In this episode of ER VET, Dr. Justine Lee, DACVECC, DABT interviews Adelaide Boak, a veterinary technician, on Feline Infectious Peritonitis. This one deadly viral infection now may have a better outcome, thanks to new treatment. Tune in to learn about what clinical signs, testing and treatment options are available with FIP, and how to educate yourself on cutting edge new, potential treatment!
SHOW NOTES: Talking Feline Infectious Peritonitis and future Treatment Hope with Adelaide Boak
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SHOW NOTES: Talking Feline Infectious Peritonitis and future Treatment Hope with Adelaide Boak
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/er-vet-stories-from-the-animal-er-pet-life-radio-original-petliferadio-com--6667836/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is pet Life Radio, Let's Talk Pets.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to er Vet. I'm pet Life Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
I'm your host actor just Tine Lee, and I'm an
emergency critical care veterinary specialist and taxicologist.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Thanks for joining us today.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
I'm really excited to talk to you about something that
I use to hate as a topic as a vet,
and that's feline infectious parrotonitis. And we're going to be
speaking with Adelaide Book in just a few minutes. We'll
be right back after these messages.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Take a bite out of your competition. Advertise your business
with an ad in pet Life Radio podcast and radio shows.
There is no other pet related media that is as
large and reaches more pet parents and pet lovers than
pet Life Radio with over seven million monthly listeners. Pet
Life Radio podcasts are available on all major podcasts platforms,
(01:14):
and our live radio stream goes out to over two
hundred and fifty million subscribers on iHeartRadio, Odyssey, tune In,
and other streaming apps. For more information on how you
can advertise on the number one pet podcast and radio network,
visit Petlifradio dot com slash advertised today.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
Let's Talk Pets on Petlifradio dot com.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Welcome back to Arvenam PETLAF Radio today. I'm really excited
to talk about FIP. So for all you can owners
out there, you're going to want to tune in. Welcome
to the show, Adelie Folk, Adalie, thank you so much
for joining us today.
Speaker 6 (02:07):
Thank you so much for having me today.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
All Right, just so our audience knows who you are,
give us a little bit of background about who you are,
what you do, and what you're doing now.
Speaker 6 (02:15):
So I went to school at the University of Texas
at Austin. I actually majored in nutrition. But while I
was in school, I got really involved with fostering and
in twenty nineteen I got involved in the FIP feeling
infectious parisonitis scene. I graduated in twenty twenty and decided
to pivot and went into becoming a veterinary technician and
(02:37):
did volunteering with KATZ and FIP on the side. This year,
in August, I actually quit my job in the clinic
to focus my efforts on FIP advocacy consultation and I
do a lot of data tracking and research full time.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Wonderful.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Well, really appreciate your dedication to FIP. Now, for those
of you guys who don't know what FIP is. I'm
assuming you've never had an ex bosure or a cat
that was sick with FIP, which is a good thing
when it comes to FIP. We've done previous episodes a
long time ago, episode eighty seven on feline infectious parrotonitis.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
And the reason why this topic is so so important
is because it used to be a death sentence.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
I more recently, in episode one seventy five, talked with
doctor Vicky Thayer, who's a diplomat of the American Board
of Vetnory Practice, and we talked extensively about FIP.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
But a lot has changed in the past.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Few years when it comes to FIP, so I'm excited
to talk to you about it today. Now, could you
let us know a little bit more information about FIP
for all our listeners out there?
Speaker 2 (03:40):
What is it? And what is dry versus wet?
Speaker 3 (03:43):
And what are the treatment modalities that used to be
out there and how do you diagnose it?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
What do you do about it?
Speaker 6 (03:50):
So I am not a veterinarian, but FIP is a
fatal disease. It only affects cats, typically young cats, but
it can happen at any age. It's a new tea
of a common virus in cats, actually called feline enteric coronavirus.
It affects somewhere between zero point three to one point
four percent of cats who have been infected with this virus,
(04:13):
and you can find information about how common it is
on sock FIP, which is doctor Peterson's website from uc Davis.
