 

[misskitties]

Originally Posted by nowonder

Am not sure how much of what is going on is FIP or just the corona virus. Am currently treating seven with amoxi drops. Three have improved, are eating and playing like normal. Two of the three that were very sick, are improving a little, eating and drinking a bit more, and one made a normal poop, unlike the really bad diarreah that they have had. There is one little one who is struggling a bit, the sister of Smudgee who did not make it. And then the last one was not eating or drinking a few days back, but is now doing a bit better. I don't know if it is the amoxi that helps, or just the virus circluating. It really is unclear who has what, or if there is a secondary issue going on. Back in November, a few cats ended up with this really bad diarreah. At the time I figured it would pass, but now I am wondering if that couldn't possibly be the beginning of the Corona virus, which could have been brewing all along. Also, did bring in two cats and five kittens since late October. One cat was very sick to start, so it is possible any one of them are carriers. Or it could be someone who was here previously that was a carrier. Or it could have come in through me having contact with it somewhere when feeding the ferals/strays/outdoors. I don't really know. Am trying to continue to stay on top of keeping litters clean, crates clean, limiting/eliminating each groups contact with other groups, etc...It also seems like keeping stress for them to a minimum is very important. This is the first night that I am done before 5am doing antibiotics and sub q's. This has been a very long week, doesn't even seem like what happened was real. All we can do is try to do the best we can to try to help our cats be okay!

I doubt the illnesses the cats are displaying are coronavirus. The coronavirus really only shows clinical signs around the time of transmission. If your other cats died from FIP, I'm sure the cats that are alive already have the coronavirus. Even if they don't have it, it seems odd that they'd all contract it at the exact same time and have these symptoms. Plus, when the virus does show clinical signs, which is rare, it is usually just mild diarrhea and/or some minor upper respiratory symptoms, such as sneezing. I doubt they'd get as sick as what you're describing. I'm not a vet, so don't take my word for it. I just did extensive research on FIP and the coronavirus when my cat was diagnosed with FIP.
I truly hope this is something that can be cured and won't claim any more lives. I also really hope someone can find out what this is.

 

[threecatowner]

No matter WHAT this is, it sounds like you are doing a bang-up job trying to fix it. Here's hoping you and the kitties have turned the corner...

 

[kluchetta]

I am so glad to hear that Amoxil might be helping!

No matter what it is, if that works, keep it up!

 

[carolina]

how are the kitties going? are they better? I hope no more incidents...

 

[nowonder]

Thank for asking carolinalima and for the vibes. We are still continuing to treat seven with amoxi drops. Minnie, Mickey, and Chickie are doing good, Blackie, Sour, and Beige are also good. They are all eating and drinking and acting more like themselves. Little Sadie baby is still having trouble. We are giving her sub q's daily, nutrical, pedialyte, and chicken baby food. She is eating a little on her own but not enough to build her up so we give her the baby food. She is very small and thin, but VERY stubborn and strong-willed. She uses all her energy to fight us just to give her what she needs. I am continuing to try to keep all litter boxes and crates very clean, keep groups seperated when they have their out time, and giving some extra can food and felivite for extra nutrition. We are hoping this sickness is leaving our house and leaving all of our cats alone! Hopefully, it will be gone! Will continue the amoxi a little longer, and continue to watch everyone. We were so busy treating and trying to prevent further problems, that the reality of having lost the first three is just so unbearable to even think of. The little Sadie baby may be struggling more because she lost her sister and half sister from this. So I think she may be grieving as well making it more difficult for a quicker recovery. We are lucky (to say the least) that we were able to get this far with helping as much as we did, considering they all had the exact symptoms of the three with the FIP. We are just continuing to say our prayers that this can be over. And thank you everyone who did say prayers and good vibes-because it was much needed and still is, for this illness to be completely gone...Thanks!

 

[carolina]

Originally Posted by nowonder

Thank for asking carolinalima and for the vibes. We are still continuing to treat seven with amoxi drops. Minnie, Mickey, and Chickie are doing good, Blackie, Sour, and Beige are also good. They are all eating and drinking and acting more like themselves. Little Sadie baby is still having trouble. We are giving her sub q's daily, nutrical, pedialyte, and chicken baby food. She is eating a little on her own but not enough to build her up so we give her the baby food. She is very small and thin, but VERY stubborn and strong-willed. She uses all her energy to fight us just to give her what she needs. I am continuing to try to keep all litter boxes and crates very clean, keep groups seperated when they have their out time, and giving some extra can food and felivite for extra nutrition. We are hoping this sickness is leaving our house and leaving all of our cats alone! Hopefully, it will be gone! Will continue the amoxi a little longer, and continue to watch everyone. We were so busy treating and trying to prevent further problems, that the reality of having lost the first three is just so unbearable to even think of. The little Sadie baby may be struggling more because she lost her sister and half sister from this. So I think she may be grieving as well making it more difficult for a quicker recovery. We are lucky (to say the least) that we were able to get this far with helping as much as we did, considering they all had the exact symptoms of the three with the FIP. We are just continuing to say our prayers that this can be over. And thank you everyone who did say prayers and good vibes-because it was much needed and still is, for this illness to be completely gone...Thanks!

Lots of vibes for little Sadie, I hope she makes a full recovery. Lots of vibes for you as well, to keep strong in doing this amazing and courageous job you have been doing with these kitties... I ma so sorry for all the horror you went through, and hope this will be COMPLETELY over soon! Apparently things are well on their way!

 

[nowonder]

Am still doing a lot of research about FIP,trying to understand what
has just happened here. For something that is so "uncommon" it seems
like there are way too many cases that are showing of FIP. I just
found this website that has a fund for FIP research. I don't know if
everyone already knows about this,but I will post the link anyway...

http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/Pages/BriaFund.html

 

[misskitties]

^ That is a very good foundation. I want to contribute to them in honor of my dear boy who recently passed away from FIP (as soon as I have any money to contribute, of course).

And I agree, for supposedly being such a "rare" disease, I've seen many many many cases of it on online forums and it seems that many people I know in real life have experience with it. I read that about 5% of cats with the corona virus will get FIP, but it seems to me that it is a larger % than that. Maybe it just seems that way because so many people going through it or who have experience with it post their stories in places such as this.
I also heard that it is believed that what is supposedly FIP might often be a misdiagnosis. Since the symptoms of FIP are also that of many other feline diseases, there is no definitive test for FIP, and feline diseases are often hard to diagnose anyway, some vets just assume it's FIP without looking into other things. There are other illnesses that cause fluid buildup, but my vet never mentioned the possibility of any of them. This also makes it very difficult for us kitty parents. It's hard to know if we should be seeking other opinions and trying any last ditch attempt to find out if it's something else that can be cured. It was so difficult for me to have to have my baby put to sleep because deep down I still wasn't sure if it was FIP, despite all his symptoms. I still struggle with the thought that maybe it was something else that could have been cured.

 

[booktigger]

I agree that FIP seems more common at the moment, but you have to remember that there are thousands of members on forums like this, so the chances are higher of seeing it. I have had over 80 cats including fosters in 6 years, and only dealt with FIP once (admittedly it was suspected, the blood tests were borderline), my neighbour did rescue work for 10 years, and has owned cats for about 30 years and only dealt with it once. The fact it is so hard to diagnose really doesn't help, I think only a small percentage that are autopsied actually have it.