u/Duttenprutten

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Hi everyone!

I have a now 9-month-old female cat who is currently being treated for FIP. She was originally meant to be part of our breeding/show plans, but after everything that has happened, we have decided that the kindest and most responsible choice is to spay her and let her live as a much-loved pet.

When her treatment is finished, she will move to my brother, who is very close to us. That way she gets a calm home, but we can still stay involved and support her if she ever needs anything.

Getting to this point has been emotionally difficult. We had been passed around different vets and specialists who only wanted to run expensive test and not actually treating her even tho everything pointed to FIP, but with help from an FIP support group we started antiviral treatment. She responded very quickly, and now on day 20 she is doing so much better! From not gaining weight, only sleeping, getting ocular signs to playful, happy, eating well, and acting like herself again.

So to my question: what is the safest timing for spaying?

For those of you who have treated female cats for FIP: did you spay during treatment, after treatment, or during the observation period? If you waited until after treatment, how long did you wait after the last dose? And is there anything I need to know before spaying her?

I know this is something to discuss with a vet as well, and we will make sure she is properly evaluated before any surgery. I’m mostly looking for experiences and general guidance from people who have been through this.

Hi everyone. I’m posting here because I’m very worried about FIP and would really appreciate input from people who have experience with FIP cases.

My cat is a young female, 8 months old, around 2.6 kg right now. We are in Scandinavia. She is already under veterinary care and has been referred to a GI/internal medicine specialist, but the appointment is several weeks away.

I am not asking for a diagnosis online. I’m mainly trying to understand how strongly FIP should remain on the list of possibilities, and whether there are specific tests or next steps I should discuss with my vet while we wait.

She has had chronic loose stool/diarrhea for about 2 months. The stool is often very soft, sometimes with mucus, but I have not seen obvious blood. She does not vomit. Her appetite has been up and down (mostly down), and her weight has fluctuated.

When things got worse, she weighed around 2.5 kg. She was started on prednisolone and Mirataz. During the first week, she improved a lot: she ate better, seemed happier, gained weight up to around 2.8 kg, and her stool started to look slightly more formed.

Now, during the last 4–5 days, she has declined again. She is back down to around 2.6 kg, has reduced appetite again, and is going to the litter box several times per day. She still plays and can seem fairly bright, but she has episodes where she seems uncomfortable, lower in energy, and possibly painful in her abdomen.

We also worry she may have intermittent fever because she sometimes feels warmer than normal, but we have not been able to confirm this. Taking a rectal temperature has not been possible because she becomes extremely distressed when anyone tries.

She is currently on day 14 of prednisolone and has also been given Mirataz. She is eating only a hydrolyzed hypoallergenic diet right now.

Clinical signs:

• Chronic diarrhea/loose stool for about 2 months
• Sometimes mucus in stool
• No obvious blood
• No vomiting
• Reduced appetite again
• Weight loss after initial improvement
• Several litter box visits/bowel movements per day
• Suspected abdominal discomfort
• Possible intermittent fever, not confirmed
• Still playful/bright at times, but had down days too

Tests done so far:

Fecal/parasite testing:

• Currently negative for parasites, including Giardia, Tritrichomonas, Cystoisospora/coccidia, Cryptosporidium, Toxoplasma, Toxocara and other worms/parasites included in the panel

Respiratory/eye/oral infectious PCR testing:

• FHV-1 / feline herpesvirus PCR: negative
• Feline chlamydiosis / Chlamydia felis PCR: negative
• FCV / feline calicivirus RT-PCR: negative

CBC:

• WBC: 24.58, reference 2.87–17.02 — high
• Neutrophils: 17.50, reference 2.30–10.29 — high
• Monocytes: 1.14, reference 0.05–0.67 — high
• RBC: 9.25, reference 6.54–12.20 — normal
• Hematocrit: 0.348, reference 0.303–0.523 — normal
• Hemoglobin: 125, reference 98–162 — normal
• Platelets: 546, reference 151–600 — normal/high-normal
• Plateletcrit: 0.89, reference 0.17–0.86 — slightly high

