Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: sheryl on April 11, 2008, 20:07:26 PM
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Life is so cruel sometimes, my friend lost her Snow Bengal Maisie to FIP in January. Today her 16 week old kitten has been diagnosed with FIP, she has only had him for 3 weeks and is devastated, she took him for a check up because his little tummy always looked swollen. I really dont think I would be able to cope with so much heartbreak. The vet wanted to PTS today but the breeder is taking him back to get confirmation of the diagnosis and to see if she can do anything.
Please spare some positive vibes for little Alfie
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Oh I'm so sorry to hear this - did little Alfie come from the same breeder as Maisie? Presume your friend has seen the fip site by Dr Addie in case it might be any help? http://www.dr-addie.com/ :hug:
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That's so sad, I don't think I'd be able to cope either :(
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FIP is extremely hard to diagnose on a live animal and it is also relatively rare, so seems strange that both have been diagnosed with it :Crazy: What test did the vet do and I'd been interested to know what area she is in. Sending positive vibes and I really hope this little one makes it :hug:
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They came from different breeders Gillian, one from Cumbria and the other from Essex.
I agree Dawn and thats why it has come as such a shock, the vets took Xrays of Alfiie and said that he has got a lot of fluid in his abdomen, they took some fluid, she is in the Cambs area. The breeder is convinced that it is not FIP and IMHO the vets seem a bit too quick to "write off" a little life.
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Some vets are a :censored: nightmare :censored: FIP isn't contagious and the cat has to carry the rogue gene so highly unlikely. How is the kitten in himself? I have to admit, I did have a needle test done on Becky a couple of weeks ago, she has a fat tum on her and I was concerned. Luckily there was no fluid but even if there was, it doesn't mean 100% it is FIP. It may be worth the breeder having a blood test done for the Corona Virus and seeing what the titre levels are. Fingers crossed it's something that can be sorted and I would agree that some vets jump to conclusions. They tend to do this when they don't know and first sign of fluid, they think FIP :sneaky:
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Just had this text off Sean, I asked him what else would cause fluid on abdomen.
Liver impairment, heart disease, renal disease. Any protein loss, ie any of above, severe gastro intestinal disease
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I think what has made it worse for them was losing Maisie to FIP she had all the signs of FIP and even went blind at the end, so she is convinced that Alfie has gor FIP. He is eating well and still plays, from what I can make out the only thing wrong was his extended tummy.
I am just hoping that the vet is wrong.
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Thanks Dawn, I wish there were more vets like Sean around. I will drop her a text with the info
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FIP is going to be paramount in your friends mind and also the vets the fact she has lost Maisie. I know this will be the case because when I was starting to help the breeder with her cats and we had Coco, Simba, also Vita with the Corona Virus and sadly the gorgeous Pagan had FIP, as soon as anything went wrong, immediately you think FIP and Lesley will verify. My first worries with Becky was FIP and Sean admitted that was the first thing he thought. I pray for Alfies sake it isn't, god love him :hug: :hug:
Thanks Dawn, I wish there were more vets like Sean around. I will drop her a text with the info
He is one in a million I have to say :Luv: :Luv:
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How terribly sad. Sending lots of :hug: to your friend and healing vibes to Alfie
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I tend to agree that vets jump to the conclusion of FIP too often and use the term too loosely as well. I have read acrticles etc by vets saying that they have tested cats for FIP when they have actually tested cats for the corona virus. It is almost impossible to test a living cat for the FIP but many cats can carry the corona virus without it ever developing into FIP. Also, I believe that wet FIP, ie fluid in the abdomen, can be treated more succesfully than dry FIP.
I'm sure my Vet jumped to the conclusion of FIP with Kay Cee because we all believed that was what Pagan had, but I think Kay Cee did not have FIP, she never had any contact with Pagan, and was denied veterinary treatment because of this mis-diagnosis. Hence, I do not use this Vet anymore even though I used to work for them. In my opinion they let Kay Cee die because of suspicion of FIP.
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gosh i am so sorry.
I have seen too many cats die from FIP and hate the virus with a passion. It went round a cattery i worked at with devastating results
As everyone else has said, it is so hard to test too and almost every cat you would test would come up positive.
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gosh i am so sorry.
I have seen too many cats die from FIP and hate the virus with a passion. It went round a cattery i worked at with devastating results
As everyone else has said, it is so hard to test too and almost every cat you would test would come up positive.
This is where people get confused, FIP isn't actually contagious, the cat has to carry the rogue gene for it to mutate and not all cats have it. Usually if it's going to hit them, they are usually under 4 years old. The Corona Virus however is contagious but as you said, most cats if tested, will come up positive.
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As I understand it FIP in itself is not contagious, corona virus is contagious and it is the corona virus that cats test positive for. FIP is a mutation of the corona virus that can be brought on by stress, illness, etc. If I remember correctly, it is thought that only 3% of cats that carry corona virus go on to mutate into FIP. FIP is still a very complex and misunderstood disease, which is why Vets tend to label so many symptons to it. If they say a cat has FIP and it dies it is no surprise, if it survives they have worked miracles and are heroes.
The best site to read through is Dr Addie's site with regard to FIP but even on there they state that alot is still unknown.
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I tend to agree that vets jump to the conclusion of FIP too often and use the term too loosely as well. I have read acrticles etc by vets saying that they have tested cats for FIP when they have actually tested cats for the corona virus.
