FIP Forum or Experience Anyone

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CatMamaG

CatMamaG

Member Since 2017
And, I must say, I hope not...this seems pretty bad, so I hope no one else has gone thru it.

I post in off-topic, can't get it to copy, so making a new post here.

My non-sugar cat was just diagnosed with this. She has bad diarrhea and has lost a lot of weight. She is over 10, and an e-list pound rescue, so not sure of exact age.

Are there any forums? Any help? Dr. Google is making me cry.

I am guessing she picked it up from a foster, not sure which one. Now, I have kittens ony house and worried sick about adopting them out (except the ones who I was able to keep entirely in the ex pen) & worried sick about my personal kitties. The vet said my dog should be ok.

She is on subQ daily and antibiotics.

At one point, I thought this was only diagnosed on necropsy, but it seems now it is diagnosable? It isn't included in a regular SNAP test, or vaccinated for, my vet said.

I just cuddled her little bony body and now she is back in the closet, in my bathroom, tho IDk if there is any point isolating her now. :(

Thanks if anyone has any ideas.
 
I am so sorry you are going through this. Unfortunately, I adopted a rescue kitten with mild loose stool. The rescue said to bring her home and it will clear up. She was isolated from my other cats. I took her to Vet day 2 at home when diarrhea worsened. They did some tests, she stayed overnight for fluids. Vet did suspect FIP as diarrhea getting worse. She was positive for FIP. I ran back to the clinic and we put her down while I held her. I had her home 2 days and still cry as I type this. That was 8 years ago.

Even though she was isolated I was terrified for a year that my other cats caught it. I became a poop checking lunatic. The cats and dogs were fine.

I am sorry for sharing this; but it may help you make a decision. Perhaps you can ask your vet if the other animals need to be tested. I don't know the incubation period for FIP. I would recommend keeping her isolated and wash your hands well after tending to her needs and cuddling, until you make a decision.

https://www2.vet.cornell.edu/depart...e-health-topics/feline-infectious-peritonitis
 
One girl I worked with many years ago adopted 2 white kittens, and one lagged behind the other in growth and she noticed blood in his stool. He was diagnosed with FIP. She brought him back home and kept him comfortable. He only lived a couple of months, but she gave him a good life. It was so sad. I remember her crying about it at work and it just broke my heart. The other kitten (his brother) and her other cat were never tested, but haven’t had any problems.

I am SO SORRY about this. I am also learning that to be able to rescue cats you have to be able to face heartache. Sometimes they are sicker than you think, and we don’t find this out until we get attached. Hugs.
 
The first thing I want to tell you is that FIP is rare in an older cat....it's usually diagnosed in cats under 3

Next, FIP tends to be a diagnosis that vets use when they really don't know what's going on. I had a cat years ago that was "diagnosed" with FIP and I was told to put her down.....she lived another 14 years (and believe it or not, was "diagnosed" with FIP twice in that time!!)

In cats that truly have wet FIP, they won't live more than a few weeks at most. It is a terribly deadly disease, but there is some research going on to try new treatments.

It can be tested for but it's a very specialized test where the fluid that builds up in the abdomen is pulled out with a needle and tested.

Here's some great information on what FIP is (and what it ISN'T) Copied from FIP Fighters on Facebook

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER over FIP

I would like to clear up some misconceptions and reinforce some accurate information here.

1. FIP is not contagious. You cannot “catch” it or be “exposed “ to it. Once the mutation has occurred there is very little of any shedding of the virus.

2. The biggest misconception and confusion comes because there is a difference between two Feline Corona Viruses (FCoV)

The first virus that is a Corona virus , is Non-lethal and Very contagious is the Feline Enteric Corona Virus ( FECV) this virus is shed in the feces and spread through the oral fecal route. It is spread when Mama grooms her kittens as babies and also in shared litter boxes.

The FCoV Corona virus blood titer will pick up antibodies that occur once the exposure occurs. This positive Corona Virus titer ( which some stupid labs call FIP test ) just shows exposure to The FECV Virus. IT DOES NOT MEAN KITTY HAS FIP

Many vets do not have the necessary knowledge to diagnose FIPV correctly. So they assume that is the titer is positive it means kitty has FIP

WRONG!