The two main forms of FIP wet FIP and dry FIP.
Wet FIP always has some kind of a fluid accumulation,
so they may have it in their abdomen or it
may collect around their lungs. It can also be in
(04:36):
other locations, but those are the two main spots that
the fluid builds. And then in dry FIP that can
involve things like granu lomas and large lymph nodes. But
it's generally a very sick cat that's not responding to
other kinds of treatments, or they can develop lesions in
their brain or eyes where their eyes might change color
(04:59):
or turn red or cloudy. The treatment modalities for FIP
in the past have included supportive care and a few
different anti viral therapies, but without success. Until about twenty seventeen,
A medication called GS four four one five two four
(05:19):
was used in a trial to treat over twenty cats,
with most of them achieving remission or cure.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
All right, so thank you so much for bringing it up.
You know, I've had the unfortunately experience of having to
explain and diagnose FIP before, and it is really really complicated.
And again, I do really encourage you to listen to
that older episode on FIP that I've recorded with doctor
Vicki Thayer, because we did talk about some of the
complications of testing for FIP, and unfortunately, the FIP test
(05:49):
is complex, and the main reason why is because a
negative test is actually the most helpful answer that you get.
So if your cat happens to have symptoms of FIP,
your VET does the blood test and the test is positive.
There are a lot of causes for a false positive
or other reasons. So if I get a negative on
(06:11):
the FIP test, that actually helps me more because when
I get that, it means I'm able to rule out
that coronavirus. The frustrating thing with the positive FIP test
is it just means your cat is positive for some
type of coronavirus, right.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
It's not specific for FIP necessarily.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Now you brought up the clinical signs, you brought up
some of the tests that will do. But again, the
difference between dry and wet FIP typically are that again
one is effusive, which makes the body sort of leak fluid.
And so the classic clinical signs I'll see with FIP
are what we call in the veterinary world, what we
(06:48):
call adr ain't doing right.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
So the cat is hiding, the.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Cat is dehydrated, doesn't want to eat, maybe vomiting a
little has a fever, just isn't acting.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Like their normal self.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
And depending on what our physical examination finds is Sometimes
again it may be that change in the color of
the iris where it almost looks fuzzy, and that's what
we call a uv iis or inflammation of the uva
in the eye. Sometimes it's really vague symptoms like not
eating and vomiting, and that's because FIP can affect different
parts of the intestinal tract. Sometimes, if it's that wet
(07:23):
or effusive FIP, it can result in huge fluid accumulation
within the abdomen. So you'll notice that your cat's belly
maybe getting bigger and bigger, and I should step back
and say with FIP. Classically, when I see it, it's
usually younger cats, so cats you know, two years old
that even if they were indoor, were adopted or purchased.
(07:46):
Oftentimes we see this more in purebread cats at catgories.
So it can be a really debilitating, frustrating disease. But
that said, some of the newest treatments out there are
now improving the outcoming. And this used to be a
death sentence and so much of that has changed. That said,
when it comes to the treatment for FIP, why is
(08:08):
it that most veterinarians in the United States and other
parts of the world can't actually prescribe the treatment for FIP.
Speaker 6 (08:15):
So yes, the reason why we can't use GS four
four one five two four in a veterinary environment is
because it's actually not approved for any FDA use. It
is currently held under the patent with Gilead and they
are currently researching human drugs for the treatment of COVID nineteen,
(08:37):
which includes a related drug to GS four four one
five two four called rem does appear. It currently has
conditional approval for the treatment of COVID nineteen, but until
it has full FDA approval, it cannot be used off
label in the veterinary world.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
All right, So knowing that and knowing how difficult it is,
where do you recommend that people go to get up
to date information and knowledge or even the latest updates
in research on FIP.
Speaker 6 (09:02):
The places that I recommend getting excellent information about FIP
are going to be sockfip dot org. That's soock fip
dot org. It stands for Saving our CAATs and kittens
from FIP is an informative website created by doctor Peterson
as well as other veterinarians from UC Davis and other associates.
