What is FIP and my experience with my cats having FIP

Introduction:

This is Part I of the FIP journey I had with my cats. It’s much more in-depth than anything I spoke about on the blog before. Look for Part II next week!

This is Emma. And this is Elsa. (See video) I adopted them back in October 2021 along with their other sister, Ellie. We originally were looking to adopt one cat as company for our older cat, Ralphie. But, Emma wouldn’t leave my husband John alone when we visited the shelter. We found out that Emma had two other sisters. They cuddled together, they were extremely close and played together while we were at the shelter. We didn’t have the heart to separate them, so we brought home all three. All of them quickly made their way completely into our hearts. 

But this isn’t the adoption story about Emma or her sister Elsa, per se. It’s about their battle and triumph in overcoming FIP. It is a story I share with you over a series of videos, to educate you, and to help you understand Feline Infectious Peritonitis, or FIP. Throughout the next series of videos, I’ll share with you how it presented in both of my cats, what treatments we tried, our experiences with the vet, and the end result. 

Emma’s Diagnosis

In early December 2021, just two months after Emma came home with us, we noticed something wasn’t quite right with her back legs. She’d walk and one or the other leg would give out and the back of her body would flop. 

We went to the vet who initially wasn’t quite sure what was going on. He ruled out pulled muscles and other “normal” kitten illnesses as Emma was still eating and otherwise acting normal. He began treating her for toxoplasmosis, though he wasn’t sure that’s what was wrong. I share that because FIP can look an awful lot like toxoplasmosis – the symptoms can be similar. 

Nearly three weeks after Emma’s legs started splaying out in weird ways, the vet called. The diagnosis? The fatal disease, Feline Infectious Peritonitis or FIP for short. 

He told me to “bring her back when it was time to let her go. The disease would progress quickly,” he said, “and he had reached the end of his ability to treat her.” By this time I was already so attached. Knowing that this sweet, precious, helpless kitten who never did anything wrong was going to die made me think that if it did happen, I would never smile again. It shattered my world and cast a dreary gray light over everything.

What is FIP?

FIP is caused by the Feline Coronavirus, or FCoV. Nearly 100% of all cats will get the feline coronavirus, but in 5-10% of all cases a cat cannot defeat feline coronavirus. It will mutate, inside the cat, to cause FIP. Cats under 3 years of age are most susceptible, with about 50% of all cases happening in cats under two years old. But, the disease can actually happen at any age. Right now, multi-cat situations – whether it’s in a household, shelter, or cattery – are most at risk of contracting FCoV that could mutate into FIP. FIP is a pandemic right now among cats, still killing about 1% of the world’s cat population in 2024. It’s becoming more prevalent due to FCoV ITSELF mutating, just as how human coronaviruses have. Humans cannot contract FCoV or FIP even though it is a type of coronavirus. Other cats in the household typically won’t develop FIP if another cat has it because, again, the viral mutation happens inside the cat’s body because they can’t fend off FCoV. Sometimes vets can test for the presence of feline coronavirus, but that doesn’t tell you if, in fact, the virus has mutated to FIP. Diagnosis is generally a process of elimination right now. Our own vet had ruled out everything else when it came to first diagnosing Emma.

Cats in stressful situations are also more vulnerable to developing FIP. In shelter situations, where they are already stressed, they typically receive vaccinations and are spayed our neutered, often before six months. These are all contributing factors because they contribute to the cat’s stress levels. Now, shelters do the best they can – spaying and neutering is a good thing, as is vaccinating. But, cats in shelters who get vaccines and spay/neuter surgeries while they’re still kittens increases the risk of the feline coronavirus mutating in a cat’s body. And if that doesn’t do it, the stress of rehoming can – as is it what happened with us. Just like with humans, stress can compromise immunity. In cats, this lowered immunity can facilitate the environmental conditions to allow FCoV to mutate to form FIP. This terrible disease is fatal 95% of the time without treatment. 

Wet and Dry FIP

FIP presents in two forms: wet and dry. The majority of cats seem to get wet, or “effusive” FIP. This version presents as fluid building up in the body, often in the belly with sticky, yellow fluid, or in the lungs where it can be very difficult for a cat to breathe. This happens because inflammation causes damaged blood vessels to leak fluid.

The dry form, also known as non-effusive FIP, causes severe internal inflammation leading to lesions that can form anywhere in our out of the body. These lesions can form on the brain, eyes, liver, spinal cord, or even on the skin. 

This presentation focuses on Dry FIP, where all my experience with this terrible disease lies. Any cat with FIP will undergo the same treatment to cure the disease. Emma developed dry FIP, with the subcategorization of “ocular/neuro.” The virus crosses the blood-brain barrier in ocular/neuro cases. When that happens, they can develop uveitis – inflammation of the part of the eye where the iris is. Lesions formed on Emma’s eyes, leading to uveitis. By the time we started treatment, her right eye was completely cloudy, meaning she was blind. Her left eye was starting to become cloudy. 

In Dry FIP, neurological signs, such as incontinence and loss of mobility, can develop, too. This is because those lesions and inflammation now involve the central nervous system, forming on the brain or in other parts of the central nervous system. Lesions formed on Emma’s spinal cord near her legs and tail. She’d lost bowel & bladder control as well as leg mobility.

Because FIP can present in different ways, even siblings can show different symptoms and signs, since the mutation of FCoV happens inside the cat’s body, disease characteristics are unique to that cat. This is also why FIP can be difficult to diagnose. Later on, Elsa, Emma’s sister, would develop FIP. She had no neuro symptoms, but a lot of inflammation and anemia, along with lethargy and inappetance, unlike Emma who had plenty of energy and still had a good appetite.

Our vet basically told us that Emma had perhaps days to live, because the disease progresses quickly and aggressively – regardless of whether it’s wet or dry FIP. 

I couldn’t accept her fate. Not knowing what to do though, I tried all manner of homeopathic remedies. They barely seemed to help. She was declining fast. 

In the next video (part II), I will share about where to find treatment, and what that entails.

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