Antibiotics, in particular doxycycline and clindamycin, are often prescribed for cats with FIP. However, such treatment is not effective against FIP virus and should only be used if there is evidence of secondary bacterial infections that are clinically active (doxycycline) or systemic toxoplasmosis (clindamycin).
Oral treatment with Xraphconn® containing GS-441524 was highly effective for FIP without causing serious adverse effects. This drug is an excellent option for the oral treatment of FIP and should be trialed as potential effective treatment option for other severe coronavirus-associated diseases across species.
Usually, cats with FIP respond rapidly to remdesivir injections or GS-441524 oral tablets, with fever resolving and significant improvement noticed within 3-5 days of starting treatment, sometimes as early as 24 hours after the first injection.
One of the most difficult decisions is to determine when to stop treatment. Although some cats, often younger ones with wet FIP, can be cured in as little as 8 weeks and possibly sooner, the usual treatment time is 12 weeks. Some cats may even require dosage adjustments and even longer treatment periods.
FIP prognosis is grave: over 90 percent of cats with FIP will die from the disease. Affected cats usually do not live more than a few weeks after diagnosis, so there is little possibility for long-term care.
Supportive care will prolong life, and some cats with FIP can live in a state of chronic disease for weeks, months, or, rarely, a year or more.
In the final stages of FIP, cats struggle to breathe and eat, often resulting in euthanasia. Other symptoms of FIP in cats include: Abdominal swelling, often described as a pot belly. Breathing difficulties (open-mouth panting, harsh breathing, extra effort needed to breathe, fast breathing)
It is not recommended to euthanize a cat, even with FIP, as long as it looks and acts fairly normal. Miracles do happen, but they can't happen unless they are provided time to happen. However, some owners choose to end suffering at an earlier stage, given the grave prognosis.
It can take time for cats to show signs of FIP, from a few weeks to months. The first signs of FIP can range from depression to changes in appetite to fever. There are two forms of FIP: wet and dry.
Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a painful, incurable disease that's nearly always fatal.
Treatment appears to be rapid, with most cats showing significant improvement within only a few days. Anecdotal evidence appears to result in 80-95% of cats being successfully treated. One of the most comprehensive studies involve 31 cats on long term treatment for FIP.
Current Cost Of Remdesivir Treatment Of FIP In Australia (2022) 100mg vial costs $99 plus tax. The cost to treat a 2.5kg cat with effusive FIP (remember most cats are young and light) for 84 days with remdesivir (25mg per day or 2.5ml) will require approximately 21 vials @ $99/vial.
How much does it cost? Although FIP is now curable, the treatment is not inexpensive. Costs will depend on your cat's weight and other symptoms. Typically, costs vary from typically around $1,000 to $3,000 for the duration of treatment.
In cats that develop FIP, the first signs of illness may be very vague. Listlessness, lethargy, decreased or absent appetite, weight loss, and a fluctuating fever are commonly reported clinical signs. After a period of several days to a few weeks other symptoms typically begin to occur.
There is no doubt that some cats are not cured even over 12 weeks and some evidence that some can be cured sooner (i.e, 8- 10 weeks). However, early cessation of treatment will always lead to a decrease in the proportion of cats that are cured, and the sooner you stop a treatment, the higher the relapse rate.
What cats are most often affected with FIP? Although FIP can occur in cats of any age, it is most often seen in young cats. Around 80% of cases diagnosed are in cats less than 2 years old, and many cases are seen in kittens around 4-12 months old.
Because the FIP coronavirus can invade many different tissues, routine blood testing may indicate evidence of kidney or liver damage. Due to the inflammatory nature seen with FIP, protein levels in the blood are often increased. However, these tests can only provide additional evidence supporting the diagnosis of FIP.
Definitively diagnosing FIP antemortem can be extremely challenging in many clinical cases. FIP is often misdiagnosed [29]. Many times, its general clinical signs (eg, chronic fever, weight loss, anorexia, malaise) are nonspecific.
Clinical signs of FIP include: Decreased appetite to complete loss of appetite. Chronic weight loss or weight gain (seen more with dry FIP) A pot-bellied appearance (from wet FIP) due to fluid accumulation in the abdomen; typically the fluid is a straw-colored, thick, high-protein fluid.
This infection can affect the brain, liver, kidneys, lungs, and skin. This form often causes the cat to have seizures and move in an abnormal or uncoordinated way. In some cases, cats will also have excessive thirst and urination, vomiting, weight loss, and jaundice.
If you have lost a cat to FIP, remove any cat related items that you cannot wash or disinfect, such as a scratching post or soft toys. Clean and disinfect everything else in the environment that you can. Time will take care of the rest, because viruses of this type are not long-lived in the environment.
Incubation and Onset of Feline Infectious Peritonitis
The natural incubation period is extremely variable, ranging from a few weeks to several years. Cats are at greatest risk for developing FIP within the first 6 to 18 months after initial infection with FCoV.
Once a cat develops clinical FIP, the disease is usually progressive and almost always fatal without therapy that has recently become available, but that has yet to be approved to treat FIP in cats by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (see below).
FIP is a disease that most frequently appears in young cats less than 2 years old but can occur in cats of any age.
IS FIP CONTAGIOUS? Very simply, the answer is no. FIP stems from infection with the enteric coronavirus of cats but FIP is not contagious.