What is Feline Infectious Peritonitis?
This is a corona virus. There a hundreds of different types of corona viruses in cats. It is suspected that this corona virus mutates in certain cats and causes FIP. We do not know how it is transmitted. It is found almost exclusively in cats from a multicat environment like breeding facilities or rescue shelters. There is an intranasal vaccine for cats against FIP. Because the virus mutates and only affects certain cats, vaccines have not been proven to be effective protection against FIP. There are two forms of FIP.
Effusive FIP will cause fluid build up in the chest and abdomen. It will cause fever, weight loss, difficulty breathing and possibly icterus (Jaundice or yellow coloring of the whites of the eye).
Noneffusive FIP will have less obvious signs including fever, weight loss, lethargy, decreased appetite and possibly icterus (yellow coloring).
There is no long term treatment for FIP. Animals with clinical symptoms will usually die within days to months of being affected by the disease. |