Cleaning up after FIP

[Theaterchix01]

Interesting that I just found this thread... I had a kitten whom I adopted at six months of age from a shelter... and she passed from the dry form of FIP... I disinfected everything in my apartment and my mother did so as well at my parents’ house. I adopted from the same shelter again.... only for my kitten to have the wet version of FIP... and had to be put down on this past Monday because he couldn’t eat, couldn’t lift his head, etc. I can’t help but feel guilty, I mean... what are the chances of two kittens getting it? I know I did everything I could to clean, and he still got it. I’m at a loss and so angry, any suggestions?

 

[kittenmittens84]

Interesting that I just found this thread... I had a kitten whom I adopted at six months of age from a shelter... and she passed from the dry form of FIP... I disinfected everything in my apartment and my mother did so as well at my parents’ house. I adopted from the same shelter again.... only for my kitten to have the wet version of FIP... and had to be put down on this past Monday because he couldn’t eat, couldn’t lift his head, etc. I can’t help but feel guilty, I mean... what are the chances of two kittens getting it? I know I did everything I could to clean, and he still got it. I’m at a loss and so angry, any suggestions?

FIP is not contagious. The post before yours in this thread contains a loooot of misinformation. There’s nothing you could have done for your kitten to not get FIP, try not to beat yourself up over it. I’m sorry about your kitten

It’s very unlucky that you had two cats die of FIP, but not unheard of. Coronavirus (FCOV) is what’s contagious, and in a small percentage of cats that virus mutates and causes FIP. The mutation and resulting disease are not contagious. FCOV on the other hand can be passed from cat to cat, and it is extremely common in domestic cats. More than 50% of all cats carry the virus, and upwards of 80% in multi cat environments like shelters or catteries. It is basically impossible (or extremely hard) to eliminate FCOV from a place with many cats, and the vast majority of cats who carry FCOV never get FIP. Also cats younger than 1.5 years are more likely to get FIP, because their immature immune systems have trouble fighting off the mutated virus.

For good, accurate info about FIP I’d recommend checking out UC Davis’s SOCK FIP site, or catvirus.com. They’re both run by the top FIP researchers in the world and should have the most up to date info.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I am so sorry for what you went through. It doesn't help to say it is rare, but it is.
K kittenmittens84 is right. FIP is not contagious. And, many cats contract the corona virus, that can - but, mostly does not - mutate to FIP. In addition to young cats, whose immune systems are not fully matured, older cats whose immune systems are weakened by age and underlying health issues can also have the corona virus mutate.

Tawny (RIP - 15) died from FIP. And, by sheer coincidence we were found by another cat (Gracie / RIP - 12) within less than 24 hours of his passing; she was about 6 mos old at the time. Gracie died of cancer, and we don't know if she had the corona virus, but if she did, it did not mutate to FIP with her cancer illness.

Again, so sorry for your losses.

 

[Theaterchix01]

I am so sorry for what you went through. It doesn't help to say it is rare, but it is.
K kittenmittens84 is right. FIP is not contagious. And, many cats contract the corona virus, that can - but, mostly does not - mutate to FIP. In addition to young cats, whose immune systems are not fully matured, older cats whose immune systems are weakened by age and underlying health issues can also have the corona virus mutate.

Tawny (RIP - 15) died from FIP. And, by sheer coincidence we were found by another cat (Gracie / RIP - 12) within less than 24 hours of his passing; she was about 6 mos old at the time. Gracie died of cancer, and we don't know if she had the corona virus, but if she did, it did not mutate to FIP with her cancer illness.

Again, so sorry for your losses.

Does the pain and guilt go away? Because every time I see a picture or talk about it... my heart breaks and I end up getting so sad that it’s hard to think about or do anything else.

 

[Antonio65]

Hello, I'm wondering if there's anything I should keep in mind while disinfecting my apartment after the passing of my cat that suffered from FIP. The shelter recommends I wait three months so that the virus dies off before adopting again, which I plan to do. It gives me time to keep things as they are in my apartment before doing a thorough cleaning and removal of items that belonged to Angus. Any tips would help. I am a neat person, but I am slightly concerned about welcoming a new cat in my apartment because of the FIP.

When my cat Tom passed away from FIP, I packed all his stuff and threw it away.
He had been an outdoors only cat, he arrived as a stray and never wanted to be inside, but when he got sick I took him inside and kept him in a single room until his last day.
The next thing I did after tossing his stuff out was to wash and clean the whole room and its furniture with bleach and water (dilution 1:8, four times higher than what adviced on several websites). I also washed all walls up to 1 meter from the floor and windows and doors.
I repeated this procedure three times, every 4 weeks. That room and part of the house smelled of bleach, nearly like a hospital, for a long time.
Then I waited 4 weeks more after the third cleansing before I opened the door and let my other two cats explore it again.

Did I overdo? Probably, but I wanted to play safe, the risk was too high.

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

What I did was throw out (almost) all of Figaro's toys, his bed (he had peed in it), his dishes, and his litter box. The large, big ticket items (cat tree, unused scratching post, and pet steps) I sprayed with Lysol every week for 2 months, sprayed all the furniture with Lysol every week for 2 months, scrubbed the floors with bleach every week for a month, rented a steam cleaner for the carpet. And for the toy I saved, it's in a ton box with his collar. Neko-chan does not have access to it. I probably over did it, but we were devastated by Figaro's death and wanted to do everything possible protect prevent this happening again.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Does the pain and guilt go away? Because every time I see a picture or talk about it... my heart breaks and I end up getting so sad that it’s hard to think about or do anything else.

The pain, as is the case with all losses, takes its proper place as time passes - through the memories you will recall of how much joy you had - and gave them - during their short time with you. You gave them a home and took care of and loved them - all of you benefited from having had the chance to be with each other, despite the brevity.

There is no reason for you to feel guilt - there was nothing you could do to change what happened. As much pain as I felt when I lost Tawny (and, Gracie, too), I never felt guilt - I know I couldn't have done anything to stop Tawny's mutation (or Gracie's cancer). I hope in time you will come to realize the same about your two babies.

There is a section on this site called 'Crossing the Bridge'. If and when you are ready, you might like to post pictures of your lost little ones and share stories about them - it is a way to pay homage and honor their brief lives - a place to memorialize them.