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Feline Infectious Peritonitis --- FIP
Feline Infectious Peritonitis. Many cat owners have never even experienced this disease, let alone even heard about it. It is a rare disease among cats, most often appearing in catteries or multiple cat families. F.I.P is caused by a type of coronavirus and current thinking has led vets to believe it is caused by a mutation of this virus. As of yet, they are still unsure as to whether or not this is true, due to the fact that F.I.P itself is extremely hard to diagnose. A cat can carry the coronavirus that contains the F.I.P. strain without ever being affected by it but can still pass it on to other cats who can die from it. It is believed to be spread via contact through saliva or through the sharing of food dishes, toys, and litter boxes.
There are two different forms of F.I.P., one being the Effusive or wet form while the latter being the Non-Effusive or dry form. The wet form is usually the more commonly seen form of F.I.P. with symptoms involving a distended stomach filled with fluid. If this occurs in the chest, excessive fluid build up can cause respiratory distress and can release fluids into the airways. Other symptoms involve jaundice, anemia, neurological signs , and sometimes severe conjunctivitis. The wet form usually comes on suddenly and can take the cat within a matter of days after the first visible symptoms appear. The dry form is the rarer form of the two, usually resulting in about 7% of cats who contract the disease. It is harder to diagnose this form due to the fact that the symptoms shown are most often times mistaken for another disease or illness. There is minimal fluid build up, severe weight loss, loss of appetite, anemia, acting lethargic. Signs of kidney failure and liver failure are often the resulf of the disease. Unfortunately biopsy of these organs is the only real way of diagnosing F.I.P. and that is usually done after the cat has passed.
F.I.P. most of the time affects kittens and cats up to two years of age, but is have known to affect cats over the age of five. In our case, it is now apparent that Giuseppe had the symptoms of the dry form of F.I.P ever since we adopted him, taking him slowing over the course of several months. And even towards the end of his life, our vet was unsure as to what he actually had.
Losing a beloved pet is no easy obtacle to face, but I feel there is a greater pain when knowing the animal is too young or that there is nothing you can do. I still cannot imagine my life without Giuseppe and yet now it seems as though he never existed. As if he was only a figment of my imagination. A dream of mine that I always hoped would come true. I don't really have anything else to write, even now I get too choked up to type. It is a loss that I wish no one would have to bear, but we all must deal with at some point in our lives. I only wish that the lives of our cherished companion animals could span out over the course of ours.
The imformation on this page was accomplished with the help of numerous sites and book, but mostly due to this site: http://www2.dgsys.com/~ermiller/FIP.html
Many thanks to the creator of this site for all the useful information about the disease F.I.P.
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