Vet Cannot Tell If My Cat Has Fip Or Not. Need Help !

enacheionut1991

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I have a 5 months old cat (male), breed: Chartreaux, name: Charlie :(



I adopted him 2 months ago and i went with him for his first vaccine. All good, but my cat was kinda skinny and he ate not too much. I bought him vitamins and everything seemed better, but he was still on the skinny side.



5 days ago i went with him to a vet to give him his second vaccine, and they also did the rabies shot as well on the same day, because i was planning to leave my cat at a cat hotel for my vacation.



3 days ago i noticed that the cat couldn't get up and use his hind/rear legs, and his posterior side was shaky and he was falling on his sides while trying to walk. I panicked and i went to the vet with him and they gave him a cortico-steriod shot and they noticed that if you press on his spinal cord, at the middle of the spinal cord, the cat was crying, but there is absolutely no chance he suffered a physical injury, he lives in my apartment and he never jumped off things or did anything crazy.



2 days ago everything was worse, he was almost paralyzed, he can only move his eyes and ears, couldn't lift his head at all and he stopped eating and drinking water.



Yesterday i went with him at the vet and they kept him there, did some treatments, collected some blood samples and the analysis didn't say anything out of the ordinary (i have attached the results). They are suspecting FIP (the cat has no belly swelling, he is skinny) but they said there is no way you can say it for sure and from my own research over the internet I've read the same.



The vet told me that he will administrate him Interferon for humans, tomorrow to stop the virus from spreading and he will continue to treat his symptoms but he looked kinda hopeless and everyone is telling me that IF the cat has FIP, you cannot do much.



My question is: is there any way to know for sure if it is FIP or not? Did you hear about anything else that was similar to this? Any advice will be greatly appreciated by me and Charlie.



Thanks.

 

lutece

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If he is a Chartreux, I'm assuming that you got him from a breeder; have you contacted the breeder for advice, and if so, did they have any ideas? What country are you located in?
 
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enacheionut1991

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If he is a Chartreux, I'm assuming that you got him from a breeder; have you contacted the breeder for advice, and if so, did they have any ideas? What country are you located in?
I didnt take him from a breeder, i adopted him from a lady that was working in a pet shelter. I am located in Serbia at the moment.
 

Noirele

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Considering the timing, I would think it's a vaccine adverse reaction, rather than dry FIP. Blood test are inconclusive, but they don't rule out FIP, especially since albulin/globulin ratio is really low. But this occurs in a lot of diseases, it's a generic sign of inflammation somewhere.
The only way to confirm FIP would be doing a biopsy of any affected organ. Since we are talking about neurological symptoms, I honestly don't know if that would be possible to perform.
I believe you can only wait, and give supportive care. If it's something else, which I honestly believe, the cat could improve, so don't lose hope
 
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enacheionut1991

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I would suspect vaccine reaction.
I suspect the same, but I have read and the doctors told me that FIP can be triggered by a vaccine and the cat was supposedly a coronavirus carrier before the vaccine.

Nevertheless it is very hard for the doctors to pinpoint the actual virus or cause of all this.
 

misty8723

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I suspect the same, but I have read and the doctors told me that FIP can be triggered by a vaccine and the cat was supposedly a coronavirus carrier before the vaccine.

Nevertheless it is very hard for the doctors to pinpoint the actual virus or cause of all this.
I lost a cat to FIP, it's beyond heartbreaking.
 

LeoTheBrave

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How is your kitten? The truth is FIP is a complex virus. While there are some bloodwork markers that can be "red flags" (ie. A:G ratio), it may not always be clear. My kitten was diagnosed with FIP last Wednesday and while some of his labs indicated things were "off" it wasn't a classic FIP profile. A few days after the labs, they found a small amount of fluid in his abdominals. After aspirating it, the fluid was "yellow straw-like" and sticky/thick and well...you get the picture. We were shocked because up until then (and even now) many people feel the labs don't match his symptoms. But that's part of what makes this virus so heartbreaking. One day everything is well and then it changes so rapidly. GS has been studied by Dr. Neil Pedersen from UC Davis in treating FIP. The results of his study are amazing. There are actually close to a possible treatment/cure for this. However, patent, FDA approval, etc....it will be some time before it gets to cat parents that need it now. I have been able to get a safe and effective form of GS. I'm happy to say that Leo is doing so well. His effusion is down, he's running, eating and drinking on his own, and the fever subsided within hours of his first injection. We were very lucky because we caught this early. However, I feel like it was important to write this post here. I found myself a very lost and devasted woman after I heard about his diagnosis. Now, I have a little walking miracle. I feel like more people should know about this treatment option and at least have the choice to look into it before settling on having to lose their fur baby. I wish you and your fur baby the absolute best. Keep on fighting little warrior.
 
