Mycoplasma...?

[Brigitte Cowell]

When they say they wish to do a biopsy of the eye, is that because they see a lesion there? Dry FIP is often seen as uveitis, which is inflammation inside the eye, so the eye doesn't look so clear but a bit cloudy...si that what Tilly looks like?

What is making them think FIP? It is very very hard to diagnose dry FIP... you don't have the abdominal fluid to test for the virus. Biopsies can help... but often you will only diagnose by necropsy :-(

Still, if it were me, I'd want to be very sure. The one cat I have had that did have dry FIP we did a lot of testing, the protein profiles were most useful in diagnosing it, along with the sequential ruling out of all other possibilities.

I would trust my vet, and think it ESSENTIAL to find a vet you can trust because in these situations it is terrible to not know if you can rely on their opinion.

If you think it is FIP, then I would take her home for one night to say goodbye, but personally I think the kindest most loving thing we can do sometimes is to help them pass painlessly.

I am so very sorry, I had hoped to read better news today :-(

 

[Patti]

I'm sorry Tilly is doing so poorly. I don't know anything about the vets in the UK but I trust my vets and know they will do and recommend what they believe is best for the animal.

If your vet is saying FIP I would make sure that they are sure - find out what tests they have done and read up on FIP: http://www.dr-addie.com/ It is extremely tough to make those final decisions for a loved one, but the bottom line is, if you believe that there is nothing the vet can do to help her survival then you face that tough choice whether or not to let her go peacefully and with dignity. But getting to that point can be agonizing - my heart goes out to you.

 

[frances]

They insisted on caring on the tests to be sure it is FIP.
She has a lesion in the left eye, so biopsy will tell if it could be a tumour making her so sick.
She will have stomac fluid and liver biopsies today as well.
No results yet from mycoplasma, PK deficienty .
The PCR will probably be send to Glasgow, how long is it going to take before we know?!!!
They think she is an unusual case. She is still eating. She is still producing high level of bilirubine....
An other agonizing day... The sedative could be lethal too.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

PCR tests can be pretty fast, and in cases like this I think they do try to get results asap as they know that kitties' lives are in the balance. Biopsies are a little slower sometimes, but within a few days I'd expect.

Yes, there is a danger in sedating a very ill cat, I went through this last September with my Zari...just know that you are doing all you can for your precious Tilly.

 

[DocMac]

Here's hoping all gets resolved positively for Tilly.


Josie
River Ridge
West Virginia

 

[Patti]

I'm so sorry for you and Tilly, I feel your anguish and helplessness. I pray that the test results will give you some answers for you.

 

[Silke]

there is a new test for dry FIP. In Germany Laboklin does it. Its done by EDTA Blood and finds mutations.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

http://www.laboklin.de/pages/html/en/VetInfo/aktuell/FeLV_FIV_FIP_questions.htm
There's no mention of a confirmatory FIP test on their website? Where did you find that information, Silke?

 

[Silke]

The possibility of testing was published in the magazin deutsches Tierärzteblatt either 2012 or 2013. I don’t find it anymore.

http://www.vet-magazin.de/firmennews-deutschland/veterinaermedizinische-labore/laboklin/Mutationen-Coronaviren-PCR.html

http://www.laboklin.de/pdf/de/fachbeitraege_online/dvg_berlin/fip_poster_dgk-dvg_2013.pdf

A possible treatment for the dry form is discussed:

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ccah/research/unit%20-%20repeating%20photo-heading-blurb,%20optional%20right%20col.cfm

in Germany we have a drug which works maybe similair: “famvir”.
I wanted to try this but the clinic refused to even try it (my cat used it earlier sucessful for cat sneeze.) They argued that the study was to small.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Maybe the spike protein turned out to be like the "7B protein" of a few years ago that supposedly diagnosed FIP also but further studies showed wild-type FeCoV had it also. I can't really tell, the only one that Google Chrome would automatically translate did not give a specific name for the "spike protein" to search for that test. I wonder if they don't offer it now... I'd have thought if there were a new test that really was of value, it would be big in cat news. At least big enough that two years later it might have made it to the US...

Yes, Polyphrenyl Immunostimulant has been trialled but the most recent reports didn't seem too positive for it for treatment. A few years ago, when I had a cat diagnosed with dry FIP (confirmed by necropsy), what I read was not great in terms of the quality of life of the cats undergoing treatment. It seemed to extend life but maybe not a great quality life. I decided against putting Aziza through that.

Famvir is famciclovir and yes does work great on the Herpes family of viruses, which is why it should be successful for cat sneezes which commonly are caused by Rhinotracheitis, one of the Herpes family of viruses. Was there a study trialling this for FIP treatment?