How Does Fip Get Misdiagnosed?

[LowCalCalzone]

Hey all, I've heard of people in the past having their cats be misdiagnosed with FIP, including this youtuber here supposedly ().

My question is, how does this happen? I know there's no definitive test to prove FIP, but according to my vet, if their belly is full of yellow sticky fluid then it's most likely FIP. My question is, would there be any other cause? I've heard of many people being misdiagnosed in the past and I guess I'm confused as to how this happens if they can simply take a sample from their belly and get a most likely answer.

I know I'm just wishful thinking, my baby was diagnosed with wet FIP the other day, but he didn't have a fever and his blood work and protein levels looked good so I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything before making the hard decision to put him down.

Thanks for any input!

 

[posiepurrs]

For a lot of vets FIP is the go to diagnosis when they aren't sure of what it is. I have had it happen with one of my cats when she was young. She spent 3 days in the ER vet hospital, having every test they could think of done only to find nothing so they wanted to euthanize her because they 'thought' she had FIP. My regular vet figured out the problem after having several other cats present with the same symptoms, although less severe. It was a reaction to a vaccine. She is now 16 years old now. I really would suggest a second opinion before doing anything.

 

[LowCalCalzone]

Thank you for your input! Did your cat have fluid build up in their abdomen? Was it a sticky yellow fluid?

 

[FeebysOwner]

I can't help with other probable causes of sticky yellow fluid in the belly. But, I believe the link below addresses the most reliable test to date for verifying or ruling out FIP. If this test was not performed, you might want to ask about it.

https://idexxcom-live-b02da1e51e754...c75ac/feline-infectious-peritonitis-virus.pdf

 

[posiepurrs]

Thank you for your input! Did your cat have fluid build up in their abdomen? Was it a sticky yellow fluid?

No she didn’t. That is why I say it is a go to diagnosis for a vet if they don’t know what is wrong.

 

[She's a witch]

Fluid build up in the abdomen may have several causes, and while non of them good, not all are not treatable.
There's also dry FIP, where there's no build up at all.

 

[silkenpaw]

Fluid in the abdomen is never a good thing, though there may be many reasons for it. Most of them are not good. posiepurrs is incredibly lucky in that her cat had something that resolved completely. Anyway, it’s always a good idea to get a second opinion when you are faced with a diagnosis of something terminal and pretty much untreatable. Your vet should have no problem with it and should provide you with records of all the labs and X-rays.