Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP)

FIP affects cats (typically < 1 year of age) (Image Source)

Feline Infection Peritonitis (FIP) is a fatal condition that, as the name suggestions, affects cats. It can be very devastating as there is no treatment. Unfortunately there are not many good ways to prevent this condition either. FIP is caused by a mutation in a corona virus. Most cats, especially those that are from shelters, will be exposed to the corona virus at some point in their lives. The corona virus itself is not fatal, however, if a mutation occurs to the virus while in the cat’s body it can develop into FIP. There are many MANY frustrating aspects of FIP. Part of the problem is that we have yet to determine what causes the mutation, so we are unable to screen cats to see if they are carriers. This makes it difficult to know prior to brining a new cat into your house if they could be affected because on the outside they will look completely normal.

One important thing to remember is that FIP is not considered to be contagious. Yes the corona virus can be spread from cat to cat, but the mutation is not contagious and we have no way of knowing in which cats it will occur. Cats housed in group settings will be at an increased risk because their exposure to the corona virus will be greater.

In the wet form of the condition the abdomen will become distended with fluid (Image Source)

So what would FIP look like in a cat? Typically it will affect younger cats (those < 1 year). Many times it will start with a fever that does NOT respond to medications or fluids. After that FIP can go into two different forms. These are called the wet and the dry form. In the wet form, the abdomen will become distended with fluid, sometimes this will also spread to the chest. In the dry form, small granulomas will begin to develop on the intestines. The dry form almost always progresses to the wet form.

Another frustrating aspect of FIP is that there is no definitive test to determine if that is in fact what is causing the patient’s symptoms. There are tests that will make us more suspicious when used in conjunction with the clinical signs but no one test is 100% accurate. Testing can range anywhere from submitting blood samples to taking biopsies of the intestines.

Removing some of the fluid may temporarily provide comfort for the affected patient. (Image Source)

As mentioned before, there is NO treatment for this condition. Trials have been conducted to see if different therapies may be effective but so far there is no treatment and once a cat has FIP it is 100% fatal. While there are vaccinations available, they are not recommended. It is not clear whether the vaccine is even effective, and it must be given to pets that are not developing FIP. Again this is difficult as we have no test to determine who could be harboring the mutation.

Feline infectious peritonitis is not the most common cat disease we see, but due to its devastating nature cat owners need to be aware of this condition. For more information you can visit the following website here.