Conference misery::feline_v1

    Are there any other symptoms or is there only a fever??
    
    What type of blood work has been done??
    
    Please give as much information as possible.
    
    thanks
    cin
    

    
  No other symptoms.  Just the fever which of course makes him
  listless.  

  I'm not sure what type of blood work was done.  She didn't
  say any particular type.

  He's eating still - Not as much as normal, he picks at it.
  and he's not having trouble when he goes in the litter box.

  This is an indoor outdoor cat if that helps any.

  Thanks for your reply

  Linda

    That's tripe about the fe-leuk not showing up in the blood work.
     The Eliza test can show if the cat has even been exposed! And I
    wonder where that vet thinks the red blood cells are made anyway?
    	Don't have the cat put down, yet!!!!  I hope it is still o.k.
    I have a friend who had an entire litter (3) kittens who had such
    symptoms, in fact the fever was so high at times that the kittens
    were wobbly.  She just kept car of them, and after 6(!) weeks of
    fever, they got better.  None of the other cats ever got it, and
    none of these has had any problem since (except that one became
    deaf from the persistant fever - but is an indoor cat so no big
    deal).  The analyses that were done were inconclusive.  I have heard
    of this from other people, too. Please get in touch with me if you
    want to know more.  I'd be happy to give you my friend's number
    to call, if you'd like.  BEST OF LUCK!!!!
    Molly

	Thanks for the reply, Molly.  But, I'm afraid the cat has
	already been put to sleep.  He had feline peritonitus. 
	They had him on antibiotics for 2 weeks, but, he was still
	going downhill.  They felt the best thing was to put him
	to sleep, having done everything they could for him.

	- Linda

    Linda,
    
    My very deep sympathy to you.  We lost our little 8 month old kitten
    about 2-3 months ago to this (I assume this is the same as feline
    *intestinal* peritonitis).  It was VERY sad, but, as they told you,
    once the cat gets very sick, there really isn't anything to do but
    end the suffering.  I understand there is some experimental drug
    (from Cornell?) but it is only being tried in not-very-sick cats.
    Trouble with FIP is that by the time it is diagnosed, the cat is
    often *very* sick (it can appear suddenly or progress quickly),
    because initial symptoms may not appear different from more innocuous
    things like a cold.  
    
    One of my other cats had a cold about two weeks ago, and I really
    panicked!  The vet was very sympathetic about my fears.  We had
    gotten baseline FIP titres on all 4 cats previously, and Tufts ran
    both the previous and the current tests on Tag-Along TWICE.  Both
    sets showed no increase in virus/antibody level, thank goodness
    (and the level was "negligible" to begin with!).  
    
    Natalia Mouseky, the kitten we lost, never had the cold symptoms
    anyway.  Tricky disease.
    
    Hope next year brings you more happiness!
    
    	Penelope

	Thanks.  I appreciate your kind words.  One question that
	I forgot to ask the vet (maybe you can save me a call), 
	is this peritonitus contagious to other cats?  I have one
	other cat and they were always playing together.  

	- Linda

    Yes, it can be contagious to other cats, especially if they eat
    together or break the skin when they play.  You can have a blood
    test done.  It isn't conclusive, but we had it done to our cats
    after Indiana died of it.  It helped calm my fears. 
    
    If you do decide to have the test done, have the vet explain in
    detail about the test.  It is also discussed in another note.
    
    We're with you.
    
                  Carol

    One other thing to note is that FIP usually affects either very
    young (less than 1 year) or older cats (more than 8 years).  From
    what I've heard and read, most cats/kittens are exposed to it and
    develope an immunity.  Some of the more unfortunate can't build
    up this immunity.  I guess that's why it's much more common in both
    younger and older cats, while not being as much of a problem for
    the ones in the middle.  
    
    If you do decide to go ahead and test your other cat, you must do
    the test several times to determine if the disease is progressing.
    A FIP titer does not necessarily mean that the cat is going to have
    a problem with FIP, it only means that the cat has been exposed.
    If the titer is rising in subsequent tests, then it is possible
    that the disease is progressing.
    
    I wish I could be of more help.  
    
    purrs
    cin
    

    Linda,
    
    Please don't hesitate to give me a call (DTN 223-7322 or at home
    617-492-6262 if you're in the area).  I spent hours, literally,
    discussing this with vets, virologists, and breeders.  There
    are no definitive answers, but one can learn what are some
    positive/negative indicators.
    
    	Penelope