Linus, my parent’s one-year-old kitty (who was originally my foster cat), has been really sick for weeks. He’d originally been diagnosed with an Upper Respiratory Infection, and has been on loads of antibiotics, but nothing has worked. He’s been tested for feline leukemia and FIV, and everything has come back negative.

But he’s still no better. Not after antibiotics or anything else. They’re now at the point where they are force feeding and giving him subQ fluids. He’s lost more than three pounds in the last week and a half. He is miserable. They are miserable. And the vet thinks he might have FIP.

Does anyone here know anything about FIP, or have pets who have had it? We are crossing our fingers and toes for a FIP-negative set of test results, but things are not looking good. And the prognosis for FIP cats isn’t good either.

-robyn

I hate to say it, but I don’t know what FIP is. They’re force feeding? oh that’s terrible. Poor guy. Let me do a little searching and see what I can find. I hope someone pops by here. I really need to get this site seen by more folks to make it work for people.

I’m so sorry for your cat. I’ll see what I can do.

I don’t think many people know much about FIP. It seems low on the list of talked-about cat illnesses, but maybe that’s because it’s supposed to be 100% fatal, and extremely difficult to diagnose accurately until post-mortem. How is that for outlook? Grim.

The force feeding is very sad. So is the forcing water into him, and pills, and antibiotics. It’s just awful. He is miserable. But on the upside, his latest bloodwork doesn’t show any of the classic FIP signs. Which means that it’s possible he doesn’t have it. Instead he may just have a random mystery illness. And he’s hanging in there as best he can. We are not letting him give up.

I truthfully wasn’t expecting to hear much back by posting here (I had never ever heard of FIP until two days ago either!), but figured it was worth a shot – you never know what other people might know.

Thanks for your thoughts!

-robyn

My cat Bamboo was diagnosed with FIP on Friday. He’s only 3 1/2 years old and it breaks my heart to think that he might not be with us much longer. I sincerely hope that Linus does not have FIP and he manages to fight through to quick and speedy recovery. The only thing worse than dealing with a sick pet is not knowing why they’re sick and what you can do to make them better. That’s fantastic that his blood work did not show any signs of FIP! Did they run the Eliza “7b” test?

I’m taking Bamboo to another vet today to get a 2nd opinion. He’s losing weight, although he still has an appetite. Seeing that he still has the will to eat and drink is making me feel better. Aside from the weight loss and his bloated belly (he has about 2 lbs of fluid in his abdomen~classic symptom of “wet” FIP) you really wouldn’t know anything is wrong with him. He’s still the same loving cat he’s always been since I adopted him as a kitten.

I will keep my fingers crossed that we both have something to be thankful for this holiday season!

-Jennifer