(09:23):
Doctor Peterson is regarded as the leading expert on FIP,
so it's my belief that this is the best resource
for current information. Because he is an award winning PhD veterinarian,
he devoted his life to research and has spent more
than fifty years in research and earned many awards for
his contributions to feline medicine and feline retroviral research.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
All right, thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
I will also advocate for Cornell Feline Health Center that
has a lot of great information on anything feline.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
So when in doubt, you definitely want to check that out.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
I always say, when in doubt, edu websites are very,
very credible for a lot of the research that's up there.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
And again it's.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
Frustrating because FIP it always considered non treatable, right, it
was really just symptomatic supportive care, which is a fancy
wave of saying we're trying to minimize some of the symptoms.
We're trying to hydrate them with fluid therapy, We're trying
to drain that fluid off their belly. If they have
wet FIP, maybe it was giving blood transfusions. Maybe it
was treating with topical sterroids on their eyes, if they
(10:20):
had uviitis, maybe it was treating with oral sterroids to
help decrease some of the inflammation in the body. So really,
up to GS four four, one, five, two four, there
weren't a lot of treatment options. So it is really
frustrating just because that's can't truly prescribe it. But I
will say that's one of the good things about COVID
nineteen in that it helped us be able to get
(10:43):
more information about the treatment of FIP or cats. Now,
how is a public perception for the treatment of FIP
change In the last six years.
Speaker 6 (10:53):
Public perception has changed a lot over time with treatment
for FIP. It's gone from as you describe, or the
way I describe it a little differently, the Boogeyman of
cat diseases. It's this dreaded disease that if your cat
got it, there was nothing you could do about it.
But now it's become a treatable disease that cat owners
can feel empowered to tackle and beat. FIP treatment is
(11:16):
at the cutting edge of feline medicine development, and more
and more vets and pet owners are learning every day
that it's treatable thanks to advocacy from organizations like Sockfip,
Everyday Cat Health and the nonprofit zen By Cat, especially
zen By caat their nonprofit organization that they raise awareness
(11:36):
and they also raise funds for the research that has
led to the cures that we've been able to discover. Actually,
the owner of the zen Bycat, Peter Cohen, he has
one of the first cats that was ever treated for
FIP in the Flagship treatment study in twenty seventeen that
was published in twenty eighteen where they treated twenty six
cats for twelve weeks and showed successful cure. Today, despite
(11:59):
barriers to treat due to legality and spoke of practice.
Many that's are supportive of cat parents who pursue treatment
for FID in the capacity that they legally can.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Wonderful, great information.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
We'll be right back with this really important information right
after these messages. Mollie, here's your dinner.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
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Speaker 5 (13:07):
Let's talk past it, let's done.
Speaker 8 (13:09):
Pets at Life Radio, Headline Radio, pet live Radio dot com.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
Welcome back to ear VNA Petlake Radio. We've been speaking
with Adelaide and we've been talking about feline infectious paranitis. Again,
we've had a couple of episodes previously on FIP, so
you definitely want to check those out.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
But when it comes to FIP.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
Or feline infectious paronitis, remember it's a viral disease, feline coronavirus. Again,
we typically see it in younger cats, typically less than
really seven months to one and a half years of age.
And again we often think that it's transmitted when an
infected queen passes is on to their kittens.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
So sometimes we can see this in shelters or.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
Categories, mostly in purebred cats, and so again can be
really frustrating because FIP used to be considered a death sentence. Earlier,
we talked about wet versus dry FIP and how it
can be really difficult to diagnose because of testing, and
again the clinical signs are really really vague, from fluid
accumulation to that pot bellied appearance, to difficulty breathing, to
(14:27):
really really vague clinical signs such as discoloration or abnormal
looking eyes, to things like diarrhea to not eating. So again,
the clinical signs can be really really frustrating. Earlier, we
also talked about how testing for FIP is hard because
there's no definitive test to diagnose FIP, and most of
the time when we're doing it, we're looking at antibody
(14:49):
levels or what we call tiers, and they can't always
tell and distinguish between feline coronavirus and feline infectious partonitis.