Yes, thats exactly what happened with Gwynnie, it was one of the first things my vet mentioned - that she could have FIP. She did have high coronavirus titers of 2,500 but all that meant was that she had an active coronavirus infection, not that she had FIP - and she's absolutely fine now. But at the time all I was hearing was my vet saying FIP and then of course when the titers came back so high.....its hard to think anything different, but then Gwynnie got better and it wasnt the doomesday scenario my vet was predicting.
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Pancreatitis can also cause some fluid in abdomen; Lucia was diagnosed with that (not easy to diagnose). It is treatable, though.
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My Dragan has pancreatitis it took a year for the vet to diagnose it, apparently rare in cats.
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I truly hope it isn't FIP, I hate seeing those three letters, and sadly they do seem to crop up more and more. How long ago did your friend lose Maisie? Does she know what colour the fluid was? IT is normally a straw colour in FIP. This is an interesting article
http://www.moggies.co.uk/articles/fight_fip.html
Here is an article that explains what happens when cats come into contact with the virus, and how it develops - it actually depends on their immune system
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1316&articleid=212
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She lost Maisie in Jan Desley, 11 months after she was fisrt diagnosed.
Little Alfie went back to the breeder yesterday, he has seen her vet who is convinced that he does Not have FIP, the breeder has never had corona virus. Her vet thinks it is a protein related illness and is confident that they can see him through this, fingers crossed for this little soul.
The breeder is going to let Julie know how he gets on but he will be staying with the breeder who was really upset that the vet who saw him on Friday wanted to put him to sleep.
Thankyou all so much for your good wishes and input, I will let you know how he does (the breeder is going to call Julie and let her know)
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Good luck Alfie :hug:
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Fingers crossed Alfie will be ok :wish:
Also, I believe that wet FIP, ie fluid in the abdomen, can be treated more succesfully than dry FIP.
Wets the worst stage :( George had dry but was heading to wet when i had him pts. Cats with dry FIP can live some weeks, George had symptoms for about 2 months before he got really bad.
Dawn, iv not heard of a rouge gene, do you have any articles on it? Most sites go with stress as the trigger eg rehoming/multi cat home.
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Actually, one of the sites I read last year said that cats with dry FIP can have up to a year.
Fingers crossed for him.
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Maisie survived 11 months but I know that it was a rough time for all of them and she was on steroids most of the time, at one point both her eyes went black and Julie thought it was the end but she got over that, when she started having fits was when they decided it was time to pts.
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pancreatitis it took a year for the vet to diagnose it, apparently rare in cats
Although admittedly more common in dogs, I do hear it frequently in cats. I hear for instance far less cases of FeLV., mind you that is since the FeLV injection has become more popular.
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any news on the little one Sheryl?
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Hi Dawn, I spoke to Julie last night and he is doing okay, still playing and eating well. The breeders vet is still convinced that it is not FIP and says that the condition could be realted to diet.
He is having tests done on Friday so finger crossed.
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Keeping fingers crossed for him :hug:
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I hope it is diet related, poor little babe
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Im really sorry to have to say that little Alfie went to the Bridge this morning.
RIP little one xxx
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:( oh no ... not the news we were hoping for.
Please pass on my sincere condolences to your friend. Do they know what the problem was?
RIP Alfie baby ... play hard at the bridge little man xxx
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TBH Sam it really does sound like FIP because apparently he was playing this morning and suddenly started gasping for breath and died within minutes (Julie sent me a copy of the Email from the breeder) the worrying thing is that is seems likely that Julies older cat could be a carrier and she has got her Snow Bengal girl who is only 7 months old at home. I just hope and pray that this one stays healthy.
I will pass on your condolences Sam, she is inconsolable at the moment.
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Oh poor baby. I am really sorry. :(
RIP little Alfie. xx
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I'm so sorry to hear this, RIP Alfie :RIP:
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So sorry to hear this :hug:
RIP Alfie
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i am sorry to hear this, but there may be no risk to the other cat - FIP is a mutation of the Coronavirus, and it doesn't always mutate, the stats are quite low. RIP Alfie
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I'm so sorry to hear this, as others have said coronavirus rarely turns into FIP and a leaflet that I got from CP said that 80 to 100% of cats in a multicat household will carry coronavirus. She has been horribly unlucky but I know that is no consolation
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Aw what a shame! :(
:hug: to your friend..... :hug:
RIP Sweet Alfie xxx
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I will pass all your messages to Julie, I gave all mine extra huggles this morning and am so grateful that they are all so healthy and happy. Makes me so sad that Alfies little life was so short but as I have said to Julie while he was on this earth he was loved.
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I am so so sorry for your friend Sheryl, R I P Alfie xxx
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i am sorry to hear this, but there may be no risk to the other cat - FIP is a mutation of the Coronavirus, and it doesn't always mutate, the stats are quite low. RIP Alfie
See this is what i cant understand -
How come after the 1st case at the cattery i worked at, over another 10 cats who had been at the cattery died from FIP ?
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Can't say exactly what I think, as the censorship would kick in, but along the lines of bad cattery. i think it was because they were in a cattery though, and would have been stressed, so their immune system would have been able to let the virus mutate more. One of the sites I posted a link to did say something about catteries. The majority of cats who come into contact with the virus will deal with it and shed it, but it depends on how good their immune system is on how it reacts to the virus, a poor immune system will allow it to mutate slowly, hence dry FIP, and a very poor would allow it to mutate quickly hence wet FIP, which is the worst. The other alternative of course is very bad luck that they had 10 carriers in at one time, but the last stats I Read were about 3% will get FIP, so that really would have to be bad luck.
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I think the stress of being in the cattery would probably be the answer Michelle although of course I'm no expert