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Hello hello. We were given a potential FIP diagnosis and I have a hard time believing it. I wanted to post here and see if anyone else has had a cat with the same symptoms mine has.
TL;DR: 1 and a half year old cat with sensitive stomach with low grade fever and small amount of fluid in abdomen. Always had loose stool since we adopted her, but all test came back normal. She has feline herpes and stomatits. She is acting totally normal, running, playing, climbing, no tender places on her body, eating well. 2 weeks ago she had some sort of infection and was throwing up and not eating, but is back to normal now. Vet ran bloodwork but couldn't get a sample of the fluid in her abdomen. Cat's blood had a hard time clotting after blood draw. Vet thinks it might be FIP, but we are hoping for other diagnoses.
Context: I have 2 kitties. Pete (a year old) and Gigi (1 and a half). We adopted Gigi from a shelter in August 2021 (so we haven't had her a year yet) and adopted Pete from the same shelter in January 2022.
Gigi is our kitty with the possible FIP. She has always had a very sensitive stomach and was diagnosed with feline herpes shortly after we got her. She has had one flare up in September 2021 with a cough and a fever and general lethargy, but came out of it on her own. We give her lysine in her dinner to help promote her immune system since the herpes virus apparently makes her immune system weaker. She also has stomatitis from the herpes and has very sensitive teeth.
Ever since we got her she has had pretty loose stool. More of a pudding consistency than actual solid turds. She has been tested for parasites and came back negative. For a long time that was her only symptom.
About a month ago we switched cat foods and Gigi reacted poorly. She started throwing up her food every night for about a week. We took her to the vet and she had a low grade fever and was very dehydrated. They said she had lost over a pound (10 pounds down to 8.2. We didn't think she had lost that much weight though). The vet gave her antibiotics and an appetite stimulant as well as some fluids and she recovered really well. She is back to her normal self for the most part. Highly energetic, eating well, acting normal.
Two days ago she threw up again, just some white foamy bile. But continued to act normal. We took her to the vet for a routine vaccination yesterday and they discovered she had another low grade fever and a small amount of fluid in her abdomen. It wasn't enough to get a sample, but they did run a blood panel for all the scary cat diseases. However, when they did the blood draw her blood would not clot and she kept bleeding. They had to put a tight bandage on for an hour before her blood would stop. They said the bloodwork they could run at their office was normal but it could take up to 2 weeks to get back the full "fever of unknown origin" panel. The vet thinks she might have FIP. She has gained back over a pound (9.4) but we aren't sure what is fluid and what is from her diet.
All that I have read about FIP makes it sound incredibly dangerous and scary. But my Gigi isn't acting lethargic or sick like the other FIP stories I have read sound. It could be the early stages of dry FIP, but that wouldn't explain the fluid in her abdomen.
Does anyone know any other causes of fluid retention in the abdomen? Should we be worried? Are there any other diagnoses we should have our vet investigate? Should we get a second opinion?
TL;DR: 1 and a half year old cat with sensitive stomach with low grade fever and small amount of fluid in abdomen. Always had loose stool since we adopted her, but all test came back normal. She has feline herpes and stomatits. She is acting totally normal, running, playing, climbing, no tender places on her body, eating well. 2 weeks ago she had some sort of infection and was throwing up and not eating, but is back to normal now. Vet ran bloodwork but couldn't get a sample of the fluid in her abdomen. Cat's blood had a hard time clotting after blood draw. Vet thinks it might be FIP, but we are hoping for other diagnoses.
Context: I have 2 kitties. Pete (a year old) and Gigi (1 and a half). We adopted Gigi from a shelter in August 2021 (so we haven't had her a year yet) and adopted Pete from the same shelter in January 2022.
Gigi is our kitty with the possible FIP. She has always had a very sensitive stomach and was diagnosed with feline herpes shortly after we got her. She has had one flare up in September 2021 with a cough and a fever and general lethargy, but came out of it on her own. We give her lysine in her dinner to help promote her immune system since the herpes virus apparently makes her immune system weaker. She also has stomatitis from the herpes and has very sensitive teeth.
Ever since we got her she has had pretty loose stool. More of a pudding consistency than actual solid turds. She has been tested for parasites and came back negative. For a long time that was her only symptom.
About a month ago we switched cat foods and Gigi reacted poorly. She started throwing up her food every night for about a week. We took her to the vet and she had a low grade fever and was very dehydrated. They said she had lost over a pound (10 pounds down to 8.2. We didn't think she had lost that much weight though). The vet gave her antibiotics and an appetite stimulant as well as some fluids and she recovered really well. She is back to her normal self for the most part. Highly energetic, eating well, acting normal.
Two days ago she threw up again, just some white foamy bile. But continued to act normal. We took her to the vet for a routine vaccination yesterday and they discovered she had another low grade fever and a small amount of fluid in her abdomen. It wasn't enough to get a sample, but they did run a blood panel for all the scary cat diseases. However, when they did the blood draw her blood would not clot and she kept bleeding. They had to put a tight bandage on for an hour before her blood would stop. They said the bloodwork they could run at their office was normal but it could take up to 2 weeks to get back the full "fever of unknown origin" panel. The vet thinks she might have FIP. She has gained back over a pound (9.4) but we aren't sure what is fluid and what is from her diet.
All that I have read about FIP makes it sound incredibly dangerous and scary. But my Gigi isn't acting lethargic or sick like the other FIP stories I have read sound. It could be the early stages of dry FIP, but that wouldn't explain the fluid in her abdomen.
Does anyone know any other causes of fluid retention in the abdomen? Should we be worried? Are there any other diagnoses we should have our vet investigate? Should we get a second opinion?