So again, a negative test that means a lot more
to me than a positive test. We talked about whether
or not it can be treated, and up to this
point it's really been symptomatic supportive care, and I'm hoping
(15:10):
that the FDA will one day approve these drugs that
we know are out there in the world for FIP,
but as of right now in the United States, veterinarians can't.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Actually prescribe it. So I did want to ask.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
A couple of last few questions when it comes to FIP.
What's coming out next in support for pet parents for
FIP and is there anything new in research or treatment
that's coming down the pipe.
Speaker 6 (15:35):
Yes, absolutely, there are so many developments that have happened
just in the time period that I have been involved
in helping casts with FIP. There's more information available, there's
more support than there ever had been before. There are
numerous support Facebook groups where cat owners can speak to
each other and get support on what is going on
(15:55):
and advice, and there's also specialized websites and resources that
exists to get information and make sure that it's reputable information.
What's coming next in research is most exciting. The research
is ongoing for better treatments to have available and learn
more about cats who are treated for FIP. Currently, there's
(16:16):
a research trial that is open for enrollment through the
Colorado State University using malnupirivier as the antiviral therapy mall
new Peera beer is actually already being used in Europe
with great success with the treatment of FIP. The trial
is called Evaluation of New FIP Immunotherapy for Cats being
treated with antiviral therapy. It's being led by doctor Petrick
(16:38):
Cherna at CSU, so I'd highly recommend checking that out
if anyone is facing FIP and wants to help with
furthering research as well as helping their cat. Currently, I
am collecting a large amount of data on cats who
are treated with GS through a specialized tracking website that
I created information like the cats wait over time, blood
work values over time, any comorbid conditions that they have,
(17:02):
as well as side effects reported with the medication, and
much much more. I hope to have this information published
as currently we have ongoing data collection for about fourteen
hundred cats since May of twenty twenty three, and that
number grows every day. I'm so excited for how much
more we are going to know about the outcomes of
these cats in the next two to five years, and
developments into alternative antivirals that will hopefully readily get FDA
(17:26):
approval and become available to our veterinarians to prescribe and
treat these cats.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Wonderful, Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
We just need a very philanthropic feline owner who can
help us in this process because it is a really
important battle.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
You know.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
The question that I wanted to leave with that a
lot of ped owners will often ask, is how can
I protect my cat from getting FIP? And I will say,
while there is one licensed FIP vaccine out there, please
note this is one of the vaccines.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
We do not actually advocate for it.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
It's not recommended by the American Association of Feline Practitioners
and The main reason why is because it's got questionable
efficacy and while the vaccine is safe, the benefits don't
really outweigh the benefit of giving the vaccine. It will
also make your cat test positive for FIP on the
antibody tighter because of that, So again, while there's a
(18:16):
vaccine out there, we as veterinary professionals don't.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Actually advocate it for it right now.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
And unfortunately there's no great way of protecting your cat
from FIP if your cat came from a high density
cattery or shelter. It is often really hard because when
we see cat's house in those situations, that crowded living
condition can actually contribute to stress, it can contribute to
infectious disease. And we do know that feeling coronavirus is
(18:45):
actually really contagious, but again it's not that that the
coronavirus that mutates into the malignant FIP is that contagious.
So again a lot more information is coming down the pipe,
and again I do hope that this one day gets
day approved because it is so helpful for us to
be able to make sure that our feeline patients are
(19:05):
healthy and that we do have a treatment option for
cats with what used to.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Be a devastating disease FIP. Adelaie, thank you so much
for joining us today. Appreciate all that you do and
thank you again.
