Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 7 month old kitten that was diagnosed with FIP. Dr put her on prednisone and Amoxicilin (sp?) Since we have started the medication she does not eat. She now staggers when she walks..and looks disoriented all the time. Almost like you or I would get after not eating for awhile...dizzy. I have tried all different kinds of foods..including fresh tunas..heating the different kinds of foods..everything. I went to the store and bought kittens milk..and have been putting it in a syringe and basically...forcing it down her throat. The vet has told me that if the medication doesn't work that we may have to put her down. She seems to have a little more energy than before...occasionally showing interest in toys..if only for a moment where as before she wouldn't even do that. I think a lot of it now is that she isn't eating and is there for getting sicker from that. Not getting the nutrients she needs. She also doesn't drink much. This has been going on for a few weeks. I have taken her to 3 different vets. I am going to go back on Wed (Jan 25th) to yet ANOTHER vet. Is there anything I should ask him for that may help her with eating. She doesn't like the syringe as I have to give it to her multiple times a day with the kitten milk..and medication. Thursday was the last day with the Amox..which I have read can surpress the appetite..should she maybe start eating more now that she is off of it? It is now Tuesday.

Poor baby. You have a very sick kitty on your hands. Actually I would recommend that you contact the newest vet to see if you can get the kitten in today, because the condition sounds very serious. If not, keep up the force-feeding even though it doesn't seem to agree with the cat.

The vet may be able to give you an appetite stimulant. Also it could be the Amoxcillin which caused the appetite to tank. Hopefully the new vet will be able to help. Keep us posted!
-----
Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Hi,

I am so sorry that your baby is so sick.

I would ask the vet a few things. First, I would ask about getting a prescription for cyproheptadine, which is an appetite stimulent that usually works well in cats. Then I would ask about putting her on Pepcid. She may have a lot of acid in her stomach from not eating, which can cause her to feel nauseated.
If the FIP was diagnosed using the standard blood test, I would ask for further diagnostics. Often cats with a positive FIP titer do not have the disease.

As far as the syringe feeding, you can try strained meat baby foods (with no onion added). Your baby may even be willing to eat some of this on her own. Or your vet can prescribe Hill's A/D, which is easy to syringe feed once a little water is added.

Please let us know how the vet visit goes.

I know how difficult it is so have such an ill baby. I'll be thinking of both of you.

Regards,
PHKitkat

Thank you for your responses. We made the most difficult decision of putting our kitten down today. After taking her to the new vet..he confirmed with the other vets the tests done to determine that she had the FIP. They ran more than one test that confirmed the diagnosis. He said that since she was diagnosed in November she had probably only a couple of months to live..and that at this point she was miserable. As she had not eaten regularly in a few weeks this was the best option. They had tried her on all the different medications and since they didn't work at this time there wasn't much else to do unfortunately.

I am so very sorry. You certainly did what you could do to save this baby. However, when quality of life is threatened then the most unselfish thing you can do is release the kitty from a miserable situation. You did very well by her. May she play in peace at the Bridge.
-----
Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!