OT:Had a cat dx with FIP?

[Reagan&Co.]

Let me start by saying how much I appreciate being able to both read and post OT's, as I would have no idea where else to find this information....

I have a cat who was recently diagnosed with feline infectious peritonitis. My vet did not even tell me it was fatal....I called him back and he told me what to google on the internet. That's how I found out they die within a year.So, she has the slower, dry type. Her symptoms are mostly thirst (from loss of kidney function) and neurological problems (balance and a seizure twitching thing). So, he said to just bring her in when I was ready to put her to sleep.

When is THAT? Obviously, I do not plan to let her suffer, but she seems pretty happy right now. FIP affects every cat differently, but I was hoping to find someone who could maybe share their experience.

Thank you!

 

[daisyduck123]

I'm not familiar with FIP, but I wanted to say I'm so sorry about your kitty.

 

[Denine]

I am sorry.

Yes, we had a kitty with FIP. We only had him for 3 months. Once he was diagnosed, he went very quickly.

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

Oh my goodness, I just put my 6 month old cat Max down for FIP yesterday! He hadn't been looking good for a while (his coat looked.... just not right), and he looked like he was getting thinner also. We have his sister, and he was always smaller than she, so we thought this was just the way he was going to be. Anyway, I had to go to Florida for a short time without DH, and while I was gone DH told me that Max had gotten better, and was eating more, etc. So anyway, I get back for a few days, and he still seemed off somehow, but I figured if he was eating he was OK (though in hind-sight, I think it was just his sister eating everything, not him) So yesterday morning, we got up, and Max is usually attached at the hip to me, and when I realized I hadn't seen him yet in the morning (it was about 8.30) I went looking for him. He had balled himself up right next to the heater, and when I opened his food, he didn't move for it. So I picked him up, and put him down next to the water (he as well had been drinking an awful lot, I found out @ the Drs that it was do to the damage liver as well), and he didn't move. I tried to make him stand, and he couldn't - his legs were totally limp. So I rushed him to the pet hospital, and they said he had FIP, and it was very far along, and that they could do a whole bunch of blood work and spend a whole bunch of money, but they didn't think it would make any difference, and to just put him down, so thats what I did. I just hope to poor baby wasn't suffering - the Dr said he did an ultrasound on his belly and it was full of liquid.. I don't knw exactly what that means, but I'm sure its not good.
In the case of your kitten, just play it by ear. If he/she starts looking very thin and lathargic, take him/her to get put down - you don't want them to suffer.

 

[Reagan&Co.]

Thank you for your responses!

SharpMom, I sent you a PM!

 

[KPeterso]

My close friend had a rescue kitty that was diagnosed with it right after she got this cat. That was almost 2 years ago, and this cat no longer shows signs of having this disease. She has thrived and gained weight. According to my friend, they have decided she does not have a full blown case and is considered a carrier.

 

[Mandy_in_NC]

I am so sorry for you. We had to have my cat put to sleep yesterday. I had him for almost 11 years. I am so sad he was my baby.

 

[mericletwins]

I am so sorry. We just had to put down our lab on Wednesday, just shy of fourteen years. He was diagnosed with cancer in July and was supposed to live 60 days max after that. We got the same advice from the vet. Bring him in when we felt it was time. I was in a panic wondering how I would "know" that it was time. He seemed happy, was eating and drinking. In the past couple of weeks I could see that he was having more difficulty moving about and going outside. On Wednesday when I got home from school, he wouldn't get up. He was just laying on his bed. Alert, but not getting up. I knew then that it was time. I am still a wreck, but know that it was the right thing to do. It is so sad My heart goes out to you.

 

[GraysMom]

I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty.

We adopted a brother and sister pair after the sudden death of our previous cat (vet said it was a heart attack or aneyurism sp?) when they were about 6 months old. We took them in to be spayed/neutered and declawed. I got a call at school from the vet saying when they opened the male up, he was just filled with fluid. They were pretty sure it was FIP and we had them run a test for it, which came back positive. Because his case was advanced, and they wanted to limit the exposure to his sister, they recommended we put him to sleep immediately. Poor baby went through the surgeries and then we went in and had him put to sleep. I felt so awful, and had no idea he was sick (he didn't drink anymore than his sister, and his belly didn't appear/feel like it was full of fluid, so I don't know what kind of signs to look for).

 

[TexasBee]

I think you will know when it is time. I used to volunteer at a shelter and saw a couple cats get diagnosed with it (they immediately went into quarantine but were not put down unless their quality of life went really down.) Like one of the PPs, we had one who was diagnosed with it but went over 3 years with no real signs - she ended up being a carrier. And we had one who went really fast. So there's a wide variety of things that could happen.

 

[Gr8dan2]

This article is very helpful to put some perspective on this very difficult decision. I'm the ED at a shelter that takes in 6000-7500 animals a year and I often deal with pet owners who are faced with this decision. This is one of the most difficult decisions that a pet owner makes, and almost all pet owners are at some point faced with this decision making at some point during the course of owning pets. It's such an emotional time that it can help to be able to put some clarity to it--
http://www.naturescornermagazine.com/help_companions.html