[yellowdaisies]

I already have another thread about Lily, but I wanted to make one specifically about FIP.

Lily has pancreatitis, and she has tested positive for coronavirus. These two things together mean that she MAY have FIP, but it is not certain. I hope and pray she doesn't, since I know FIP is always fatal. Lily turns 2 in August, and since FIP is usually in cats under 2 from what the vet told me and what I have read, she is not "in the clear" yet.

Does anyone have any experience with FIP? I am especially interested in learning how it is usually diagnosed.

Lily does NOT have wet (effusive) FIP. The fluid would have turned up on her abdominal ultrasound. She MAY, however, have dry FIP, which is much harder to diagnose. Our vet (wonderful cats only vet with MANY years of experience with just cats) said that the only way to tell if she has FIP is to do exploratory surgery and take biopsies of her organs. This procedure is very expensive, so I just want to learn all I can about FIP diagnosis first.

Thanks everyone.

 

[dweamgoil]

Wow! You are fast I posted my reply on the other thread.

 

[laurief]

From what I understand, FIP can only be definitively diagnosed in a necropsy after death. There are, however, tests that can be run on living cats that can strongly suggest the diagnosis of FIP, along with physical symptoms. If you do a Google search of FIP, it will bring up tons of information for you to read.

I, personally, wouldn't lose sleep over the possibility of FIP in your cat. From what I've read, 30-40% of the general feline population test positive for coronavirus, and 90% of those remain healthy and never convert to FIP. So chances are slim that your girl has or will develop FIP.

Laurie

 

[Luigi]

We recently put our almost 1 year old kitten down due to likely FIP. His first symptoms were the cloudiness in the eye that did not clear up with various medications and then it progressed to lameness and finally affected his brain. The vet said the only way to test is to do a spinal tap and MRI but his symptoms progressed so rapidly there was no time to do that. Prior to that he was treated with steroids for several months. I really hope that your Lily doesn't have FIP. The coronovirus is common but the vet said it is rare for it to mutate to FIP.

 

[yellowdaisies]

Bad news. Due to a number of factors, the vet is now 90% sure Lily has FIP. We are taking her home today to provide hospice care. I guess she just fell into that small percentage...

She is only 19 months old. We are totally heartbroken.

 

[yellowdaisies]

Lily probably has FIP, so she is dying

The vet is 90% sure that our little Lily, who is only 19 months old, has FIP. They're having us take her home and basically have her on hospice care until her quality of life is no longer good enough, and then we'll have to have her put down. We've had Lily and her brother since 1/1/11. I don't know how to deal with this. I'm not sure how to watch our YOUNG, once lively, mischievous little princess slowly die. We were supposed to have at least 15 more years with her....

Help, please?

 

[Luigi]

Oh I am so sorry! I know exactly how you feel. They are too young to die and this is so unfair.FIP is such a horrible disease and I have taken comfort in knowing Luigi is now at peace and running and playing like he used to before he got so sick. I know Lily and our sweet Luigi will take care of each other when Lily meets him in heaven. Lily knows how much you love her. Hugs to you.

 

[Luigi]

What other symptoms does she have right now? I also posted on your other thread.

 

[yellowdaisies]

Thank you. I'm so sorry for your loss as well. When did your Luigi pass away?

 

[yellowdaisies]

What other symptoms does she have right now? I also posted on your other thread.

She has an erratic fever that keeps going up and down, but is not getting under control. Her appetite is still not getting much better, although she now will eat a little on her own. She is mostly being syringe fed. She has pancreatitis, and her pancreas is still angry and swollen. Now, one of her kidneys has become enlarged, swollen, and painful. The blood tests revealed that her protein levels are too high, and she has coronavirus. Her skin is pale, and the whites of her eyes are yellowed. There may have been more, but after I heard "FIP," I was having trouble listening very well...

 

[Luigi]

My heart breaks for you. I truly understand how horrible you feel. Luigi,s symptoms began with cloudiness of the eye and then progressed to lameness in his back end and then it affected his brain. It really is a terrible disease. He had the dry form that is neurological.

 

[Luigi]

It will be 5 weeks on tuesday.We miss him every day. He was an amazing guy.He died just around when he would have been one. My son just adopted a one year old cat who is helping him so much. Luigi can never be replaced but I am happy he has another cat to love.His mane is Fezzik and there are some pics posted of him in the meet my kitty section.

 

[yellowdaisies]

My heart breaks for you. I truly understand how horrible you feel. Luigi,s symptoms began with cloudiness of the eye and then progressed to lameness in his back end and then it affected his brain. It really is a terrible disease. He had the dry form that is neurological.

Lily's is dry as well. She doesn't have neurological symptoms yet, and my understanding is that they do not ALWAYS occur in the dry form, although they are common. I'm not looking forward to that...
How long did he have after the diagnosis? I'm bringing her home today and although I want to be with her of course, I am not looking forward to watching her and waiting for death....how long does it take??

 

[Luigi]

The lameness started in late November and like your vet, ours said it is not possible to truly diagnose without invasive and expensive tests or post mortem. He was treated with steroids for about 2 months but there was no improvement. He did not seem to be in pain but it was hard to see him so wobbly. In the end his personality began to change and he stopped meowing and my son knew he wasn't happy anymore so he made the hard but kind decision to let him go. The vet said he would only get worse and it would haven happened quickly. So it was not a long period of time I'm afraid. You will know in your heart when it is the right time.

 

[Luigi]

Here is a picture of Luigi

 

[cooncatbob]

It's always heart breaking when a beloved pet is stricken by illness and disease but doubly so when they're so young.

 

[hal1]

Make yourself content knowing you gave her a good home, and that her time here was filled with love

I've had pets needed to be put down due to illness, and old age/pain/declining health.

I console myself by acknowledging that the animal doesn't know he's gone (though I do believe they sense their own death when severely ill). When they're gone, they're gone. It's not like when you leave home and they wonder why you've been away so long and when you're coming back. We are sad because of what WE are missing, not because of what they are missing.

These are MY thoughts, and not meant to tell others what they should be feeling. It's just how I relieve my own sadness.

I do understand you grief, and I am sad when any animal has not had the chance to fully enjoy life, or feels the pain of poor health.

Make yourself content knowing you gave her a good home, and that her time here was filled with love.

 

[dweamgoil]

So sorry for your first loss and now this. The best we can do is let them know how much we love them before it's their time to go. atback

 

[Gummers]

One of my boys had Wet FIP. I got him from the Humane Society in my county at the time. He died in my hands, it was horrible. I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through this.

 

[yellowdaisies]

Thank you everyone for your kind words. I came here because I knew everyone would be understanding, and I am not disappointed.

Missing Luigi - what a beautiful boy! I love black and white kitties, and black kitties. (obviously, as you can see in my signature..)

Lily is home now. She seems to be doing well, although she is very tired. I'm hoping she'll eat on her own ok. We have 2 antibiotics, pain meds, and anti nausea meds to give her. It seems like she has been grooming herself - she wasn't for awhile, and she had oily fur and lots of dandruff. Now she has much less dandruff and seems cleaner.

I just want to provide her a nice, comfortable life while she is still here with us. I plan to go out and buy some of her favorite foods tomorrow, as well as some meat flavored baby food, which the vet recommended.