Please Help! Emergency.

[Thaankyoujesus]

Hi everyone. Two nights ago my little angel, buddons started to have difficulty breathing. She only seemed to get worse yesturday so i took her to the vet this afternoon. The vet said she had no air in her lungs and that she has fip. He said that fip was incurable and that no matter what buddons would be dead soon. She was euthenized. I took her to the vet today thinking i would go home with her and some medicine, not go home alone. I need help. I live in a multicat house and fip is extremely contagious. I dont know much about the disease so if any of you do, please tell me everything or anything you can. From my understanding it is highly contagious and two forms ( wet and dry) all my cats have been exposed to it so they should have dry fip, and buddons' dry fip must have become wet last night when she became ill? Can i get my other cats vaccinated to cure them if they have dry fip and not wet? Should i let them live life how they want ( eat as much cat treats, go outside..whatever they want) to make their last days enjoyable? What should i do? Please any response is helpful, any help is appreciated. Also is there any way to know that they havent been infected? I think that if they havent been infected by some miracle that i will give them away immediately so they dont have to die a painful death. Im sorry to make this so long and hopefully it makes sense. Im still so heart broken about my little angel buddons, i really need your help.

 

[tinydestroyer]

I'm so, so sorry for your loss of sweet buddons.
I don't have any advice about FIP, but hopefully someone more knowledgeable can come along soon with some help! You're in my thoughts.

 

[Willowy]

Sorry for your loss .

FIP is not highly contagious. There is no reason to think your other cats have FIP or will develop FIP. Coronavirus, which is what FIP mutates from, is contagious; in fact, 90% of cats in multi-cat homes have been exposed to it. But very very few cats who have been exposed to coronavirus develop FIP.

Anything that weakens the immune system increases the chances for FIP, so try to keep stress to a minimum and make sure they get a high-quality diet. Make sure all the cats are spayed and neutered to prevent mating-related fighting and stress, and keep everything clean.

We don't really know what makes coronavirus mutate in FIP sometimes. It's just one of those unfortunate things.

 

[Thaankyoujesus]

Thank you, thats really comforting to hear that the other cats have been exposed to it but shouldnt develop fip. I have 4 others at home. Theyre all i have and i love them. Buddons was the sweetest, she was the kind of cat that would let you hold her for hours and loved the affection. She became infected really fast and nothing seemed out of place before she was sick so it was a huge surprise. Thank you guys for your help and advice. Ill keep you updated with my other 4 cats. The vet told me today that it was highly contagious and i would have to clean the house with bleach, but even then it couldnt be 100% safe for the other cats. He implied that they all have it as a dry form and that it will definitely be wet eventually and that all of my cats will die. He kept mentioning that my other cats should have it and that theres no cure. What would you guys do in this situation? Would you give them a new home or allow them to live in a house that has fip present? Willowy, you said that many cats become exposed to it but very few develop it, what would you do? The vet made this disease sound as though it is extremely contagious, deadly and once a cat comes into contact with another infected cat is basically given a death sentence.

 

[Willowy]

A lot of vets don't know much about cats, sadly. Most of their training focuses on dogs.

Cornell University is the main source of scholarly studies on cat diseases. Here's their brochure about FIP: FIP - Feline Infectious Peritonitis

 

[weemomma]

From my understanding, it is a good idea to clean the entire house, but as long as you are meticulous about cleaning litter and feeding areas, the chances to passing on the coronavirus is very slim. They do suggest a one month quarantine in a house that has had a cat die from FIP, but if the other cats are not showing symptoms, you should be alright.

Dry form cannot turn to wet form. At least, I don't think it can. A majority of cats have the coronavirus, not FIP. FIP can develop from the coronavirus, but it is rare. Like a 1 in 10 chance. Dry FIP and wet FIP are the two forms. Dry has a longer prognosis, but they are both fatal.

 

[Thaankyoujesus]

Thank you everyone! Ill read cornell's cat studys, because of you all i understand this situation a little bit more.

 

[catladyloni]

I'd buy new litter boxes and bowls too just to be safe.