Chemistry:

• ALT: 686, reference 12–130 — very high
• Globulin: 53, reference 28–51 — slightly high
• Albumin: 28, reference 22–40 — normal
• A/G ratio: 0.5
• SDMA: 15, reference 0–14 — slightly high
• Creatinine: 76, reference 71–212 — normal
• Urea: 7.0, reference 5.7–12.9 — normal
• Phosphorus: 2.27, reference 1.00–2.42 — high-normal
• Bilirubin: 5, reference 0–15 — normal
• ALP: 66, reference 14–111 — normal
• GGT: 0, reference 0–4 — normal
• Amylase and lipase were within reference range

Abdominal ultrasound:
The ultrasound report described mild changes in the duodenum, possibly suggesting enteritis. The colon had mild changes consistent with colitis. The gallbladder wall was mildly thickened/hazy, with differentials including cholangitis or gallbladder wall edema. Some intestinal lymph nodes were mildly enlarged and thought to possibly be reactive. Liver, pancreas, kidneys, spleen, adrenal glands, urinary bladder and the rest of the GI tract were reported as normal.

Why I’m worried about FIP:
I’m worried because she is young, has chronic GI signs, weight loss, inflammatory bloodwork, slightly high globulin, an A/G ratio of 0.5, possible intermittent fever, and she improved at first on prednisolone but is now declining again.

Our vet has said FIP is not their first suspicion because she is still fairly bright and playful at times, but I know FIP can be difficult to diagnose and I’m scared of missing it.

My questions:

1. For those with FIP experience, how concerning does this look for possible dry FIP?
2. Does an A/G ratio of 0.5 with only mildly high globulin fit FIP, or is that more often nonspecific inflammation?
3. Can FIP present mainly as chronic diarrhea/colitis-like signs without obvious fluid buildup, jaundice, eye signs or neuro signs?
4. Does improvement on prednisolone followed by decline make FIP more or less likely, or is that not helpful?
5. How worried should I be about the ALT of 686 in relation to possible FIP, especially since bilirubin, ALP and GGT are normal?
6. What FIP-related tests would be reasonable to ask my vet about next while we wait for the specialist? FCoV antibody titer? FCoV PCR? Repeat CBC/chemistry? Serum protein electrophoresis? Other inflammatory markers?
7. At what point would you consider this urgent enough to push for emergency/internal medicine care sooner?

I know nobody can diagnose FIP from a Reddit post. I’m just trying to understand whether I should be pushing harder for FIP investigation now, or whether this sounds more like another GI/inflammatory condition.

Species: Cat
Age: 8 months
Sex/Neuter status: Female, intact
Breed: Neva Masquerade
Body weight: Was around 2.5 kg, increased to 2.8 kg after treatment started, now back down to around 2.6 kg
General location: Europe

History:
My cat has had chronic loose stool/diarrhea for around 2 months. She is currently under veterinary care and has been referred to a GI/internal medicine specialist, but the appointment is not for several weeks. I am not looking for a diagnosis online, but I would really appreciate help understanding what questions/tests I should discuss with my vet while we wait.

She has had periods of reduced appetite and weight fluctuation. She does not vomit. She is still playful at times and can seem fairly bright, but she has episodes where she seems uncomfortable, lower in energy, and possibly painful in her abdomen.

She is currently on day 14 of prednisolone and has also been given Mirataz as an appetite stimulant. She is eating only a hydrolyzed hypoallergenic diet right now.

During the first week on prednisolone/Mirataz, she improved a lot. She ate better, gained weight from about 2.5 kg to 2.8 kg, seemed happier, and her stool started to look slightly more formed. Over the last 4–5 days, she has worsened again. She is now back down to about 2.6 kg and still loosing, has reduced appetite, and goes to the litter box several times per day.

We also worry she may have intermittent fever because she sometimes feels warmer than normal, but rectal temperature has not been possible because she becomes extremely distressed when anyone tries.