Speaker 6 (19:17):
Thank you, it's been wonderful.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Well that brings us to the end of today's show.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Find me at doctor Justinelye dot com, on Facebook or
Instagram at doctor Justine Lee, or email me your questions
at doctor Justine at petlife radio dot com. With that,
we're at a time and we would like to thank
Adelaide Bote and Mark Winter, our producer, for making this
show possible.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
See you at the next episode.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
Let's Talk Pets every week on demand only on Petlife
Radio dot com.
This is pet Life Radio, Let's Talk Pets.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to er Vet. I'm pet Life Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
I'm your host actor just Tine Lee, and I'm an
emergency critical care veterinary specialist and taxicologist.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Thanks for joining us today.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
I'm really excited to talk to you about something that
I use to hate as a topic as a vet,
and that's feline infectious parrotonitis. And we're going to be
speaking with Adelaide Book in just a few minutes. We'll
be right back after these messages.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Take a bite out of your competition. Advertise your business
with an ad in pet Life Radio podcast and radio shows.
There is no other pet related media that is as
large and reaches more pet parents and pet lovers than
pet Life Radio with over seven million monthly listeners. Pet
Life Radio podcasts are available on all major podcasts platforms,
(01:14):
and our live radio stream goes out to over two
hundred and fifty million subscribers on iHeartRadio, Odyssey, tune In,
and other streaming apps. For more information on how you
can advertise on the number one pet podcast and radio network,
visit Petlifradio dot com slash advertised today.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
Let's Talk Pets on Petlifradio dot com.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Welcome back to Arvenam PETLAF Radio today. I'm really excited
to talk about FIP. So for all you can owners
out there, you're going to want to tune in. Welcome
to the show, Adelie Folk, Adalie, thank you so much
for joining us today.
Speaker 6 (02:07):
Thank you so much for having me today.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
All Right, just so our audience knows who you are,
give us a little bit of background about who you are,
what you do, and what you're doing now.
Speaker 6 (02:15):
So I went to school at the University of Texas
at Austin. I actually majored in nutrition. But while I
was in school, I got really involved with fostering and
in twenty nineteen I got involved in the FIP feeling
infectious parisonitis scene. I graduated in twenty twenty and decided
to pivot and went into becoming a veterinary technician and
(02:37):
did volunteering with KATZ and FIP on the side. This year,
in August, I actually quit my job in the clinic
to focus my efforts on FIP advocacy consultation and I
do a lot of data tracking and research full time.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Wonderful.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Well, really appreciate your dedication to FIP. Now, for those
of you guys who don't know what FIP is. I'm
assuming you've never had an ex bosure or a cat
that was sick with FIP, which is a good thing
when it comes to FIP. We've done previous episodes a
long time ago, episode eighty seven on feline infectious parrotonitis.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
And the reason why this topic is so so important
is because it used to be a death sentence.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
I more recently, in episode one seventy five, talked with
doctor Vicky Thayer, who's a diplomat of the American Board
of Vetnory Practice, and we talked extensively about FIP.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
But a lot has changed in the past.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Few years when it comes to FIP, so I'm excited
to talk to you about it today. Now, could you
let us know a little bit more information about FIP
for all our listeners out there?
Speaker 2 (03:40):
What is it? And what is dry versus wet?
Speaker 3 (03:43):
And what are the treatment modalities that used to be
out there and how do you diagnose it?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
What do you do about it?
Speaker 6 (03:50):
So I am not a veterinarian, but FIP is a
fatal disease. It only affects cats, typically young cats, but
it can happen at any age. It's a new tea
of a common virus in cats, actually called feline enteric coronavirus.
It affects somewhere between zero point three to one point
four percent of cats who have been infected with this virus,
(04:13):
and you can find information about how common it is
on sock FIP, which is doctor Peterson's website from uc Davis.
The two main forms of FIP wet FIP and dry FIP.
