I adopted Silk (9mo female kitten) about a month ago and now she has a fairly severe cough and is sneezing quite a bit. I took her to the vet Friday where they examined her and since she didn't have any fever or other signs of illness they gave her a depo shot thinking it might just be allergies. The shot didn't help any so I took her back in yesterday and left her there for a few hours so they could see all of her symptoms. The vet called and said they wanted to do a blood test for FIP but I wanted to talk to the foster parents I got her from first since Silk has had a lot of problems with diarrhea and the fosters had done quite a few tests already.
I called the foster (who is a 3rd year Vet Med student) and when I said the vet wanted to test for FIP he said that blood tests for FIP are inconclusive and usually a waste of money. The tests only indicate whether the animal has been exposed to FIV, not whether or not the animal actually has a mutated form or even if they ever will get it. He also said the test is not species specific so even if Silk has been exposed to the canine version she would still test positive.
What advice can those in the know on here give me? Should I have Silk tested for FIP or is it inconclusive as the foster said? The vet was busy when I picked Silk up yesterday so I wasn't able to ask her about what the foster said.
Mez
PS - The foster determined through trial and error that Silk was probably allergic to chicken, which was causing the diarrhea. I've been feeding Silk a chicken-free dry food (Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck) and while she has diarrhea every 3-4 days, most of her stools are soft but round.
I called the foster (who is a 3rd year Vet Med student) and when I said the vet wanted to test for FIP he said that blood tests for FIP are inconclusive and usually a waste of money. The tests only indicate whether the animal has been exposed to FIV, not whether or not the animal actually has a mutated form or even if they ever will get it. He also said the test is not species specific so even if Silk has been exposed to the canine version she would still test positive.
What advice can those in the know on here give me? Should I have Silk tested for FIP or is it inconclusive as the foster said? The vet was busy when I picked Silk up yesterday so I wasn't able to ask her about what the foster said.
Mez
PS - The foster determined through trial and error that Silk was probably allergic to chicken, which was causing the diarrhea. I've been feeding Silk a chicken-free dry food (Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck) and while she has diarrhea every 3-4 days, most of her stools are soft but round.