Fip Diagnosis And Much Confusion

[ktinathegreat]

Hello all,
First time poster, I am sorry if this is a very common thread. I searched archives, but did not see anything similar to our situation.

We took our 1 year, 4 month old cat, Marceline, to the vet as she has had pretty persistent but still mild diarrhea for a while. We were trying some things to help at home (pumpkin, eliminating some foods because it seemed worse after she had salmon wet food) and she was last seen in October for her shots, so it hasn't been too long, and we suspected a food allergy. She has zero other symptoms than soft poo (usually a four, maybe five on the poo scale) and very rarely some red blood in her stool. The vet ran a full blood panel and then called and diagnosed her with FIP and told us to wait to see if other symptoms appear. I am VERY confused by this diagnosis. I feel if she had FIP for sure, she would be very, very ill. As it is, she has high energy, a beautiful coat, a strong appetite, and is continuing to gain weight (she was up .5 lbs between October and December). He did not take her temperature on Tuesday, so I'm not sure if she has had a fever. Did he perhaps mean she was at risk of developing the mutation because of her age? He also said he felt no indication of fluid build up or sensitive areas in her abdomen after a thorough physical examination. She just seems so lively for a cat that was just given a death sentence. His advice to us was to monitor her and keep feeding her the Royal Canin Gastrointestinal High Energy food he prescribed.

Should we get a second opinion, or call him back with more questions? What questions should we be asking?

Thank you for your help! I have been lurking here for months and I come here with all my cat questions, I just don't usually have to make my own post!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hello - and welcome!!
I think that if you can find another vet to speak with, that could be helpful. Ask for clarification about your concerns as you posted them here. If you'd rather talk with your current vet first, certainly do that and again, refer to your post here.

I'm sending a lot of good thoughts to you

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

You could ask your current Vet if she was running fever, if they suspect WET or DRY FIP, and HOW they came up with the diagnosis. There are no tests that are 100% conclusive, to my knowledge, but there are some "suspect" values in a blood test that might warrant further tests. And, again, as far as I know, the further test is to test some of the abdominal fluid IF there is any, but you indicated there isn't any, so this diagnosis does seem odd . Is this a Vet that you have been with for a long time and trust? If not, then I would probably start looking for another Vet.

Let's hope it is NOT FIP

 

[ktinathegreat]

Thanks for the input. We have been taking her to the same vet office, a cat clinic, but usually we see the other doctor in the clinic. This was the first time we have seen this particular doc. It did sound like he maybe suspected Wet FIP because he said to watch for symptoms because "fluid COULD start building up."
The other thing I am noting is that she has been on this new food for 1 or 2 full days (we were mixing with her old food the first two days) and she just had an almost normal bowel movement, so we are seeing improvements in the one and only symptom she has. We will definitely call back with clarifying questions on monday. For now, we will carry on as normal, since she certainly is (she is getting in to trouble and just had a bout of zoomies).

 

[Furballsmom]

Three cheers for the zoomies .

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Three cheers for the zoomies .

Absolutely! Always a good sign

 

[epona]

I'm always a little bit concerned when FIP is diagnosed without much effort - it sometimes seems like they can't think of anything else so it could be FIP, which is terrifying - but if no tests have been done and there is no fluid buildup then it is just a guess. If a change to food for gastrointestinal issues solved it then it could be IBS or similar - not pleasant and requires management, but not an FIP death sentence.

 

[Noirele]

It's hard to believe, but the same thing happened to us last night. I brought Merlin to an emergency clinic because he has muscle aches. It has been a week, he stopped to play and to run and has tenderness, but he becomes totally normal if he takes FANS. It's "just" pain, not lethargy or depression, he sometimes run and then has to stop.
Anyway, last night they did a complete blood panel, which showed NO signs of FIP (albumin/globulin ratio of 1,3, no anemia, no low white cells, normal liver enzymes) and the vet says muscle aches have no correlation with FIP.
BUT he had mild diarrhea for a couple of months, some days better and some worse, and it all started when we tried salmon wet food (sounds exactly the same!).
So he said it could be FIP, since he's positive to coronavirus and we should do an eco to search for hidden fluid.
Seems REALLY weird to me. I mean, it's not impossibile, but no fever and chronic diarrhea, doesn't sound like FIP.

