I find the skepticism and questioning surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of FIP interesting. I have to say, however, that every laboratory test, whether it be in human or veterinary medicine, is subject to failure; either giving false positives or false negatives. This is a far more common problem than most people may understand. Nothing is 100% in any test, ever. The best and really only currently known way to deal with this is by looking at the clinical presentation, history and lab work together.
In this case, the presence of coronavirus in a related kitten, the age of the kitten, the clinical symptoms of fever, anemia and central nervous system impairment, I would say, that you are very very very likely looking at FIP or at least the entity in how it is understood. As far as diagnosing it by autopsy, it can also be done with a tissue biopsy. You are looking for pyogenicgranulomas, a histologic (microscopic) diagnosis. FIP is an entity that is not entirely understood therefore diagnosiing it accurately is difficult. It is simply a constellation of symptoms and lab work. That is precisely what you are looking at in this situation. What I am saying is that there is a cyclical line of reasoning here. FIP cannot be easily diagnosed and all are in agreement with that, so dismissing that this is FIP on the grounds that it's not been definitively diagnosed is nonsensical. Given the fact that it fulfills most of the criteria for FIP we have to go with the most likely scenario that it is. It fits a non effusive form of FIP almost perfectly. Given that, I am excited about the possibility of a treatment. Whatever this cat had, whatever you believe was the diagnosis (and by the way it is obvious that extensive tests, looking to identify alternate causes, were done). Whether you call FIP a wastebasket diagnosis, this cat responded and survived. The other cat, with identical symptoms, did not receive this full treatment and died. There is some success here, whatever your belief on the diagnosis is. I understand skepticism but there something happened here, even with don't fully understand what. Is it not worth, therefore, investigating? Well, that's just my opinion. Jenny On 11/23/09, MaryChristine <twelvehousec...@gmail.com> wrote: > > corona virus titres do NOT prove FIP. cats can have high FeCoV titres and > not progress to FIP, and cats who have progressed to FIP can have low > titres > because their exposure was so long before that the virus itself is out of > their systems, although the FIP mutation is not. > > FIP is the new favorite diagnosis for, "we haven't a clue." > > like susan, i would love for there to be an answer for FIP--it's much worse > than FeLV, because there's no way to predict who will get it, no way to > prevent it, and no way to treat it. but calling everything FIP, as has > become the habit over the past three years or so, just makes actual > diagnosis and learning more muddier. > > MC > > -- > Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! > Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... > > MaryChristine > Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue (www.purebredcats.org > ) > Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team) > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
