Pneumonia or Fip?

[Kitkatkate88]

My cat is just about two years old. In the fall of 2019 I recently got here and the vet diagnosed he with pneumonia. She is a strictly indoor cat and has been fine up until about three weeks ago. I took her to the vet and they said pneumonia again. She received a 5 day steroid shot and antibiotics. She went to the vet again today and they are unsure if it’s pneumonia and needs a stronger prescription or if it’s Fip. She received a 14 day steroid shot and stronger antibiotics. Her symptoms are runny eyes, the one eye had a broken blood vessel that has since healed but the eye looks cloudy still, congestion and she was eating and drinking very little but was doing it on her own. Her X-ray showed little fluid on the lungs so he thought that was was promising to not be Fip but then her bloodwork showed elevated proteins but her kidney and liver were fine, no concerns. So it’s really hard to say Fip to me? Also, it was 1 year and 5 months between the illness instances. What are your opinions?

 

[tnl]

Did your vet do a PCR panel? Personally, I'm not a big fan of steroids. I just had some awful experiences with them and two of my cats. Steroids suppress the immune system.

Glucocorticoids: Why You Should Avoid This Popular Pet Drug

"Corticosteroids suppress immune response. Animals receiving systemic corticosteroids may be more susceptible to bacterial or viral infections. Systemic corticosteroids can mask signs of infection, such as an elevated temperature."

Dexamethasone for Veterinary Use

Edit: I should have mentioned that it sounds like an upper respiratory infection of some sort. Here's some information on that as well...
Feline Upper Respiratory Infections | Cats Exclusive