Don't get me wrong, maybe I was not clear. I would never advocate PTS as soon as the vet says it may be FIP. FIP does mimic other illnesses, especially in the early stages. But an experienced vet should be able to tell with pretty good certainty once the disease takes hold. If the blood titres for the virus are very high and continue to rise, if there is a lot of fluid in the abdomen, vomiting, lethargy and fever, and if none of these symptoms respond to antibiotics, then the diagnosis of FIP is probably correct. By the time these symptoms take hold, the cat is probably in great distress anyway, and the owner should not, IMO, hold back from making the hardest decision we all have to make. While a cat has any quality of life, then of course we want to hold on and give it all we can, but the cat's welfare must come first, and most people I know who have been through this have said they wished they had made the decision sooner rather than later. But in the end, it is we, the humans, who have the responsibility.If you put the cat down right away on diagnosis, there's (1) always a chance it was wrong and (2) you and your cat will miss some good times before it gets to be too much for either the cat or you to bear. So many people put their pet down because they "don't want the pet to suffer" when it's really that they don't want to watch the pet go downhill, or they don't want to be bothered doing what it takes to keep them going while they still can. You have to do what your heart tells you to do. One of the hardest days of my life was holding my baby Darcy while the vet did away with her. It gives me so much pain even now to think about it.
It was not my intention to misinterpret what you said. However, I have heard about vets who will tell the person it is FIP put them down right now. I'm not sorry I didn't make the decision for Darcy sooner. I know I had to make it when I did, but I'm fortunate to have a vet who didn't require me to make an appointment 24 - 48 hours in advance. I don't see how I could do that when she was laying in a sunbeam cuddled up to Swanie.Don't get me wrong, maybe I was not clear. I would never advocate PTS as soon as the vet says it may be FIP. FIP does mimic other illnesses, especially in the early stages. But an experienced vet should be able to tell with pretty good certainty once the disease takes hold. If the blood titres for the virus are very high and continue to rise, if there is a lot of fluid in the abdomen, vomiting, lethargy and fever, and if none of these symptoms respond to antibiotics, then the diagnosis of FIP is probably correct. By the time these symptoms take hold, the cat is probably in great distress anyway, and the owner should not, IMO, hold back from making the hardest decision we all have to make. While a cat has any quality of life, then of course we want to hold on and give it all we can, but the cat's welfare must come first, and most people I know who have been through this have said they wished they had made the decision sooner rather than later. But in the end, it is we, the humans, who have the responsibility.