FIP - Can you tell me about your cat's experience?

[princesspumpkin]

Our 11 month old kitten may have FIP. Her belly started to swell about two weeks ago, and the vet says that it's probably FIP. I know that it is a fatal disease, we have accepted that. My questions concern the progress of the disease. The vet said that euthanasia was the most suitable option. We're not ready to make that step yet and we would like to know what the progression of the disease is. How long is it before the disease overtakes them? We would like as much time as possible with her before we have to put her to sleep. Did it take weeks or months before you saw a big decline in the kitty or did people just go forward with the euthanasia right after the diagnosis? I don't want her to suffer, but I'm also thinking about DD-9 and the effect on her. Our 18 year old cat just died last summer, so we're pretty attached to her. Thanks for any advice.

 

[Rajah]

We had Sage for about 2, 3 weeks after the diagnosis. We should have put him down, but "he" didn't leave us (if that makes sense) until the night he died.

She'll let you know when she's ready. Listen to her.

For Sage, it got to the point that he wouldn't eat, could barely walk, peed everywhere... it got pretty bad. But that spark that was Sage wasn't ready to leave until he died in my arms, though that was painful for him as well.

Blaze on the other hand... we don't know for sure that FIP got him. In his case his liver essentially failed, but it was very unexpected in a 2yo cat and he had been exposed greatly to Sage and was from the same litter. In his case, when we let him go, his spark had already left us a few days before.

It's going to be very hard to let her go. I still cry over my lost babies. But thank you for doing what you can for her.

 

[Rajah]

Oh -- if you want to take every possible chance to save her, contact a homeopathic vet. There is no cure, period, in traditional vet medicine. At least there wasn't a couple of years ago. Some homeopathic vets have had success. Very, very rarely, but it does happen. It's up to you and her whether you want to fight or not.

 

[poohandwendy]

I would only ask, what tests have the vet run to make this diagnosis? Because testing for FIP is only truly accurate in a biopsy or autopsy scenario.

Has any test been run on the actual fluid in her abdomen? General blood tests are NOT accurate to dx FIP. Mainly because many, many animals will test positive for the coronavirus, but that does not mean it has mutated into FIP.

There could be other reasons for the swelling, I think I would explore that first, before making the decision. Of ocurse, this could be very costly and only you can make the decision if that is the best course for you. Has your cat been eating and drinking normally? Any other symptoms beside the abdominal swelling?

Btw, my cat died recently of Hepatic Lipidosis, which actually presented like FIP because of the abdominal fluid...ended up NOT being FIP. Not that we could save him in the end, but it's important to know what you are dealing with if you are considering euthanasia, IMHO.


I would suggest doing some research on the subject, you can start with these: http://www.vetinfo.com/cencyclopedia/cefip.html
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1316&articleid=212
There is much, much more info out there on this disease.

Keeping you and your cat in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[princesspumpkin]

Thanks P&W. i actually did a search and came across your previous posts. I am very sorry about your cat. So far, only an x-ray has been done. My vet discussed the blood tests that could be done, knowing very well that there is no absolutely conclusive test. I wanted to find out other experiences so that we could decide if we want to go any further with the tests at all.
We adopted her from a shelter and she had several illnesses from the beginning. Now here it is 11 months later, and she is sick again. I love shelters and what they do, but it kind of turns me off from getting another pet from one. $$$ contribution and volunteering may be my limit. Next time, it may be receiving a pet from a friend's litter instead

 

[escape]

princesspumpkin -

Just wanted to let you know how sorry I am and hope the best for your little kitty.

 

[ntburns22]

My sister adopted a kitten with FIP in the fall from a rescue. This poor little guy slipped throught the cracks, it was even noted on his paperwork that he had been fixed and he was still 100% there.

Collin was kept comfortable until it was just getting too bad for him. My sister took him into the vet to see if anything else could be done for him so he wasn't in any pain. He was put on IV's and died early that morning. The vet called her at 4:30am to have her come in and say good bye. Just do what you think is right for you. My sister spent $600 for 2 more weeks with him and she says if she had to do it again she would.

 

[poohandwendy]

Thanks P&W. i actually did a search and came across your previous posts. I am very sorry about your cat. So far, only an x-ray has been done. My vet discussed the blood tests that could be done, knowing very well that there is no absolutely conclusive test. I wanted to find out other experiences so that we could decide if we want to go any further with the tests at all.
We adopted her from a shelter and she had several illnesses from the beginning. Now here it is 11 months later, and she is sick again. I love shelters and what they do, but it kind of turns me off from getting another pet from one. $$$ contribution and volunteering may be my limit. Next time, it may be receiving a pet from a friend's litter instead

Aw, thank you!

It is a very tough decision, deciding how to proceed.

I guess I would just find out how many other things it 'coud be' and then go from there. Weigh that against the odds of it being FIP. I know that a bowel perforation can cause abdominal swelling too. And that can be fixed. But, OTOH, you could go through alot of effort and possibly suffering with no good results too. I really feel for you, it's a tough place to be.

I can tell you what we were going to do, if our Tucker had survived and it was FIP...we were going to bring him home until he seemed to be suffering and then we would have made the decision to put him down. It's such a personal decision, I feel for you.

I wish I had some answers for you, all I have is {{{HUGS}}}

 

[slimplaw]

I had a cat years ago with FIP It was probably around 1985. We treated Pansy with Interferon and she pulled through the first time and lived about another 18 months. The 2nd bout, we started Interferon and her liver failed and within just a few hours, she became jaundiced. That is when we decided to euthanize her. She did very well in the time between the first sign of illness and her 2nd time.
So sorry about having to go through this. It is very difficult when our pets are ill.

 

[delilah]

Our cat we had in Florida died of FIP. His case was very virulent, actually. One day, he was ok, and the next, he was sick and died within 48 hrs.

 

[eclectics]

So sorry to hear about your kitty. I can't help you with advice as I'm unfamiliar with FIP, I can just send out prayers and good thoughts.

 

[alliecats]

We had a sad experience with this awful illness. We adopted a dear kitty, Maddie, from the HS in 1997. She was such a sweet little girl, but had several issues. Tummy stuff, lots of parasites, worms, etc. In the 3 weeks we had her, she was at the vet a lot. Finally she came down with what my vet thought was a kitty cold/pneumonia. We hit it with antibiotics, everything. I can't go into details because it is still too upsetting to me (we loved her a LOT in those 3 weeks), but we took her to the ER vet and they put her in an oxygen tank. She perked up, but a few hours later they called to tell us her heart had failed and they couldn't revive her. I hate this disease and just can't understand why we can't do more now, almost 10 years later.

ETA: it was the ER vet who dxed the FIP--her symptoms were much worse when we took her there than when we thought she had a kitty cold. Like Delilah, once she had those symptoms, it was over very fast.

I am very sorry.

 

[princesspumpkin]

Thanks everyone for the and prayers. I'd like to hear some more info about the inferon. She's so new and DD is so attached that I would really like to extend her life as long as reasonably possible.