Today's FIP Fact 🦠🦠🦠🦠🦠🦠🦠🦠 Despite its name, Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), is not contagious. Feline Coronavirus (FCoV) which many cats have (without any issue) is easily passed between cats - it is this that people confuse with FIP and FIP is not contagious. 😺😸🐈🐈⬛😺😸🐈🐈⬛😺😸🐈🐈⬛
‼️‼️Important information‼️‼️ ✅ ️FIP is treatable, it is no longer a death sentence. 🐈🐈⬛ ❗️Insurance is essential - it covers legal Vet FIP treatment. 💉💊 👨⚕️👩⚕️ UK Vet awareness of legal FIP treatment and diagnostic testing is improving. ‼️ Further improvement is however still required in terms of prompt action to treat for FIP 💊 AND Veterinary markups 💷 on FIP medication must be challenged by ALL Veterinary professionals. 🔍📊📋🩸 FIP diagnosis & testing - it is not complicated in terms of what tests to do especially now very effective legal treatment options are available. ✖️ FIP should be a diagnosis of exclusion. ⚠️ A single diagnostic test for FIP does not exist and the range of advertised 'FIP tests' each have limitations. ❌️ Expensive tests eg an MRI are not required. ❌ ️A definitive diagnosis is no longer required. 🧫🔬 The previous gold standard for FIP diagnosis (Immunohistochemistry - IHC), is not required - it involves invasive sampling in very sick cats. 😿 (This was used previously post-mortem when no treatment options were available in the event of an FIP diagnosis. Death was very highly likely for most cats.) 😿 🧪 Wet FIP is easiest diagnose - a PCR should be done on any effusion to find Feline Coronavirus FCoV.🦠 🩸🩺 Dry FIP - approximately 80% of differentials can be eliminated by easily testing for Toxoplasmosis, FIV, FeLV and Mycoplasma. An ultrasound for Dry FIP is also helpful to view lymph nodes and rule out differentials eg Lymphoma. 📈📋 The above, combined with the cat's history, clinical presentation 🐈🐈⬛ (this is very important - they have that distinct FIP look - professionals please 🙏 look for it ) 🧐 and blood test results🩸 (haematology, biochemistry, serology and AGP - eg the FIP Profile from Glasgow University Vet Diagnostics) allows a high level of suspicion of FIP to be determined.🧐🧩 👩⚕️👨⚕️ UK Vet FIP specialists advise the above approach alongside trials of legal Vet FIP medication when suspicion is high. ⏳️⌛️ Time is of the essence - treatment should never be delayed waiting for test results or carrying out invasive or expensive tests when the cat is sick 😿 and can now be saved by starting antiviral treatment! 👊💪 A few doses and the diagnosis of FIP will be confirmed by response 🥰 or disproved (by lack of expected response.) ✅️🎉 All available owner & insurance funds should be channelled into treating the cat as quickly as possible to give it the best chance of fighting FIP! 🥊😺
This example video shares the FIP journey of UK Vet May with her own cat Keith. Diagnosis and treatment were prompt. Keith was also FIV positive. *Please note we are not linked to the video creator.
🎯 One of the vital missing puzzle pieces 🧩 regarding UK FIP cats (in our opinion) became our longterm goal back in 2022. 👨⚕️👩⚕️🧑⚕️ This was to establish a service with a Veterinary professional at the helm who would be dedicated to FIP cats and their owners, especially in their hour of desperate need. 🐈🐈⬛ ✅ ️The professional would provide one to one support and guidance to owners and their own Vets. 🤝 ✅ ️The professional would be the key to unlocking closed doors to prompt FIP diagnosis and legal treatment. 🙏 ✅ ️The professional would be the link between FIP experienced owners (some with 10+ years of analysing cat test results and supporting owners with palliative care etc) and the lifelong continuous professional development of Vets regarding FIP. 🧠🤝 📌 Our project initially took the form of FIP Support UK and saw us searching 🧐 for the ideal candidate. We very luckily found Vet Mark👨⚕️whose values and goals aligned 🤝 with our charity's vision, values and mission as well as our own personal ones (as owners who loved their FIP Survivors very much.) 🐾🥰 FIP Support UK went 'live' as an easily accessible service 💻📱📞 to all in November 2023. 👏🎉 Here is our very informative FIP interview with Vet Mark. Additional videos will follow in the next post. 👨⚕️🤝 Mark is always available to guide and support you, your beloved cat and your Vet through all aspects of FIP - from suspected cases needing help with how to work towards a diagnosis that is 'highly suspicious' of FIP to all aspects of legal treatment, recommended supplements and longer term monitoring. Mark is there for you and your cat. 🐈🐈⬛ www.fipsupportuk.com
