14 Year Old Cat Diagnosed With Fip

[dawn harvey]

Hi, my 14 year old cat was diagnosed with FIP yesterday. I have some ?'s if anyone may know. I have 4 cats, one got out in Dec for approx 2 weeks, 1st time that has happened and he is home and fine. Could that cat have brought in the coronavirus and given it to my 14 year old cat and with her age the virus decided to mutate? I am stumped as to how she got this. She never goes outside and none of my other cats do either except for the time with my male cat this past winter. She is not doing well at all, but my vet has kept her until Monday and they are giving her antibiotics and steroids. Does this even help with FIP? Seems strange that an antibiotic would even help with a virus. Can anyone tell me more on what to expect here. They got fluid from her belly and so it's getting full, her spine is all bony, her hair looks horrible and she has leakage from her one eye. She is not eating hardly at all and is plain lethargic. She is not even eliminating regularly. I'm wondering if I should even try to extend her life with what the vet is doing. And they said to separate the cats after she comes home, but she has had this awhile, my vet couldn't figure out what was wrong until now. Up until yesterday she was around the other cats although she wasn't interacting with them due to her condition.

 

[duckpond]

I am sorry to hear that she is so sick. Im not sure if you will ever know why it decided to mutate now. As for treatment, hopefully you have a good vet that you can talk to. As your vet, if it were his cat, what would he do?

Sending you guys good thoughts and prayers. keep us updated.

 

[dawn harvey]

Thank you.. I know I'm heartbroken about this. I also have to consider my other cats in this. It will be very hard to keep them separated in my home and can we take the risk of her infecting the others if that hasn't already happened. If it were just her I would keep her with us as long as I could. And there's the factor of quality of life. She is miserable now I do know that.

 

[duckpond]

Thank you.. I know I'm heartbroken about this. I also have to consider my other cats in this. It will be very hard to keep them separated in my home and can we take the risk of her infecting the others if that hasn't already happened. If it were just her I would keep her with us as long as I could. And there's the factor of quality of life. She is miserable now I do know that.

I am so sorry that she is going through this. I am sorry you are too, its always so hard. Thoughts and prayers are with you.

 

[lacy2000]

I'm so sorry this has happened to you and your kitty. FIP is every cat owner's nightmare. Perhaps it will bring you comfort to know that FIP is not contagious and can only mutate inside one cat's body. Even if your other cats do contract the coronavirus it is unlikely that it too will mutate in their bodies.

 

[Blakeney Green]

There is no cure or effective treatment for FIP. Unfortunately if she is suffering, the only option is euthanasia. I'm sorry.

You will likely never know how she contracted coronavirus. She may have had it since she was a kitten, and it only just now mutated. Coronavirus is extremely common and most cats live completely normal lives corona-positive. No one really knows why one case becomes FIP and not another.

 

[saleri]

Hi, my 14 year old cat was diagnosed with FIP yesterday. I have some ?'s if anyone may know. I have 4 cats, one got out in Dec for approx 2 weeks, 1st time that has happened and he is home and fine. Could that cat have brought in the coronavirus and given it to my 14 year old cat and with her age the virus decided to mutate? I am stumped as to how she got this. She never goes outside and none of my other cats do either except for the time with my male cat this past winter. She is not doing well at all, but my vet has kept her until Monday and they are giving her antibiotics and steroids. Does this even help with FIP? Seems strange that an antibiotic would even help with a virus. Can anyone tell me more on what to expect here. They got fluid from her belly and so it's getting full, her spine is all bony, her hair looks horrible and she has leakage from her one eye. She is not eating hardly at all and is plain lethargic. She is not even eliminating regularly. I'm wondering if I should even try to extend her life with what the vet is doing. And they said to separate the cats after she comes home, but she has had this awhile, my vet couldn't figure out what was wrong until now. Up until yesterday she was around the other cats although she wasn't interacting with them due to her condition.

Curious, does your cat have wet or dry FIP? Cause it sounds like it's wet and I thought only younger cats could get wet FIP?

Very sorry about this happening to your cat and you.

 

[Blakeney Green]

Curious, does your cat have wet or dry FIP? Cause it sounds like it's wet and I thought only younger cats could get wet FIP?

No, they can, unfortunately. The risk drops significantly after age two (though it never becomes zero risk,) but it increases again after around age eight.

I think the reason we anecdotally notice it more in younger cats is just that a cat can't get a fatal illness twice, so if their coronavirus mutates when they're younger, that's sadly the end of the line.