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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Anyone have any experience of FIP in kittens?

30 replies

Poorlykitten · 03/12/2020 22:18

Just wanted some help and advice really, if anyone has experience of this disease FIP? My kitten has suspected FIP and we are devastated. The vets have said it’s impossible to test for it but I am getting conflicting info on internet so just wondered if anyone could help? Any vets on here?

OP posts:
Lonecatwithkitten · 03/12/2020 22:35

FIP is caused by a mutation of the common cat coronavirus. There is a test for the coronavirus, but not for the mutated coronavirus. So there is no reliable good quality test available.
Management will depend on whether it is the wet or dry form, but tends to be expensive short term.
There maybe some new developments coming, but these are in the very, very early stages. It maybe that remdesivor helps cats with FIP, but as there is no good diagnostic test and not many suspected cases it is very hard to put together a good quality double blinded clinical trial.

Original poster
Poorlykitten · 03/12/2020 22:49

Thank you that, that explains it more. So if they test for coronavirus and he does have it that at least would be a step closer or a better indicator?

OP posts:
Lonecatwithkitten · 03/12/2020 23:05

@Poorlykitten it will tell you he has coronavirus which is an enormously common cause of vomiting and diarrhoea in kittens.

Original poster
Poorlykitten · 03/12/2020 23:07

Sorry for all the questions, but how do they test for coronavirus and can they do that at a normal vets? He's vomiting but no diarrhoea...

OP posts:
AmandaHoldensLips · 03/12/2020 23:12

I had a kitten with FIP. The vet did test for it when she suspected, but the test was over £100 I seem to recall. It was positive, no cure, and absolutely heartbreaking. The sweetest cat I ever had, lived to 8 months before it was time to end it.

Original poster
Poorlykitten · 03/12/2020 23:33

@AmandaHoldensLips do you
Know what kind of test it was? A blood test or a biopsy?

OP posts:
Ibizafun · 04/12/2020 00:09

PoorlyKitten we have just cured our kitten of wet FIP. There IS a cure now, they are applying for licence in the uk. It is a twelve week course, costs a fortune but luckily Petplan paid out despite it not being licenced. It is called Mutian and is the drug that cures Ebola, similar (or the same as) Rendesvil used for Covid.

Our poorly kitten who we were told didn’t have long to live is now the picture of health and his bloods are 100% back to normal.

Please PM me if you want more details, I know what you are going through.

Ibizafun · 04/12/2020 00:11

remdesivor Is the drug, apologies for the incorrect spelling.

Lonecatwithkitten · 04/12/2020 06:43

@Ibizafun and @Poorlykitten remdesivor is showing early signs of helping some cats as I said, but not all cats. Plus supply is not very tricky due to Covid. It is hard to get hold of for Covid patients too.
The test is usually a PCR blood test that is sent to an external lab and takes a few days to run.

DaenarysStormborn · 04/12/2020 06:47

There are two types of FIP - wet or dry. Ours had FIP, it can be triggered by stress or anything really. She was never okay again after her spay and she died at 6 months old. It was the most heartbreaking event- we would never get kittens again.

Apparently there is no test because the issues that causes it is present in 90% of cats and there is no way to predict which cats will get the mutated form.

Good luck.

billybagpuss · 04/12/2020 06:54

My cats dad died from fip before he was born, we were assured it wouldn’t impact the kitten who is now 11. At the time there was a very useful yahoo group that gave a lot of support, I don’t know if it still exists.

@Ibizafun fab news there’s a cure I didn’t know that.

Original poster
Poorlykitten · 04/12/2020 07:25

Our kitten hasn’t had a test, he was very poorly after a stomach blockage and listless and the vet tested for lots of other things (trying to rule out stuff) but couldn’t find what was wrong so by process of elimination they suggested it might be FIP but as a last resort he was put on two courses of very strong antibiotics and bounced right back but now, a week later has started vomiting again and has stopped eating. Don’t know what to do, back to the vets again today,

OP posts:
Original poster
Poorlykitten · 04/12/2020 08:12

@DaenarysStormborn how did you know your kitty had this kind of FIP if there is no test?

OP posts:
AmandaHoldensLips · 04/12/2020 08:41

@Poorlykitten - it was a blood test. This was 16 years ago so things might have changed regarding cure?

Ibizafun · 04/12/2020 08:57

Although there is no test, they look for certain markers which are raised in the blood. A tell tail sign of wet FIP is a distended abdomen. The cat looks like it’s put on weight but it’s just water (in fact a sticky like substance). They can only tell you it’s “suspected either wet or dry FIP”.

The company applying for liscence in the U.K. is Mutian. I got hold of it without difficulty and our vet supported us with the treatment. It’s daily injections at the same time each day, then you switch to pills which is easier.

Original poster
Poorlykitten · 04/12/2020 12:05

Thank you. Cat still under investigation, back at vets. He’s not got a distended stomach and has lost a lot of weight....is vomiting and listless. They are scanning him again today.

OP posts:
Ibizafun · 04/12/2020 15:02

Thinking of you

Original poster
Poorlykitten · 04/12/2020 18:43

@Ibizafun thank you so much.

OP posts:
DaenarysStormborn · 04/12/2020 20:25

@Poorlykitten we knew it was FIP because her stomach was distended. She wasn't playful or inquisitive, she just lost all the life she'd had. She stopped eating and spent the majority of the day curled into my shoulder.
We were waiting for results from the fluid test when she became exceptionally ill and died at the vets. We didn't make it to her in time - we'd agonised over whether to go on holiday and she died while we were driving back up. Heart breaking. I hope it's not FIP. It's a hideous condition. Thinking of you Flowers

Minibassoon · 25/01/2021 21:15

My kitten has just been diagnosed and is probably quite advanced. The vet has told us there is no treatment. We have petplan. How did you go about getting yours treatment? We can’t afford bills but he is a wonderful character and I don’t want to give up on him!

EachandEveryone · 09/03/2021 20:16

Any updates?

Trinacham · 09/03/2021 20:29

Lost 2 kittens to FIP - a brother and a sister. The brother had to be put to sleep weeks after we adopted them, at about 6 months old, the sister lasted until about a year old. They had the wet form. I heard from the breeder that their littermates (at least one) also had the disease, so it was obviously from the mother. This was 5 years ago now. We were told their was no cure and we wouldn't know for sure whether it was FIP until post mortem (but the vets were pretty sure).

Hoping all was well, hopefully there will be an update.

Ibizafun · 10/03/2021 23:16

This may not be correct but my understanding is that FIP affects cats with a low immune system and a predisposition to it. Our kitten was about to be put down being so poorly with wet FIP. He is now totally cured (shown in blood tests and ultrasound) and exhausts me with his energy.

Mutian is now easy to get hold of in UK but expensive. Petplan paid out for our claim, we were lucky that our vet was willing to send the receipts for us alongside his own invoices.

Callecats · 26/12/2021 19:24

Can you tell what is the UK website name to get this Mutien medicine to cure FIP in cats please.
Thank you.

Ljrd · 29/07/2023 16:26

Hi I know this was a few years ago. I’ve been told my kitten of 6 months old had wet FIP and his tummy is so big. I’m desperate to find help for him but could you tell me how please.
Thankyou.

Anyone have any experience of FIP in kittens?
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