 

[posiepurrs]

I am not a vet but it seems to me that when they are stumped for a diagnosis they usually point to FIP. Happened to me years ago when one of my girls had a reaction to her shots. Sometimes when a cat tests positive for Corona virus(majority of cats do) the vets just assume it will mutate into FIP. Given your babies symptoms, I would talk to the vet for clarification and if not satisfied, have the cat seen by your regular vet or change vets.

 

[ktinathegreat]

Our vet didn’t even recommend further testing to see if she had fluid build up anywhere. When I asked about prognosis (before I looked anything up), he said “that’s a loaded question” and went on about cats under three getting it and how if she makes it to three she might be okay, which makes NO sense unless he was really calling to tell me she had Coronavirus, because FIP is always fatal according to the whole of the internet. But the word Coronavirus never left his lips in the whole phone call.
It seems like her poo got a tiny bit softer again, but her new food also has fish oil so if she is sensitive to fish it’s not a hypoallergenic food for her. He also said it would take 2-4 weeks for a full improvement in diarrhea with the new food (before the FIP diagnosis) and it hasn’t been one yet, so I am not giving up on that yet. Meanwhile, she is still acting very normal and healthy. ‍

 

[Kflowers]

ktinathegreat, I think, I know I'd get a second opinion about everything that vet said. But that's just me.

 

[ktinathegreat]

I have left a message for the other vet in the clinic to call, she only works on Tuesday and Wednesday. I don’t know if she will have anything different to say, but I feel she is much better at explaining things. I am going to politely
Request that she send me a copy of the lab results, too.

In related news, Marceline had what appears to be a 100% normal poo today! It was solid, no soft piles, and it was a nice brown color! Never been more excited about a poo before.

 

[Furballsmom]

I love this one, --and the chance to use it

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

ktinathegreat , you haven't been around here too long, but most of us get very excited bout poop . I'm being very serious here. Either our furkids are having a hard time going, or they've got diarrhea. So normal poop is always a welcome sight. Some folks here have even been known to post pictures of it, and many of us even glove up and check it out for anything suspicious

 

[ktinathegreat]

Final update:
Our preferred vet (the other vet at the clinic) called me back today and basically said Marceline has high titers for Coronavirus, but no indication that she has full blown FIP. She told me she normally doesn’t even run that test. She essentially told me to put that thought in the back of my mind, walk out of that room, and lock the door and not to go back unless marceline develops symptoms. She is a healthy kitty!

 

[white shadow]

.
OMG, what a relief !

I can only imagine how much lighter you feel tonight.

Well, considering this entire experience and your commentary......if I were in your shoes, Marceline's future appointments would only be scheduled for Tuesdays and Wednesdays !


btw.....you happened to mention "shots" in your first post......I wonder if you've seen this: Vaccines for Cats: We Need to Stop Overvaccinating

Oh.......one more thing: you two have been here for 4+ days now......and, we have yet to see even one picture of the object of our attention. This is not good

May I suggest you remedy this......before anything.....ah.....unexpected happens
.

 

[ktinathegreat]

Oh my, well here she is!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Whew! What a relief you must be feeling! I completely agree with white shadow that I would only schedule future appointments on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. I sure hope your PREFErRED Vet discusses this entire situation with that other Vet .

BTW, thanks for the picture. We do love our cat pix . She's gorgeous...just like her name.

 

[Kflowers]

I guess you should never take a fip diagnose as absolute until you get a second opinion. A lot of people would have accepted it and put the kit to sleep to be kind. That last week of fip is bad.

ktinathegreat , I'm so happy for you. What you just went through is facing death and beginning a new life for both of you.

I'm so glad you got that second opinion. I'm hoping that since the second vet called you back she saw where the first had leapt to the fip diagnose and had a little talk with her about scaring the clients' people out of their sanity.