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What do you need to know about feline infectious peritonitis? It is said that breeders fear feline FIP more than any other disease, and it is the leading infectious cause of cat death. Infection rates are high where crowded conditions exist. This fatal communicable disease is difficult to diagnose. It's symptoms are many and varied, and tests are sometimes inconclusive. The symptom list ranges from fever and sneezing, to personality changes, to weight loss and entire systemic breakdown. Infected cats may experience depression, anemia, and many other symptoms. FIP is caused by exposure to a coronavirus infection (FCoV). Infected cats, symptomatic or not, will shed coronavirus in their feces and saliva, so crowded conditions allow the virus to easily spread from cat to cat. This creates a huge problem for catteries. Not all cats who come in contact with the virus will experience symptoms, however, and only a percentage will develop Feline FIP. Otherwise healthy cats will typically fight off the virus, but may shed FCoV for a full two months. Of those who do develop the disease, the onset of FIP may occur weeks, months, or years after the initial exposure. The feline FIP symptom list includes symptoms common to many other conditions. In addition, symptoms can be very individualized which may not raise a red flag right away. To make things a bit more complicated, there are two types of the disease. Also, different areas of the body may be affected, depending upon the cat. It is therefore difficult to speculate about or diagnose this disease on symptoms alone. Antibody tests for feline FIP are inconclusive. Exposure to the virus can cause a cat's immune system to produce antibodies, whether or not he or she ever actually develops the disease. Since detection is critical in order to prevent the spread of any communicable disease, this makes FIP even more dangerous. The symptoms are many and varied, with some cats exhibiting signs of a mild respiratory infection. Symptoms may including sneezing, watery eyes, and watery nasal discharge. Other cats may experience a mild intestinal disease. In young cats, the most common symptoms are a recurring fever that is non-responsive to antibiotics, lethargy, and failure to grow. Additional symptoms will depend on what form of the disease is present, wet or dry. Some cats may have combinations of both forms. A yellow fluid in the chest or abdomen is characteristic of the wet, or effusive, form of FIP. This can cause the abdomen to take on a swollen appearance, as well as breathing problems. Symptoms for the dry, or non-effusive type include the growth of masses in the eyes and brain, the kidneys, and lymph nodes. In addition, there may be signs of neurological disorders such as loss of balance, and eye problems with a change in color or cloudiness in the iris of the eye. Considering the seriousness of this disease, and realizing how difficult diagnosis and detection is, it's important that you limit your cat's exposure to cats that may be infected. While exposure to a coronavirus infection (FCoV) does not ensure that your cat will develop FIP, it's best to minimize your risk. Feline infectious peritonitis is incurable, and is considered to be fatal once diagnosis is confirmed. Since this disease can show up many years after exposure to the virus, a diagnosis may come as a surprise. Perhaps of some comfort to cat owners is that feline FIP is relatively uncommon, and affects less than one percent of the general cat population. In catteries, however, the rate of infection can reach 20 percent.
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Kurt Schmitt publishes the website for cat lovers with details on fip symptoms and other cat illness symptoms.
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