Is it really fip?

[Rettu]

I took in a cat when he was 10 weeks old. He got his first vaccines then and developed limping calici. He got some meds and fluids and got better in a couple days. He’s always had a weak immune system.
I’m December he had an eye issue the vet said was herpes and that he had haws syndrome, and it turned into a severe uri that made him lethargic, not want to eat and slept a lot. With eye drops and antibiotics, he got better. Over the last few months, he’s developed the eye issues where it fills with blood /re-absorb off and on, that would go away with steroid eye drops. For the last month his eyes didn’t go back to normal and so we were sent to an ophthalmologist for tons of testing done. Everything came back negative ( toxo, felv, etc) except the corona titer came back positive. Due to that, they want to diagnose him with ocular non effusive dry fip.
im confused because he has no other symptoms other than his eyes. He runs around, plays a ton, lots of energy, eats a lot etc. And doesn’t fip tend to take them down pretty fast? He’s had these eye issues for months now.
Could he possibly have something else? I track his eye problems and here’s a chart of how his eyes changed from when he was having a possible herpes flare up and how they look right now.
He’s 11 months old and weighs 10.7 pounds now.

 

[FeebysOwner]

It is possible that there may be something else behind the eye issue. It might be helpful to take a look at this web site to if there is anything that could be useful to you (see link below). Not to be morbid, but this web site states that only about 18% of the samples tested once a cat passed were positive for FIP, so it stands to reason many other conditions are misdiagnosed as FIP by virtue of symptoms. Maybe ask your vet about other possibilities and if/how/why they ruled them out.
Dr. Addie - What is FIP ? (catvirus.com)

I am not saying your cat does not have FIP - but I do know that more cats than not test positive for the coronavirus and most of those who do never have it mutate to FIP.

You may also want to check out the FIP Warrior web site as well: FIP Warriors

 

[Rettu]

Oh wow! Only about 18% actually have fip then? That’s wild.
There’s lots of really helpful info on that site. Thank you. It mentioned the globulin levels are normally high as well. We tested for that recently, same time as the corona titer, and his globulin levels came back normal. But I know there’s always a possibility it’s still fip. I went to the fip Facebook page and the treatments seem promising, but I don’t want to spend about $7,000 on treatment he might not need and still not find the root cause of his eye ailments. I requested his blood results ( still waiting) so I can show the admins on the fip warriors page and can post here if people would want to see.

 

[HAS]

My sweet kitten died of wet FIP. It’s a ruthless disease that takes them down within a week or two. That is a pretty severe diagnosis to give a pet owner IMO. If you see a severe decline in energy and appetite, it could be FIP…but until then hold out hope it is something treatable.