FIP Feline
Infectious Peritonitis
I am not an expert in FIP at all, but I have had a lot (too much)
experience with it. I understand there’s
a lot of talk going on about FFRC and FIP.
That is fine and that shows concern. So…let’s address this right here openly
and honestly.
FIP is a lethal and incurable disease that’s made worse by
its difficult diagnosis. FIP is difficult to diagnose, not possible to treat
and almost always fatal. This dreaded
disease sends chills down the backs of rescue/shelter people and
catteries. Truly no three letters have
more power to strike fear into the hearts of cat lovers than F, I and P. It is the most dreaded disease in veterinary
medicine and a big threat to a cat’s health and survival. There is much not
known about this disease which makes it even harder. There are a few things known about it but
there are far more questions than there are answers.
What causes FIP?
FIP is caused by a virus—a common strain of coronavirus. ALL cats have
the corona virus in them. It’s what the cat’s body does with this corona virus
that makes all the difference. There are 2 types of this virus which cannot be
distinguished from each other in lab tests. One is type does not cause the
disease or is only mildly virulent. This infection with this virus does not
produce any signs other than maybe a very mild diarrhea.
The other type is virulent—this is the cause of FIP. It is
believed that FIP occurs when the corona mutates to virulent or active FIP in
the cat. What causes this mutation is
unknown.
So, what that means is FIP develops when a usually harmless
strain of corona mutates in the cat in a way that gives the virus the ability
to replicate itself in some of the cat’s white cells. When the immune system
mounts a defense against the invaded white cells, the immune system ends up
damaging its own protective cells and tissue. The result causes damage to
multiple systems at once and ultimately leads to death.
Cats in multiple cat environments are at much higher risk
for corona infection than solo cats because they are more likely to be exposed
to the feces of infected cats.
How is the virus transmitted? Corona /fip can be found in the saliva and
stool of infected cats. FIP may possibly be transmitted across the placenta.
The significance of this is not known. The FIP corona can live in the
environment 3-7 weeks. After 3 weeks though, the number of virus particles
present is probably too small to cause infection. Many disinfectants will kill
the virus, including bleach, which is what FFRC uses.
FIP most frequently strikes young cats. It’s a quiet disease
at first. It will cause weight loss, poor appetite and deterioration of body
condition. There are no proven treatments for the condition. Diagnosing FIP can
be challenging.
There are 2 types of FIP---wet and dry. DRY FIP
develops areas of inflammation called granulomas. The granulomas can develop in
the abdomen and in other areas. ALL dry
FIP’s IF they live long enough will slide into being wet FIP. Wet FIP causes damage and leaking blood vessels
in the abdomen or chest. The abdomen or chest fills with fluid, breathing may
be difficult. Wet FIP tends to develop much more rapidly.
Diagnosing FIP is a challenge. The condition is often
diagnosed based upon clinical suspicion when a young cat develops unexplained
systems consistent with FIP. They may have changes in their blood cell lines
and blood protein levels. Blood tests for coronavirus antibodies may offer some
insight into the diagnosis, but the blood tests cannot differentiate between the
2 forms of coronavirus. The only 100% way to diagnose this is thru a necropsy.
As was said it’s difficult to diagnose FIP. In an attempt to
try to make the best diagnosis that can be made while the cat is still alive,
there are a few criteria that can be followed:
Low lymphocytes, positive corona test, elevated globulins in the
blood. As you can see, testing is not
made easy. Despite the claims made by some labs and test manufacturers, there
is currently no test that can distinguish between the good and bad corona
virus.
How is FIP treated? There is no cure for FIP. A survivor of FIP is very rare. Cats can be
given supportive care and possibly extend her life for a short amount of time.
Because the dry form of FIP progresses more slowly, cats with this form can
sometimes live longer than those with the wet form. Cats with FIP can be
treated with prednisolone. This sometimes gives a bit of relief to the symptoms
for a short period of time. Other supportive care can be appetite stimulates,
antibiotics, vitamins, fluids, quality nutrition. If the cat becomes clearly
distressed, however, euthanasia is the most humane approach.