Clinical signs:

• Chronic loose stool/diarrhea, around 2 months
• Sometimes mucus in stool
• No obvious blood seen
• No vomiting
• Reduced appetite again despite initial improvement
• Weight loss after initial weight gain
• Several bowel movements/litter box visits per day
• Suspected abdominal discomfort/pain
• Possible intermittent fever, not confirmed
• Still playful/bright at times

Tests performed so far:

Fecal/parasite testing:

• Currently negative for parasites, including Giardia, Tritrichomonas, Cystoisospora/coccidia, Cryptosporidium, Toxoplasma, Toxocara and other worms/parasites included in the tested

Respiratory/eye/oral infectious PCR testing:

• FHV-1 / feline herpesvirus PCR: negative
• Feline chlamydiosis / Chlamydia felis PCR: negative
• FCV / feline calicivirus RT-PCR: negative

CBC:

• WBC: 24.58, reference 2.87–17.02 — high
• Neutrophils: 17.50, reference 2.30–10.29 — high
• Monocytes: 1.14, reference 0.05–0.67 — high
• RBC: 9.25, reference 6.54–12.20 — normal
• Hematocrit: 0.348, reference 0.303–0.523 — normal
• Hemoglobin: 125, reference 98–162 — normal
• Platelets: 546, reference 151–600 — normal/high-normal
• Plateletcrit: 0.89, reference 0.17–0.86 — slightly high

Chemistry:

• ALT: 686, reference 12–130 — very high
• Globulin: 53, reference 28–51 — slightly high
• Albumin: 28, reference 22–40 — normal
• A/G ratio: 0.5
• SDMA: 15, reference 0–14 — slightly high
• Creatinine: 76, reference 71–212 — normal
• Urea: 7.0, reference 5.7–12.9 — normal
• Phosphorus: 2.27, reference 1.00–2.42 — high-normal
• Bilirubin: 5, reference 0–15 — normal
• ALP: 66, reference 14–111 — normal
• GGT: 0, reference 0–4 — normal
• Amylase and lipase were within reference range

Abdominal ultrasound:
The ultrasound report described mild changes in the duodenum, possibly suggesting enteritis. The descending/transverse colon had mild thickening/bumpiness, consistent with colitis. The gallbladder wall was mildly thickened/hazy, with differentials including cholangitis or gallbladder wall edema. Some intestinal lymph nodes were mildly enlarged and thought to possibly be reactive. The liver, pancreas, kidneys, spleen, adrenal glands, urinary bladder and the rest of the GI tract were reported as normal.

My main concern:
I am very worried about FIP because of the chronic GI signs, weight loss, inflammatory bloodwork, globulin being slightly high, A/G ratio of 0.5, and the fact that she improved at first on prednisolone but is now declining again. My vet has said FIP is not their first suspicion because she is still fairly bright, but I am struggling to understand how likely or unlikely FIP is with this pattern.

Questions:

1. Based on these findings, how strongly should FIP remain on the differential list?
2. Does an A/G ratio of 0.5 with slightly high globulin make FIP more concerning, or is this still nonspecific inflammation?
3. Can FIP present mainly with chronic diarrhea/colitis-like signs and a cat that is still bright/playful at times?
4. How concerning is an ALT of 686 when ALP, GGT and bilirubin are normal?
5. Could this pattern fit IBD/food-responsive enteropathy, cholangitis/hepatitis, infectious disease, or another inflammatory GI disease instead?
6. While waiting for the GI specialist, what additional diagnostics would be reasonable to ask my vet about — for example repeat CBC/chemistry, urinalysis, B12/folate, bile acids, Spec fPL, fecal culture/PCR, FCoV antibody/PCR, or other FIP-related testing?
7. At what point should I consider this urgent/emergency rather than waiting for the specialist appointment?

I understand no one can diagnose her online and I am not asking for treatment instructions. I mainly want to know what I should ask my vet about next, and how worried I should be about FIP versus other causes while we wait for the specialist.