Ok let’s talk about FIP for a moment.  What is FIP ???  

 

FIP (Feline infectious peritonitis) is a dangerous feline virus. This virus was once an absolute fatal virus caused by the coronavirus. Just 10-15  years ago, I would tell you to have your cat euthanized if they were diagnosed with FIP because there was no cure or hope. Years passed and even then it was still only a little over 50% chance of survival. Also, at that time, it was illegal to treat in United States because it was not approved by the FDA. People could get the medicine from organizations in England and in Canada, but not the USA. Back then, the medicine was manufactured in China. Chinese doctors started and manufactured most of the FIP medicines and were where the research started. The medicine was (and still is) expensive, but it’s worth every penny to save your baby's life! Your Kitty is a member of your family. Please remember that.

 

Did pricey and hard to acquire medication stop people from saving their cats after an FIP diagnosis? Hell No!! Treatment was available on the black market. As recently as just as a few years back, we would direct people to the proper channels where you could find people who could help you to save your cat. At this time, FIP was very curable albeit still extremely expensive. I have known people who have spent four to five thousand dollars to save their cat's life, just a few years ago.

 

Fortunately, this is not the case anymore. It is now legal within the USA to treat FIP!!!  The medication has been approved by the FDA. Unfortunately, not all veterinarians know a lot about the virus. However, treatment is available through your veterinarian.  Why do many veterinarians not know much about the virus? Because they were not trained for it in college. Please remember this just became legal to treat in United States, so please cut your veterinarian some slack if they are not aware of this development. 

 

You can buy the medicine through your doctor. It is also perfectly legal to buy online. You can go to the FIP Warriors and they will help you if needed. Keep in mind though, even though the medication is now available,  the treatment is still not inexpensive. You can expect to pay anywhere between $700-$2000 to save your cat. Dosages are determined by using the weight of your kitty and also what kind of FIP your cat has.

If your kitty has neurological or ocular, the dose is double of dry or wet FIP. I have been told that you cannot overdose with this medicine so please don’t worry.   

 

Can your kitty survive without treatment? The answer is absolutely sadly NO!!!   Without treatment your kitty will die. Am I sure? Unfortunately, yes. I’m positive. Please don’t cry, you can save your kitty and there are people who will help you…like me!

 

There are organizations that will help you, some will even donate to help you save your kitty. There are plenty of people, very kind people, still left in this world. Hard to believe, but yes, there are kind people out there who actually care not only about complete strangers, but about your cat…ok mostly they care about your cat …

 

The first step is to educate… so here goes as simple as I can without getting too technical….

 

About coronavirus...please do not waste your money to test if your cat has the coronavirus. I guarantee he or she does have the coronavirus. 99.9% of  ALL Cats have it in their body.  There are seven different strands. Only one morphs into this horrible fatal virus.  Please don’t waste $300 on testing for the coronavirus. I can absolutely tell you 100% the chances of your cat not having it is the chances of you winning the megabucks. So please don’t waste your money. In most cases, it is  dormant, which means no worries!

 

So let’s break this down for a second. I’m trying to educate you in layman’s terms and as simply as I can. Only kitties get this virus, although all animals can get the coronavirus. It is not contagious. It is infectious. You cannot get sick from your cat. The possibility of your cat giving it to other cats is EXTREMELY slim. The possibility of one cat giving the coronavirus to another cat is 100%.  The chances of your kitten giving your other kitten FIP is extremely slim. The chances of me helping you 100%.

 

There is controversy that it can run in some cat families. Some experts say yes, some say no, it depends on who you ask and their experiences and expertise. The important thing is if your cat has it and what are you going  do about it?  You have one of two choices. Either you treat,  or you euthanize your cat. it’s that simple. Please do not let your cat suffer. You can save your kitty providing you haven’t dragged your feet doing useless tests to tell you what you already know. Blood work is essential. That’s the only test I would recommend. There is no official test for this virus. It is diagnosed through symptoms. Most cats will run a fever, but not all…. most. I’ve heard of cats running a fever as high as 106, which can mean death is not far away. That is one very sick kitty. Bloodwork may be off, but not in all cases. This is why it is missed by many really good doctors out there. And this is why not only should you be talking to your doctor, but you should be talking to other experts. Talk to your Breeder. Many experienced professional breeders know a lot about the virus. Especially those who have been breeding for a long period of time. We are not veterinarians. However, we have experience, we have done a lot of reading,  we have talked to other people, parents, doctors and other professionals. Some doctors will order expensive MRIs, which will cost you thousands. If you suspect your cat has FIP and you start treatment, you will see improvements in a matter of 5 to 10 days. If you do not see improvement in 5 to 10 days, it is not FIP. The FIP treatment is a lot cheaper than an expensive MRI, so if FIP is suspected, we always do the FIP treatments first. This is just a suggestion. All I can do is suggest. We are not doctors here. We have experience and knowledge, but we are not a DMV nor do we claim to be in any way shape or form. 

 

There are four different kinds of FIP. All are fatal. However, if diagnosed and caught in time, it is very curable. There are four different kinds, wet, dry, ocular, and neurological.

 

Wet FIP~ One of the easiest to diagnose. The kitten's abdomen will fill with fluids. Your veterinarian can drain these fluids. Treatment is a must, and I mean today!!!  Or asap …. Without treatment your kitten will die in a matter of weeks. So, if you call your vet and they cannot see you today, you need to bring them to an ER. This is an emergency. This disease is usually a disease of the very young and the advanced age Kitty. The sooner you start treatment, the better the chances of your cats survival. It’s that simple.  Wet FiP is super dangerous. The cat's abdomen can fill with fluid and they literally suffocate. It also does not take long to die… I am not trying to scare you. I am just trying to give you some knowledge here.

