This blog chronicles Callie’s journey dealing with a diagnosis of FIP, a.k.a. Feline Infectious Peritonis. Simply stated this disease is caused by a mutation of the coronavirus that doesn’t affect 95% of the cats it comes in contact with. Due to the nature of the disease it is very hard to diagnosis and leads to a lot of false promises. There is no one treatment for the disease and it is mostly fatal to cats. To learn more about it check out this site: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fip.html
My kitten, Callie, was diagnosed with a disease called FIP about two weeks ago. It feels like it has been much, much, longer and has already been a long whirlwind. I wanted to take the opportunity to write this down to not only help myself but hopefully help someone else that is going through this. It all started the end of February when Callie started eating and drinking less. She had already stopped being playful but as an eight-month-old kitten we assumed she was just going through a phase. The eating issue made us worried and we brought her to the vet. I ended up taking time off from work to bring her in since our concern began to escalate and she was just plain miserable.
Feb 26: first vet appointment. I brought Callie in to see the vet. He took her temperature and she had a high fever and was dehydrated. They gave her some fluids via a shot under her skin and gave her some medication. They also took some blood to run some testing.
Feb 27: I was home from work and Callie was not eating or drinking at all. I called the vet back and they hadn’t gotten her test results yet. When I mentioned that my poor kitty hadn’t been eating they set up an appointment to bring her. At 2:30 I brought her in, she still had a fever and was absolutely miserable, though she did fight me to get into her crate to go. The vet mentioned FIP as a possible diagnosis for the first time, and mentioned that it was generally fatal. Holding onto my kitty as he talked I fought back tears. They wanted to keep her overnight for 1-2 days to hydrate her and medicate her. I knew she needed to go in order to get better but I couldn’t bare having her at the hospital and not at home. To make matters worse, she would be less than a mile away but not with 24 hour care. I was confident she was getting the best treatment but it was still hard for me to leave her there. I cried the entire way home and could barely handle having an empty crate with me.
Feb 28: Mike, my husband went to the vet’s in the morning to visit our little girl. She had a cone around her neck since she was trying to bite her IV off. She tried to climb up onto Mike’s shoulder, a favorite past time of hers. She still had a fever and wasn’t eating much. I left work early that day to stop by and visit her on my way home. The place was almost closing but I got to spend some time with her. She seemed to be tired after a long day. They brought some food out and I got to feed her. It felt great to know that she was eating.
Feb 29: Mike was home and got the call early on that her fever was down and she was eating! She had eaten all the food they left out for her after I left and was doing better. We were both so incredibly happy. Later that day he went to pick her up and learned that her fever was up and down and all over the place but she could still come home over the weekend. We were given medication and a thermometer to monitor her progress, along with some special food to try and fatten her up. When I came home from work she was still getting used to being home again and had her front paw shaved from the IV, looking a bit like a poodle.
Over the weekend her fever went up and down and she eventually learned how to push out the thermometer. We gave her lots of love and attention and tried everything we could to get her to eat. She was her loving self, curling up with us under the blankets when we got to bed, sleeping on my lap whenever I sat for more than two minutes, generally being around us. She wasn’t playful but we knew she was recovering.
March 5: Mike brought Callie to the vet for a check up. Her fever was gone but she had lost .2 pounds. They took some fluid from her abdomen and some blood to run some more testing on her.
At home Callie continued to improve, every day she would gain back an old habit. We started her on baby food as I had learned that some cats like it, she loved it! I opened the small jar, set it on the floor, and she was eating it up as fast as she could. Our little girl was also now meowing at us for food. She was a quiet kitty before she got sick but since she’s been home if she wants food she whines until she gets it. And we were sure to give the little princess anything that would help her out. It came as an utter shock on Friday that the test results were not good news. The FIP diagnosis was more than likely. Mike and I were in disbelief since she was doing so well. We wondered if it was a wrong diagnosis and felt she was recovering and would continue to do so.
