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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. The majority of otherwise healthy cats will fight off the virus. They will, however, shed FCoV for up to two months. Some exposed cats will at some point develop FIP. The onset of FIP can actually sometimes be 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. Some cats will exhibit symptoms indicating a mild respiratory infection, but overall symptoms are all over the map. In younger cats, the most common symptoms are failure to grow, lethargy, and a recurring fever that is non-responsive to antibiotics. Other symptoms may including nasal discharge, sneezing, watery eyes, and intestinal disease. Some cats may have combinations of both the wet and the dry forms of the disease. Additional symptoms will vary depending upon which form a cat has. With the effusive, or wet type of FIP there is a yellow fluid build up in the chest cavity or abdomen. This causes difficulty breathing and swelling of the abdomen. Symptoms with the dry type, or non-effusive, include signs of ocular problems, or neurological issues, such as wobbling. In addition, affected cats may have masses on the lymph nodes, kidneys, in the eyes, and the brain. Visible signs may include a change in color or a cloudy appearance 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.
Article Source: http://www.worldofarticles.net
Kurt Schmitt publishes facts for the cat lover on feline health. For more details on this illness see the fip symptom list page.
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