Wet FIP always has some kind of a fluid accumulation,
so they may have it in their abdomen or it
may collect around their lungs. It can also be in
(04:36):
other locations, but those are the two main spots that
the fluid builds. And then in dry FIP that can
involve things like granu lomas and large lymph nodes. But
it's generally a very sick cat that's not responding to
other kinds of treatments, or they can develop lesions in
their brain or eyes where their eyes might change color
(04:59):
or turn red or cloudy. The treatment modalities for FIP
in the past have included supportive care and a few
different anti viral therapies, but without success. Until about twenty seventeen,
A medication called GS four four one five two four
(05:19):
was used in a trial to treat over twenty cats,
with most of them achieving remission or cure.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
All right, so thank you so much for bringing it up.
You know, I've had the unfortunately experience of having to
explain and diagnose FIP before, and it is really really complicated.
And again, I do really encourage you to listen to
that older episode on FIP that I've recorded with doctor
Vicki Thayer, because we did talk about some of the
complications of testing for FIP, and unfortunately, the FIP test
(05:49):
is complex, and the main reason why is because a
negative test is actually the most helpful answer that you get.
So if your cat happens to have symptoms of FIP,
your VET does the blood test and the test is positive.
There are a lot of causes for a false positive
or other reasons. So if I get a negative on
(06:11):
the FIP test, that actually helps me more because when
I get that, it means I'm able to rule out
that coronavirus. The frustrating thing with the positive FIP test
is it just means your cat is positive for some
type of coronavirus, right.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
It's not specific for FIP necessarily.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Now you brought up the clinical signs, you brought up
some of the tests that will do. But again, the
difference between dry and wet FIP typically are that again
one is effusive, which makes the body sort of leak fluid.
And so the classic clinical signs I'll see with FIP
are what we call in the veterinary world, what we
(06:48):
call adr ain't doing right.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
So the cat is hiding, the.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Cat is dehydrated, doesn't want to eat, maybe vomiting a
little has a fever, just isn't acting.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Like their normal self.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
And depending on what our physical examination finds is Sometimes
again it may be that change in the color of
the iris where it almost looks fuzzy, and that's what
we call a uv iis or inflammation of the uva
in the eye. Sometimes it's really vague symptoms like not
eating and vomiting, and that's because FIP can affect different
parts of the intestinal tract. Sometimes, if it's that wet
(07:23):
or effusive FIP, it can result in huge fluid accumulation
within the abdomen. So you'll notice that your cat's belly
maybe getting bigger and bigger, and I should step back
and say with FIP. Classically, when I see it, it's
usually younger cats, so cats you know, two years old
that even if they were indoor, were adopted or purchased.
(07:46):
Oftentimes we see this more in purebread cats at catgories.
So it can be a really debilitating, frustrating disease. But
that said, some of the newest treatments out there are
now improving the outcoming. And this used to be a
death sentence and so much of that has changed. That said,
when it comes to the treatment for FIP, why is
(08:08):
it that most veterinarians in the United States and other
parts of the world can't actually prescribe the treatment for FIP.
Speaker 6 (08:15):
So yes, the reason why we can't use GS four
four one five two four in a veterinary environment is
because it's actually not approved for any FDA use. It
is currently held under the patent with Gilead and they
are currently researching human drugs for the treatment of COVID nineteen,
(08:37):
which includes a related drug to GS four four one
five two four called rem does appear. It currently has
conditional approval for the treatment of COVID nineteen, but until
it has full FDA approval, it cannot be used off
label in the veterinary world.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
All right, So knowing that and knowing how difficult it is,
where do you recommend that people go to get up
to date information and knowledge or even the latest updates
in research on FIP.
Speaker 6 (09:02):
The places that I recommend getting excellent information about FIP
are going to be sockfip dot org. That's soock fip
dot org. It stands for Saving our CAATs and kittens
from FIP is an informative website created by doctor Peterson
as well as other veterinarians from UC Davis and other associates.