The following week I began to join discussion groups on FIP and do research to figure out whether this diagnosis was correct. I collected her test results from the vet and my heart fell when I noticed the results did point towards FIP. At this point we also noticed that Callie’s belly was looking bigger. She didn’t seem to be in any pain but did appear to be in some discomfort. We both had that Wednesday off from work and decided to bring her back to the vet. I wrote down every medication used to treat FIP, every other possible diagnosis, everything that I could find. The vet was kind enough to talk this over with us and we felt reassured that he knew what he was talking about and doing the best for Callie. She was already on Clindamycin for her infection (a liquid antibiotic we have to squirt down her throat two times a day), we added Prednisolone (a steroid in pill form also to be given twice a day) to help her tummy stay small. We also had her stomach drained of fluids to help her feel better, which sounds a lot simpler then what actually happened.
The vet took Callie away to be drained and we talked everything over to make sure we were on the same page. When they brought Callie back she had a towel with her since she was still oozing liquid. We were told they didn’t get that much. We kept the towel around her as the warm liquid continued to seep out. The vet came back in and was happy she was oozing since more of the bad liquid would be leaving her. We put Callie back in her crate and she tried to lick up her belly. As we were paying our bill we noticed she was leaking a lot, we cleaned up a little of it and planned on putter her in the bathroom when we got home. Once there she was still oozing a lot of liquid. We ended up letting her be in the bathroom alone and once she stopped we would give her a bath since the nasty, sticky, smelly yellow substance was all over her stomach, back paws, and tail. In the end it was over an hour later when she finally slowed down enough to be bathed. We quickly gave her a bath, forgetting about the sticky fur on the side of her neck from all the times she fights us with her Clindamycin medication. We dried her off and were relieved that our skinny cat was not as skinny as we feared. She was pretty miserable the entire day and we couldn’t blame her. At one point she followed me up to my computer and jumped instantly up to my lap to shiver. Usually she asks to come up before jumping but not this time. She did appear to move with greater ease and be happy to be fluid free and clean. She even drank some water, which she hadn’t been doing, no doubt probably due to having so much excess fluid inside.
Feb 26: first vet appointment. I brought Callie in to see the vet. He took her temperature and she had a high fever and was dehydrated. They gave her some fluids via a shot under her skin and gave her some medication. They also took some blood to run some testing.
Feb 27: I was home from work and Callie was not eating or drinking at all. I called the vet back and they hadn’t gotten her test results yet. When I mentioned that my poor kitty hadn’t been eating they set up an appointment to bring her. At 2:30 I brought her in, she still had a fever and was absolutely miserable, though she did fight me to get into her crate to go. The vet mentioned FIP as a possible diagnosis for the first time, and mentioned that it was generally fatal. Holding onto my kitty as he talked I fought back tears. They wanted to keep her overnight for 1-2 days to hydrate her and medicate her. I knew she needed to go in order to get better but I couldn’t bare having her at the hospital and not at home. To make matters worse, she would be less than a mile away but not with 24 hour care. I was confident she was getting the best treatment but it was still hard for me to leave her there. I cried the entire way home and could barely handle having an empty crate with me.
Feb 28: Mike, my husband went to the vet’s in the morning to visit our little girl. She had a cone around her neck since she was trying to bite her IV off. She tried to climb up onto Mike’s shoulder, a favorite past time of hers. She still had a fever and wasn’t eating much. I left work early that day to stop by and visit her on my way home. The place was almost closing but I got to spend some time with her. She seemed to be tired after a long day. They brought some food out and I got to feed her. It felt great to know that she was eating.
Feb 29: Mike was home and got the call early on that her fever was down and she was eating! She had eaten all the food they left out for her after I left and was doing better. We were both so incredibly happy. Later that day he went to pick her up and learned that her fever was up and down and all over the place but she could still come home over the weekend. We were given medication and a thermometer to monitor her progress, along with some special food to try and fatten her up. When I came home from work she was still getting used to being home again and had her front paw shaved from the IV, looking a bit like a poodle.
Over the weekend her fever went up and down and she eventually learned how to push out the thermometer. We gave her lots of love and attention and tried everything we could to get her to eat. She was her loving self, curling up with us under the blankets when we got to bed, sleeping on my lap whenever I sat for more than two minutes, generally being around us. She wasn’t playful but we knew she was recovering.
March 5: Mike brought Callie to the vet for a check up. Her fever was gone but she had lost .2 pounds. They took some fluid from her abdomen and some blood to run some more testing on her.