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FeebysOwner

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To elaborate on L LeoTheBrave 's comments, the Facebook group is - Log into Facebook | Facebook.

It's description: This is a closed group for people with FIP cats that are using GS-441 or GC-376 to treat or are interested in learning more about these treatments. Please understand that by joining, you are agreeing to discuss non-approved yet life-saving treatments for FIP.

It just recently (4/4/2019) changed it's name from FIP Fighters using GS to FIP Warriors using GS, and was created March 19, 2019. It has 246 members at this time.

I found numerous articles about the potential GC376 treatment (see below) but haven't run across articles on the other treatment - GS-441. I will continue to look - but, perhaps L LeoTheBrave can share articles related to it?

Clinical Trial Shows Promise for FIP Treatment
Veterinary researchers close in on FIP treatment
https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/171215a.aspx
 

LeoTheBrave

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I have linked articles below on GS-441524. Pedersen's most recent research was published in February 2019. The study included 30 cats; 25 successfully went into remission (24 remain health to date with 1 cat passing due to unrelated heart issues). Also - here are links to Dr. Pedersen's university website and organization devoted to curing FIP. Both tremendous resources which he keeps updated regularly with treatment guidelines. I should note that Dr. Pedersen has also been very responsive to our emails asking for support on GS use. While he is clear that he does not support black market compounds, he has been very kind and understanding of our desire to heal our cats. Lastly, I included a link to Smokey from ZenbyCat who is one of the first survivors of Dr. Pederson's earlier anti-viral studies and he has been alive for 2 years since treatment. I hope this information is helpful!

HOME

General Feline Infectious Peritonitis Resources | School of Veterinary Medicine

Zen By Cat | House of Nekko | Home
 

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CrazyKittenLady

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I lost a cat to FIP, it's beyond heartbreaking.
I just had to put my beloved 18 month old cat Storm to sleep because of FIP and my heart is truly broken... I'm so worried about my other cat, Storms brother because he was exposed. I've heard from my vet that there is some
type of vaccine to help prevent FIP. Does anyone know if that is true??
 

MissClouseau

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I just had to put my beloved 18 month old cat Storm to sleep because of FIP and my heart is truly broken... I'm so worried about my other cat, Storms brother because he was exposed. I've heard from my vet that there is some
type of vaccine to help prevent FIP. Does anyone know if that is true??
I'm sorry for your loss! What do you mean by Storm's brother was exposed? Did he actually get tested for coronavirus/corona antibodies?

A whole lot of cats get exposed to or carry coronavirus. In only a small percentage of them it turns into FIP. If you didn't get him tested, I suggest testing antibodies with a stool test.

There is another fast kit for corona that says only positive or negative. I suggest skipping that one. If the cat has corona, the antibodies test already shows that AND more. If the antibodies are high, you can be a bit more careful and avoid stress, not do more than one stressful event in a short time (like no deworming AND vaccine on the same week, etc). Otherwise if the cat doesn't get exposed to the feces of other cats with corona, the chances are he will just shed coronavirus and statistically it's more likely it won't turn into FIP than it will.
 

misty8723

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I'm so sorry for your loss.

According to what the vets told me when Darcy got FIP, the coronavirus was long gone from her system, and it will not affect the other cats. If I understand correctly, most cats get the coronavirus, but in some it ends up mutating long after the fact. None of Darcy's litter mates, the cats at the shelter she was in with, nor my other cat got FIP.
 

FeebysOwner

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I am so sorry about Storm. RIP little one. As you have heard above, a large number of the cat population carries the corona virus. Kittens, whose immune systems have not full matured are susceptible. Generally, once they reach 2-3 years of age, their immune systems are strong enough to ward off corona mutating to FIP. A lot of times there is another illness that helps weaken their immunity, allowing the corona virus to mutate.

Then it can happen again in the elderly cats who carry the corona virus, they are more likely to have it mutate - but, again it is typically because of another illness that has brought down their immune system.

As far as I know, there really is no vaccine to prevent FIP or stop the spread of the corona virus. You can have Storm's brother tested to see if he contracted the corona virus, but as long as he is/stays healthy there is no real reason to be concerned.

If you haven't already, look back on this thread to read about testing and potential treatments that are being tested - just to help you be informed.

If/when you would like, you can share Storm's life story, as well as pics, in our Crossing The Bridge section of this site. It is where we go to pay homage and tribute to our lost loved ones.
 
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