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- Jul 27, 2018
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Hi all,
Thanks in advance for your help! Sorry this is super long.
TL;DR: Jack was diagnosed with FIP 2 days ago but seems to be much better after Clavamox doses for 2 days. Less circling and eating voraciously, more curious and active. Could he be getting better/have been misdiagnosed or is it just wishful thinking?
Long version: My dear 4-year-old Jack was a rescue kitten we took in in 2014. On Monday night he began circling weirdly and acting lethargic (and in hindsight, he’d been less playful over the weekend but I thought it was because we had guests and he can get a bit skittish with new people). He never stopped eating but was just kind of nibbling on a few bites over the weekend too, but ge’s often pretty picky. I called the vet first thing Tuesday, and took him in Wednesday AM because they didn’t have anything sooner. He spent all day Tuesday sleeping on my lap and seeming really off-balance. He was clearly having balance issues and after some internet research I thought it could be bilateral vestibular disease (less pronounced/no head tilt?).
On Wednesday at the vet, he was super anxious and they said he’d lost two pounds since a year and a half ago when we last brought him in—I instantly had that stomach-drop, because how could we not have noticed?? But since we hold him every day maybe we just acclimated to it as he lost the weight? I feel awful and like the worst cat mom ever. I am ordering a cat scale today!
They did a lot of blood work and said that almost everything was normal, but some protein was at 8 (or .8? I will have to get the details and upload them, I was pretty distraught) and he probably had FIP. He was basically going to get worse until he died, the vet said. She said he was ‘stargazing’ which he was, but he does get weird and stare-y when he is nervous, and I was nervous too which was not helping.
So she gave us some Clavamox on the off chance it was something else (she said it was definitely neurological), and we went home in complete despair. We just spent the whole day with the ljttle guy and cuddled him. He ate OK the rest of Wednesday and continued to circle and seemed very sleepy.
Wednesday night after 2 doses of Clavamox, morning and night, he ate nearly a whole can of food and asked for more, and drank some too. He got up and moved around a lot more than he had before. Thursday was even sligtly better—he still is sleeping a lot but he’s much steadier on his feet. Last night and today (Friday), even better, with more movement and actively asking for food which he almost never does. He is barely circling anymore. Is it possible he’s getting better and therefore was misdiagnosed??
Am I just seeing what I want to see? I mean I’m not making up the eating more and moving better, my boyfriend sees it too. Is it possible he lost weight unrelatedly and has an ear issue, or some other disease that responds to antibiotics? I am trying not to be too hopeful, but it’s hard when it seemed like he was supposed to die any minute and now is seemingly feeling so much better. I updated the vet but she didn’t really say much.
Sorry this got so long, and thank you if you finished reading! I am so worried and I just want some perspective on this! Thank you all!
Thanks in advance for your help! Sorry this is super long.
TL;DR: Jack was diagnosed with FIP 2 days ago but seems to be much better after Clavamox doses for 2 days. Less circling and eating voraciously, more curious and active. Could he be getting better/have been misdiagnosed or is it just wishful thinking?
Long version: My dear 4-year-old Jack was a rescue kitten we took in in 2014. On Monday night he began circling weirdly and acting lethargic (and in hindsight, he’d been less playful over the weekend but I thought it was because we had guests and he can get a bit skittish with new people). He never stopped eating but was just kind of nibbling on a few bites over the weekend too, but ge’s often pretty picky. I called the vet first thing Tuesday, and took him in Wednesday AM because they didn’t have anything sooner. He spent all day Tuesday sleeping on my lap and seeming really off-balance. He was clearly having balance issues and after some internet research I thought it could be bilateral vestibular disease (less pronounced/no head tilt?).
On Wednesday at the vet, he was super anxious and they said he’d lost two pounds since a year and a half ago when we last brought him in—I instantly had that stomach-drop, because how could we not have noticed?? But since we hold him every day maybe we just acclimated to it as he lost the weight? I feel awful and like the worst cat mom ever. I am ordering a cat scale today!
They did a lot of blood work and said that almost everything was normal, but some protein was at 8 (or .8? I will have to get the details and upload them, I was pretty distraught) and he probably had FIP. He was basically going to get worse until he died, the vet said. She said he was ‘stargazing’ which he was, but he does get weird and stare-y when he is nervous, and I was nervous too which was not helping.
So she gave us some Clavamox on the off chance it was something else (she said it was definitely neurological), and we went home in complete despair. We just spent the whole day with the ljttle guy and cuddled him. He ate OK the rest of Wednesday and continued to circle and seemed very sleepy.
Wednesday night after 2 doses of Clavamox, morning and night, he ate nearly a whole can of food and asked for more, and drank some too. He got up and moved around a lot more than he had before. Thursday was even sligtly better—he still is sleeping a lot but he’s much steadier on his feet. Last night and today (Friday), even better, with more movement and actively asking for food which he almost never does. He is barely circling anymore. Is it possible he’s getting better and therefore was misdiagnosed??
Am I just seeing what I want to see? I mean I’m not making up the eating more and moving better, my boyfriend sees it too. Is it possible he lost weight unrelatedly and has an ear issue, or some other disease that responds to antibiotics? I am trying not to be too hopeful, but it’s hard when it seemed like he was supposed to die any minute and now is seemingly feeling so much better. I updated the vet but she didn’t really say much.
Sorry this got so long, and thank you if you finished reading! I am so worried and I just want some perspective on this! Thank you all!
hugs! 