(09:23):
Doctor Peterson is regarded as the leading expert on FIP,
so it's my belief that this is the best resource
for current information. Because he is an award winning PhD veterinarian,
he devoted his life to research and has spent more
than fifty years in research and earned many awards for
his contributions to feline medicine and feline retroviral research.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
All right, thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
I will also advocate for Cornell Feline Health Center that
has a lot of great information on anything feline.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
So when in doubt, you definitely want to check that out.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
I always say, when in doubt, edu websites are very,
very credible for a lot of the research that's up there.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
And again it's.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
Frustrating because FIP it always considered non treatable, right, it
was really just symptomatic supportive care, which is a fancy
wave of saying we're trying to minimize some of the symptoms.
We're trying to hydrate them with fluid therapy, We're trying
to drain that fluid off their belly. If they have
wet FIP, maybe it was giving blood transfusions. Maybe it
was treating with topical sterroids on their eyes, if they
(10:20):
had uviitis, maybe it was treating with oral sterroids to
help decrease some of the inflammation in the body. So really,
up to GS four four, one, five, two four, there
weren't a lot of treatment options. So it is really
frustrating just because that's can't truly prescribe it. But I
will say that's one of the good things about COVID
nineteen in that it helped us be able to get
(10:43):
more information about the treatment of FIP or cats. Now,
how is a public perception for the treatment of FIP
change In the last six years.
Speaker 6 (10:53):
Public perception has changed a lot over time with treatment
for FIP. It's gone from as you describe, or the
way I describe it a little differently, the Boogeyman of
cat diseases. It's this dreaded disease that if your cat
got it, there was nothing you could do about it.
But now it's become a treatable disease that cat owners
can feel empowered to tackle and beat. FIP treatment is
(11:16):
at the cutting edge of feline medicine development, and more
and more vets and pet owners are learning every day
that it's treatable thanks to advocacy from organizations like Sockfip,
Everyday Cat Health and the nonprofit zen By Cat, especially
zen By caat their nonprofit organization that they raise awareness
(11:36):
and they also raise funds for the research that has
led to the cures that we've been able to discover. Actually,
the owner of the zen Bycat, Peter Cohen, he has
one of the first cats that was ever treated for
FIP in the Flagship treatment study in twenty seventeen that
was published in twenty eighteen where they treated twenty six
cats for twelve weeks and showed successful cure. Today, despite
(11:59):
barriers to treat due to legality and spoke of practice.
Many that's are supportive of cat parents who pursue treatment
for FID in the capacity that they legally can.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Wonderful, great information.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
We'll be right back with this really important information right
after these messages. Mollie, here's your dinner.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
See that's not your food.
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(12:43):
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Speaker 5 (13:07):
Let's talk past it, let's done.
Speaker 8 (13:09):
Pets at Life Radio, Headline Radio, pet live Radio dot com.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
Welcome back to ear VNA Petlake Radio. We've been speaking
with Adelaide and we've been talking about feline infectious paranitis. Again,
we've had a couple of episodes previously on FIP, so
you definitely want to check those out.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
But when it comes to FIP.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
Or feline infectious paronitis, remember it's a viral disease, feline coronavirus. Again,
we typically see it in younger cats, typically less than
really seven months to one and a half years of age.
And again we often think that it's transmitted when an
infected queen passes is on to their kittens.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
So sometimes we can see this in shelters or.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
Categories, mostly in purebred cats, and so again can be
really frustrating because FIP used to be considered a death sentence. Earlier,
we talked about wet versus dry FIP and how it
can be really difficult to diagnose because of testing, and
again the clinical signs are really really vague, from fluid
accumulation to that pot bellied appearance, to difficulty breathing, to
(14:27):
really really vague clinical signs such as discoloration or abnormal
looking eyes, to things like diarrhea to not eating. So again,
the clinical signs can be really really frustrating. Earlier, we
also talked about how testing for FIP is hard because
there's no definitive test to diagnose FIP, and most of
the time when we're doing it, we're looking at antibody
(14:49):
levels or what we call tiers, and they can't always
tell and distinguish between feline coronavirus and feline infectious partonitis.
So again, a negative test that means a lot more
to me than a positive test. We talked about whether
or not it can be treated, and up to this
point it's really been symptomatic supportive care, and I'm hoping
(15:10):
that the FDA will one day approve these drugs that
we know are out there in the world for FIP,
but as of right now in the United States, veterinarians can't.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Actually prescribe it. So I did want to ask.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
A couple of last few questions when it comes to FIP.
What's coming out next in support for pet parents for
FIP and is there anything new in research or treatment
that's coming down the pipe.
Speaker 6 (15:35):
Yes, absolutely, there are so many developments that have happened
just in the time period that I have been involved
in helping casts with FIP. There's more information available, there's
more support than there ever had been before. There are
numerous support Facebook groups where cat owners can speak to
each other and get support on what is going on
(15:55):
and advice, and there's also specialized websites and resources that
exists to get information and make sure that it's reputable information.
What's coming next in research is most exciting. The research
is ongoing for better treatments to have available and learn
more about cats who are treated for FIP. Currently, there's
(16:16):
a research trial that is open for enrollment through the
Colorado State University using malnupirivier as the antiviral therapy mall
new Peera beer is actually already being used in Europe
with great success with the treatment of FIP. The trial
is called Evaluation of New FIP Immunotherapy for Cats being
treated with antiviral therapy. It's being led by doctor Petrick
(16:38):
Cherna at CSU, so I'd highly recommend checking that out
if anyone is facing FIP and wants to help with
furthering research as well as helping their cat. Currently, I
am collecting a large amount of data on cats who
are treated with GS through a specialized tracking website that
I created information like the cats wait over time, blood
work values over time, any comorbid conditions that they have,
(17:02):
as well as side effects reported with the medication, and
much much more. I hope to have this information published
as currently we have ongoing data collection for about fourteen
hundred cats since May of twenty twenty three, and that
number grows every day. I'm so excited for how much
more we are going to know about the outcomes of
these cats in the next two to five years, and
developments into alternative antivirals that will hopefully readily get FDA
(17:26):
approval and become available to our veterinarians to prescribe and
treat these cats.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Wonderful, Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
We just need a very philanthropic feline owner who can
help us in this process because it is a really
important battle.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
You know.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
The question that I wanted to leave with that a
lot of ped owners will often ask, is how can
I protect my cat from getting FIP? And I will say,
while there is one licensed FIP vaccine out there, please
note this is one of the vaccines.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
We do not actually advocate for it.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
It's not recommended by the American Association of Feline Practitioners
and The main reason why is because it's got questionable
efficacy and while the vaccine is safe, the benefits don't
really outweigh the benefit of giving the vaccine. It will
also make your cat test positive for FIP on the
antibody tighter because of that, So again, while there's a
(18:16):
vaccine out there, we as veterinary professionals don't.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Actually advocate it for it right now.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
And unfortunately there's no great way of protecting your cat
from FIP if your cat came from a high density
cattery or shelter. It is often really hard because when
we see cat's house in those situations, that crowded living
condition can actually contribute to stress, it can contribute to
infectious disease. And we do know that feeling coronavirus is
(18:45):
actually really contagious, but again it's not that that the
coronavirus that mutates into the malignant FIP is that contagious.
So again a lot more information is coming down the pipe,
and again I do hope that this one day gets
day approved because it is so helpful for us to
be able to make sure that our feeline patients are
(19:05):
healthy and that we do have a treatment option for
cats with what used to.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Be a devastating disease FIP. Adelaie, thank you so much
for joining us today. Appreciate all that you do and
thank you again.
Speaker 6 (19:17):
Thank you, it's been wonderful.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Well that brings us to the end of today's show.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Find me at doctor Justinelye dot com, on Facebook or
Instagram at doctor Justine Lee, or email me your questions
at doctor Justine at petlife radio dot com. With that,
we're at a time and we would like to thank
Adelaide Bote and Mark Winter, our producer, for making this
show possible.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
See you at the next episode.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
Let's Talk Pets every week on demand only on Petlife
Radio dot com.
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