White blood cell count and diminished appetite

[iluvdevons]

From what I understand of FIP, it is a mutated form of the Feline Enteric Corona Virus (FeCoV) which is very common amongst cats, though benign in nature. It is unclear, but genetics and a cat's immune response seem to play apart in the mutation of the virus. (Meaning that your cat may have been infected with FeCoV as a kitten, but only recently has the virus mutated into what is called FIP.) The mutated virus has the ability invade and grow in certain white blood cells. Because of this, the immune system reacts by creating a severe inflammatory response.
If you do receive a diagnosis of FIP, the vet might place your cat on corticosteroids and begin a series of Interferon injections. (It's a cycle of 7 days on, 7 days off for a period of months.) The purpose of this procedure is two-fold. The steroids knock out his own immune response, and the interferon restarts the immune system with a healthier response.
If you do have another cat in your house, it is critical that litterboxes, bowls, etc, are cleaned regularly with a diluted bleach solution.
Again, did your vet perform a chemistry panel? If so, it is important that you look at the albumin, globulin, and total protein levels. Please keep us updated!

 

[glitch]

Arg! More FIP!!

Anyways, Glitch died of FIP Nov16th. He started out with what looked to be just a cold, that graduated into anemia as well as a cold, that developed into lethargy, and so on and so forth! The ending stage was a belly full of fluid and shaking, not being able to walk, jump, eat, drink or do anything. I would have all the tests done you can! Figure out if it could be something else! Mine seemed to be fine up until one day he was put under stress, and all the cold we thought he had turned into something else! I have him in the "crossing the bridge" forum under "My baby Boy lost his fight to FIP"
he is also under the health forum under "My cat has FIP how do I comfort him?"
Keep in mind the thread is detailed and will make you cry....

Good luck to you, please keep us updated!

 

[saya]

I just lost my babies to suspected FIP.

The sad fact is that 95% of all cats carry the corona virus, but most will never develop FIP. The way it seems to work is that the carried virus can mutate in the body during times of stress and usually in weaker cats, senior or baby being the norm but it can happen to any cat with a weakened immune system in times of stress.

I don't have any experience with the dry form of FIP but the wet form is usually diagnosed by the following symptoms...

low albumin
elevated biliruben
low white blood cell count
high, persistent fever that doesn't respond to antibiotics
dehydration (kitty drinking more water than usual)
lack of appetite
lethargy (more frequent sleeping)
and towards the final stages, accumulated fluid in the stomach or chest cavity.

In both my babies situations, the vets' initially thought they had upper respiratory infections at first.

... that's all I can think of right now. FIP is really not that common though, I pray it's something else but honestly at this point I think it would be premature to assume that it is anything.
kitty needs blood work and other tests, I hope you find a good vet to take kitty to.

 

[booktigger]

I also pray it isn't FIP. The main thing with FIP is there isn't a set list of symptoms that describe it, it affects each cat in a different way, as it is their systems response to it - my cat just cried in pain when picked up, my neighbours cat had sickness and diarrhea.

 

[saya]

that's true, both of my babies had different symptoms and it eventually manifested differently in each.

basically the vet will test for everything else... to narrow it down. The only way to know for sure is to do a necropsy.

 

[ngalleria]

My cat is also going through this, not eating, throwing up yellow liquids, etc.

- I used over the counter children's piedialite with a baby bottle to hydrate her and then baked chicken thighs (dark meat) and she started eating again - tuna is actually not good high in toxins.

I started with chicken baby food (no other ingredients) and used my finger to put little bits into her mouth to get her to start eating and then the baked the next day - she now eats.

I also gave her an antibiotic to fight inflammation for 7 days - she is better.  She then had an ultrasound:

She either has (had) infection, IBD or the worst case cancer to be checked.

Hope that helps you.

 

[cat-saver]

Please note that FIP and distemper are 2 entirely different diseases. FIP is Feline Infectious Peritonitis. Distemper is a common name for Panleukopenia. Different causes, different sypmtoms.

FIP is almost always fatal - and there are 2 forms - wet and dry. Wet forms just kills faster. There is no way to prevent FIP with any type of vaccine. It actually probably developes from another virus that almost all cats (other than bred pure-bred cats) come in contact with. Is is the corona virus. So any cat is potentially a carrier of this virus and in some rare cases, the theory is it developes/changes to the lethal FIP.

Panleukopenia is actually feline parvo in a sense. It is a virus very related to the canine parvo. It is hard to treat and the outcome is generally poor. There is no cure for it. Supportive treatment is the only way to save a kitten with this. However there is a vaccine for this. The annual FVRCP should prevent this disease. The "P' in this vaccine is for this conidition. In kittens, there is a series of 2-4 FVRCP vaccines that should be given 15-20 days apart to create the immunity. Kittens can get it even if they have had one of the vaccines. The incubation from exposure until symptoms is 3-10 days. However, I am not sure this is true. I have a kitten I am fostering and have had for over 2 weeks and she just got sick on Sunday with vmoiting and no appetitie and fever. She is at the vet now getting IV fluids and antibiotics and they suspect Panleukopenia. She has had her first vaccine 2 weeks ago. The only thing I can think is it is in the environment somehow. She is in a separate room from any other cats and non of the other fosters have any signs and have all been vaccinated, never go outside, etc. I have fostered for years and this is the first suspected case for me. So I am baffled and hope it is something else. I read it is hard to get out of the environment completely and can live up to a year. I just mopped the room with bleach and will go back now and wash everything with bleach in the laundry. I pray this kitten survives as she is the sweetest and cutest little girl and someone is interested in adopting her.

I hope this info is helpful.