Which cats are more likely to develop FIP? As you would imagine, the cats most likely to
develop FIP are those with the weakest immune systems. The largest number of FIP
cases occurs in young cats. FIP is rarely seen in cats between 3 and 10 years
old. However, starting at 10-12 years of age, the immune systems of these older
cats apparently decline, making them more susceptible. This does not always hold true though. Think about 2 FFRC cats when we had our FIP scare last year---Trucker and Camvi. Both are young and both very immune compromised. Neither became sick.
It all sounds pretty hopeless, doesn’t it? Truthfully, it is indeed very hard for me and
for you. Up until last fall, we only had
to deal with the wet FIP. There are so
many studies going on in regards to learning more about this horrible disease.
It’s still a disease that raises it’s ugly head at us and has very few real
concrete answers. Some changes have been
made in the FIP world.
FIP is still thought to be a disease that is caused by the
MUTATION of the corona virus. This means that for some bizarre unknown reason
that corona virus changes from good to bad.
It was thought that there was no correlation or transmission between
cats. So…..we didn’t have to worry about this particular disease in that
respect.
But to be truthfully honest, I do not believe that as the
whole truth. We have seen here at FFRC, a whole litter getting FIP. This to me
shows a horizontal transmission for FIP.
We have seen this past fall,
where we had 4 unrelated cats get the dry form of FIP. This has to also
be horizontal transmission. And to
complicate things more, all 4 of these cats showed very different symptoms.
I know there’s a worry “out there” amongst you about FIP and
FFRC. Please…..it’s fine and healthy to
talk amongst yourself, just please be sure your facts are correct. The worse
thing anyone can do is to speculate without knowledge behind it.
What can we do here at FFRC? We learned a few things about
this from this past fall. Remember when
Fancy arrived? I said right from the start, something wasn’t right. We treated
her and medicated her, things seemed better and then she plummeted. In the
future, any cat that does not “seem right”, will NOT be put in the general
population. Their quarantine time would be much longer than normal. Another good way to help is to keep
litterboxes extra clean. Here at FFRC, we are very good about this but will up
this cleaning even more. Making sure we continue doing our second FIV/leukemia
tests. The bottom line is observing
observing and more observing. Cleaning
is also important. As our vets have said, we probably would have experienced
much more diseases had it not been for our good cleaning.
But what else can we do? Please remember, we do not normally
get the cream of the crop here at FFRC. We give it our all to help all the
incoming cats to feel good and to feel love. I know there’s a worry out there
in our viewer audience. Should you not adopt from FFRC? Whatever you decide, please at least don’t
criticize us. We are a rescue and we try our hardest. Did you know there are at least 40 different viruses
that cats can get? Many of these come in thru our door. FFRC can do a LOT of
good things---we have done this long enough to know how to treat so many awful
things. We know how to make the combination of antibiotics work, we know how to
help those with calici and the herpes viruses. We have our protocol from our
vets for so many of the bad things that come in thru our doors. But give me a
cat with FIP and I cannot help even a little bit. The biggest thing now is
stopping it at our door before it can spread.
I know right now there are a few cats “out there” that we
have adopted out that are sick and possibly have FIP. For this, my heart
terribly aches. Please know that I would never ever let any cat out these doors
if I had one split hesitation of their health. I would not do that. Some days I feel terribly guilty for when an FFRC cat becomes sick in their new homes.
Knowing that FIP is such a horrible thing to figure out, do
we stop taking cats in? Do we just shut
our doors? Do we not take in any more pregnant cats? Do we put all the cats in
cages? Or put 4-5 cats in each room area and take no more than that? Do we
euthanize all cats that come in that appear “off”? What do we do? How will this year be different? All I can say is that I try my best. And I
mourn deeply with the families that have lost a cat to FIP. This is one thing I cannot fight. I
understand your worries and your concerns. Please know that I am always open to
discussions. I’d rather meet something head on than to think people are talking
and possibly not having the correct info. And remember---in the FIP world, so much is uncertain. I rarely say the word hate, but simply put, I do hate this disease.