 

Dry FIP~this is one of the most difficult to diagnose. Your cat just is not well. Most cases Kitty suffers from anorexia meaning they have no desire to eat even their favorite treats. They may hide, their coat just looks poor. It doesn’t have the luster it had just a few weeks ago, your cat may spike a temp sometimes up to 106 which can mean death is not far away. I have seen cats that just didn’t look right, no temperature whatsoever. This is one of the most difficult to diagnose. Your veterinarian may do sub Q Fluids to bring that temperature down and give them antibiotics for any underlining ailments Kitty may get in the process. Your cat may also vomit and they can even have nodules in their mouth. They can have a seizure … a petite-seizure can be easy to miss… Your kitty may do the same thing such as move their leg back-and-forth repeatedly and then they pee themselves after the seizure. This is a red flag. They may have a grand mal seizure. What is a  grand mal seizure? Extremely scary,  your kitty may flop around. They cannot control their muscles. Their eyes roll in their head. It is very dangerous and scary.  What can you do if your kitty is having a seizure? Just make sure they don’t bump into anything or fall off furniture. The best thing you can do is time the seizure and call your veterinarian, or bring the cat to the emergency room as soon as possible. Make sure, they do not hurt themselves while having the seizure. Please do not pick your cat up. Your cat can involuntary bite you. I would also contact any Kitty expert for advice.  Most experts are available 24 hours,  just be persistent that you keep calling until they pick up even if it’s 2 o’clock AM.

 

Oscular FIP~means the eyes~look at your cats eyes are they unequal??? Does that  third eyelid look a little wonky? Looking into the cats mouth, do the gums look white? Do they have any nodules inside their mouth? Do they have diarrhea? Vomiting? Is your kitty lethargic? I have seen this misdiagnosed more than once. Why? For the simple reason that many veterinarians are not up to speed with this virus.  As I stated before, it’s only been legal to treat in this country for the past year, therefore, they have not been studying this. They’ve been learning on their own by reading, the same way as many experts. The difference is their hands were previously tied and they could not treat. All they could do was euthanize the cat and many times veterinarians couldn’t even point people in the right direction for medication for fear of losing their license.

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Neurological~Like wet, dry and ocular, neurological FIP is diagnosed by symptoms.   Neurological FIP is in the Kitty's brain and spinal cord. The dose for the medication is double that of both dry and wet FIP. The kitten can have seizures. The cat may lose control of their back legs and death is unfortunately not far behind.  If your cat or kitten displays any of these symptoms, please do yourself a favor and contact the FIP Warriors. This can save your cat's life after seeing your veterinarian.   

 

Any time your cat is hiding , not eating , just not himself or herself best thing is get in touch with your veterinarian immediately. Please  bring your kitten to an Emergency veterinarian if you cannot get an appointment today. Also contact  your breeder.      

 

Will my cat relapse? The chance of relapse is extremely low providing that you give the medication properly. You give the exact dose, around the same time every day for 12 weeks. You cannot miss even one dose. If you do miss a dose, you give that missed dose immediately and then keep on with your schedule. I would contact the FIP Warriors for advice. Most likely they will extend the treatment.

 

Can it come back after treatment?  Now  that depends on who you ask. If the treatment is successful, you give the medicine every day faithfully at the same time of day, I would say with confidence your Kitty will live long, healthy life…. 

 

While giving FIP medication to a Kitten, the Kitten needs to be weighed at least twice a week because the dose will increase as your Kitten grows.  

 

You will need a CAT scale  and a pill splitter and medication. 

 

The treatment is for 12 weeks, every day, the same time of day. GOOD NEWS!!!. Most insurance companies now cover this virus. Because it is only been approved for a little over a year, many veterinarians are not up to speed as far as diagnosing and treating. In other words, many professional breeders know more about this virus than your doctor, and no I am not kidding.  So be sure to ask lots of questions and contact  multiple professionals. The best medicine besides the real medicine is knowledge….

 

Professional breeders are one of the best sources of information, also  the FIP Warriors, you can find them on Facebook. There are other groups of people that will help save your kitty and they do it because they care, not for profit.  Most do not earn a penny.

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Remember, this is a very subtle disease in the beginning. Your cat can have one symptom,  just lethargic.  Just because your cat's lazy does not make them sick. This is why you should contact a professional. This horrible virus is diagnosed by symptoms. A veterinarian will perform lab work and take the cat's temperature while getting a medical history and performing an examination.

 

If your cat is not feeling well, or just not acting like themselves, please contact your Breeder and your veterinarian as soon as possible…. 

 

Remember, this is not the death sentence it was 10 years ago. You can save your cat, however, do not drag your feet. Diagnosis to death can be a week to two months, depending on the health of your cat to begin with, the age of your cat, and what kind of FIP your cat has. If you have a Willetteragdol Kitty or if you have a kitty that came from another cattery and is living with a kitty that we have brought to this world, we will do our very best to point you in the right direction. We care not only about our own cats, but all cats in the family as a unit. Past parents, future parents and present parents.  Please  remember this is a RARE virus , probably less than one out of every 500 cats.   I am an optimist. One day I believe there will be a vaccine for this and it will be eradicated. I have faith in veterinarian medicine. I have faith in my veterinarian friends and in advanced science.    

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Please make sure to get pet insurance for your kitty. FIP is now covered
by most insurance carriers, but you must have coverage BEFORE an
FIP diagnosis.