3. There is a lethal Corona virus called FIPV ( Feline Infectious Peritonitis Virus ) that as I said is NOT contagious. The FECV I spoke about earlier MUST MUTATE several times in the kitty’s body to become the deadly FIPV.

4. Some of the factors that have been found to be linked to FECV mutation to FIPV are as follows:
A. Genetic
B. Stress
C. Environmental = crowded rescues and breeding catteries and multiple cat households > 4 cats
D. Age < 3 and > 11
E. Deceased immune status

5. Finally NO ONE factor causes a kitty to mutate to the deadly FIPV from non-lethal FECV exposure or infection. Most kitties do very well if infected with some mild diarrhea or no symptoms at all if it is JUST exposure to the FECV.

You need to have a “perfect storm” of multiple factors and also the fact that FIPV can act differently with different strains in each individual Cat.

SO you can have all the factors as well and Nothing happens to the Cat with no mutation.

The point I am trying to make here is you cannot have a completely Corona virus free environment or protect you cats from every possible outcome. This is not living life to the fullest for you and your cats. Plus it is assuming we are so grand as human beings to be in control of everything that occurs in our life. We are NOT completely in control of anything or anyone being.

What can you do?

1. You can have meticulous litter box hygiene. Meaning scoop at mimimum 2x per day plus any waste

Clean out litter boxes with a bleach dilution of 1 cup bleach to 32 ounces of water Rinse box well after with water. Every one - two weeks and fill with fresh litter.

Use litter that has the least amount of dust to prevent or minimize tracking out side the litter box.

Vacuum up stray litter every day.

Wash floors with bleach solution and rinse or invest in a water steam cleaner for hard wood , tile linoleum floors.

Have your rugs cleaned every 3-6 months by a pro nontoxic carpet cleaner.

Throw out litter boxes and get new ones every 6-12 months.

Follow this rule: for every cat have 1 litter box PLUS 1 more. ( 4 cats =5 litter boxes )

Have the litter boxes scattered around the house.

2. Some people give immune boosters or modulators to their cats to increase their immunity. Moducare from Thorne is one we recommend here. PI does this as well but it is very pricey. FOI ( Feline Omega Interferon ) is used many times with cats who have FIV to help boost immunity. Also expensive.

3. Give high grade species specific food. Wet food is better then dry Human grade is the best. No grain Some swear by raw or cooked. But you must be VERY careful with these recipes because they must have the correct amount of minerals and vitamins and be sourced from a safe provider.

4. Provide as much as you can and still live a normal life a stress free environment. Feliway diffuser plug ins or sprays for the wall provide pheromones that smell like Mama also the same hormone your kitty secretes when it rubs you and marks you with their face.
The sprays are especially useful for vet visits when sprayed right before into the crate before putting kitty in.

5. It is never necessary to do Corona Virus blood titers to see if kitty has been exposed to FECV. Most kitties have so waste of money, stress and time.

6. Live , love your kitty and do NOTHING. Life has no guarantees. Ever. You cannot control what inevitably will be.

I did everything wrong and I have only had 1 loss to Wet FIP. Do I have FIPARANOIA. Hell yeah! But I do not let it run my and my kitties lives everyday. If they are a bit off I get scared. Then I act. But mostly I choose not to think about it even though I come here every single day for 4 years to help members.

You will survive all of this. It will not be easy if you have had loss , a scare of misdiagnosis or your in the mist of the nightmare of diagnosis. But you will survive

Get the correct knowledge here on FIP Fighters and donate to research to end FIP. THAT is where the REAL control and answers lie. Peace to all (Grp admin). I will be reposting all this in a single post on page as well.”
 
FIP Fighters approved my request to join. I am going to print her labs and search the results and post her story in there.

I am sorry for everyone who lost a kitty to this.

I finally found that 20G goes in easier and doesn't take 30 minutes for her subQ fluids. And a way to get her antibiotics in her easier (she is still a fighter). Still eating well.
 
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