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  • 1.  FIP education & precautions

    Posted 11-10-2019 06:34 PM

    Our limited intake cat-only open cage shelter has had an uptick in FIP cases recently. Does anyone have education materials or policies for staff and volunteers to help us understand if we need to change what we are doing in any way. We don’t have our own vet but we do work with a local practitioner. I’ve asked her for guidance as well. 


    #Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization
    #FIP


  • 2.  RE: FIP education & precautions

    Posted 11-11-2019 03:15 AM
      |   view attached

    Many discussions, research on FIP including a Maddies YouTube; however little on prevention because of the insidiousness of this strain of coronavirus.


    #Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization


  • 3.  RE: FIP education & precautions

    Posted 11-18-2019 07:42 AM

    Definitely frustrating! I wish there was more available about preventing it 

    In our experience, it appears (emphasis on appears since this is a small sample group!) to be very connected to stress when a kitten is immunocompromised. Off the top of my head, here are our FIP cases for 2018/2019 (the situations noted occurred within 2 weeks of diagnosis):

    • Moved to new foster home with URI (6ish weeks old)*
    • Moved to new foster home with URI (6ish weeks old, sibling to above)*
    • Vaccinated and sent to forever home the next day (12ish weeks old, sibling to two above)*
    • Moved to new foster home with URI (7 months old, from the same colony as above)*
    • Moved to new foster home with ringworm (10 months)
    • Adopted by her foster family, but picked on by other cats in the home; we planned to make her adoptable again but then FIP (1 year)
    • Moved to new foster home and vaccinated next day (8ish weeks)
    • Vaccinated 3 days after neuter (10ish weeks; this is the kitten currently being treated for FIP)

     


    #Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization


  • 4.  RE: FIP education & precautions

    Posted 11-11-2019 12:50 PM

    There's also a website with some information: https://www.fiv.pet


    #Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization


  • 5.  RE: FIP education & precautions

    Posted 11-11-2019 01:27 PM

    Hi Doobert,  appreciate your input; however, the disease being discussed is FIP not FIV ... 


    #Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization


  • 6.  RE: FIP education & precautions

    Posted 11-12-2019 09:23 AM

    We have also had an unusual number of cases of FIP over the last year or so. It's been so odd!! Keeping cats separate, really really cleaning litterboxes (as coronavirus can be transmitted through fecal matter), and working to lower stress (which can trigger the mutation into FIP) have been how we try to deal with it. Of course, it's hard to lower stress in a shelter environment  but maybe kittens could go to / stay in foster care longer (or just get adopted out form the foster homes versus shelter?). 

    There is a treatment for it that is currently in testing stages... we have a kitten who is almost done with the 90 days of treatment! He wraps up on 11/22. I guess we'll see if it's effective in the following weeks after it's done, but so far he seems awesome - healthy, energetic, his levels look good... like a normal kitten. Which already is mindblowing to me since he was diagnosed with wet FIP 3 months ago. https://fiptreatment.com/

    Here's a recording of a recent webinar on FIP research that was super interesting and informational: https://kittencoalition.org/event/webinar-feline-infectious-peritonitis-fip-updates-in-our-knowledge-and-approach/ 


    #Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization


  • 7.  RE: FIP education & precautions

    Posted 11-12-2019 09:24 AM

    I hesitate to even mention it but we also chose to raise the age for S/N to 10 weeks old instead of 8 weeks old and added rules around how soon before or after S/N for vaccines... but that's honestly been hotly debated even within our (small private limited intake) rescue... because holding kittens longer means taking in new cats slower. I tend to lean towards 'move them out faster,' but I also haven't had FIP in any of my personal foster kittens.


    #Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization