Feline Infectious Peritonitis

[dev07]

Three weeks ago I brought my 6 mo. old Devon Rex kitten, Sweet Pea, to the emergency pet hospital after she became very sick very quickly having lost weight, lost hair and finally had difficultly breathing--all which happened in about one short week's time. After diagnostics the emergency care vet extracted approx. 4 oz. of fluid off her lungs and due to the high total protein level and other qualities of the fluid concluded fip was the only possible cause. I took Sweet Pea for an ultrasound the next day to get more information and that vet concluded the same. Both vets thought Sweet Pea would have between 2 days and a week before developing the fluid and becoming gravely ill again. Because Sweet Pea seemed to be feeling so well after the fluid extraction I brought her home instead of putting her down that day. I have read a lot about the disease since then and have prepared myself as best I can for what seems inevitable. However, now it's been over three weeks and she has gained a lot of weight, her coat is coming back, she has enormous appetite and she plays very actively with her sister (who has no signs of the illness). In fact, she is more active now than ever and seems to be getting stronger by the day. I hadn't taken her to any other vet or specialist since the diagnosis seemed to be so certain, but will seek out the advice of a feline specialist per the advice on this forum. In the meantime, does anyone know if this period of apparent recovery is a fairly typical response to having the effusion extracted? Will she eventually "hit the wall" and become sick very quickly again? Is there anything else this could be? Thank you for any advice you may have.

[barbaralynni]

Hello,

I am so thrilled to hear how well Sweet Pea is doing. Your story is the reason I always tell people to not give up quickly. Because FIP is very difficult to properly diagnose I suggest waiting to make sure before giving up. Also, there have been many cases I have read and heard about where even after a "confirmed diagnosis" of FIP the kitty will live many months. FIP has so many of the same characteristics of other illnesses including cancer, many of which are treatable. I absolutely do not want to give you false hope but just hang in there and yes, I would seek a second opinion of a Feline Specialist. Take all of your prior test results with you as this history will help the specialist. It is common for FIP kitties to go from being sick to acting almost normal again. I had my kitty go from being very sick with an extremely high temp to bouncing around like nothing at all was wrong. My kitty lived for six wonderful weeks but finally died of FIP that was located in his brain (Neurological FIP). Good luck to you and your Sweet Pea.
Barbara