At home Callie continued to improve, every day she would gain back an old habit. We started her on baby food as I had learned that some cats like it, she loved it! I opened the small jar, set it on the floor, and she was eating it up as fast as she could. Our little girl was also now meowing at us for food. She was a quiet kitty before she got sick but since she’s been home if she wants food she whines until she gets it. And we were sure to give the little princess anything that would help her out. It came as an utter shock on Friday that the test results were not good news. The FIP diagnosis was more than likely. Mike and I were in disbelief since she was doing so well. We wondered if it was a wrong diagnosis and felt she was recovering and would continue to do so.
The following week I began to join discussion groups on FIP and do research to figure out whether this diagnosis was correct. I collected her test results from the vet and my heart fell when I noticed the results did point towards FIP. At this point we also noticed that Callie’s belly was looking bigger. She didn’t seem to be in any pain but did appear to be in some discomfort. We both had that Wednesday off from work and decided to bring her back to the vet. I wrote down every medication used to treat FIP, every other possible diagnosis, everything that I could find. The vet was kind enough to talk this over with us and we felt reassured that he knew what he was talking about and doing the best for Callie. She was already on Clindamycin for her infection (a liquid antibiotic we have to squirt down her throat two times a day), we added Prednisolone (a steroid in pill form also to be given twice a day) to help her tummy stay small. We also had her stomach drained of fluids to help her feel better, which sounds a lot simpler then what actually happened.
The vet took Callie away to be drained and we talked everything over to make sure we were on the same page. When they brought Callie back she had a towel with her since she was still oozing liquid. We were told they didn’t get that much. We kept the towel around her as the warm liquid continued to seep out. The vet came back in and was happy she was oozing since more of the bad liquid would be leaving her. We put Callie back in her crate and she tried to lick up her belly. As we were paying our bill we noticed she was leaking a lot, we cleaned up a little of it and planned on putter her in the bathroom when we got home. Once there she was still oozing a lot of liquid. We ended up letting her be in the bathroom alone and once she stopped we would give her a bath since the nasty, sticky, smelly yellow substance was all over her stomach, back paws, and tail. In the end it was over an hour later when she finally slowed down enough to be bathed. We quickly gave her a bath, forgetting about the sticky fur on the side of her neck from all the times she fights us with her Clindamycin medication. We dried her off and were relieved that our skinny cat was not as skinny as we feared. She was pretty miserable the entire day and we couldn’t blame her. At one point she followed me up to my computer and jumped instantly up to my lap to shiver. Usually she asks to come up before jumping but not this time. She did appear to move with greater ease and be happy to be fluid free and clean. She even drank some water, which she hadn’t been doing, no doubt probably due to having so much excess fluid inside.
It is now one day after having her belly drained. She’s a little mellower but much more alert. She’s back to meowing for baby food in the kitchen and didn’t want her actual wet food. She did try to get into our chicken dinner. So much that we had to put her in the bathroom until we finished. After I was done I cut up a few small pieces of the chicken for her and opened the bathroom door to give it her. Not only did she eat it all up she even licked the plate clean! We were so happy to see this type of behavior back out of her. At this point we can’t bother with correcting any bad behaviors. We want to give her the best quality of life that we can. If she survives, which we are praying for, we’ll willingly deal with the consequences.
4 comments:
I'm so glad she's feeling better after the draining. It must be comforting to know she's comfortable.
Laura, I'm sending you big huge hugs, and Seuss sends purrs and nuzzles. My kitty is my baby, and I can only imagine going through this with him.
MarthaC
I just want to say thank you for posting this blog. My baby was just diagnosed with FIP this week. I am just in pieces. We are trying to keep her comfy and fed. I just feel so hopeless, I can't help her and she is miserable.
I am so sorry to hear about your kitty. My story is so identical - two days ago I took my 2 year old sweet girl Roxy to the emergency room with high fever. They drew the fluid out of her belly and said it was FIP. I'm a total mess, can't stop crying for days now and feeling so hopeless. Right now she's on steriods to help her feel better. She is more alert being on meds and eats well but not very comfy and lost tons of weight. I pray for a miracle but preparing myself for the worst. Her brother - they grew up together and haven't been apart for more than a few minutes for 2 years - is freaked out and not sure what's going on. He and I will be devastated when our sweet girl goes to the kitty heaven. In the meantime I try to spend as much time spoiling and petting Roxy... Taking her to "holistic health care" clinic for animals - I know they can't do miracles but even if they help her feel better for a while I'll be thankful.
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