01/22/2025
A Year with Snickers: Our FIP Journey
I wanted to share the journey my family and I experienced with our cat Snickers over the past year. Around Christmas 2023, we noticed that our 1.5-year-old cat wasn’t feeling well. He was less active, not eating much, and I became concerned when I noticed his breathing seemed labored, even while laying on the couch. His warmth to the touch also worried me.
I managed to get him into the vet the day after Christmas. After an exam, blood work, and x-rays, the vet gave us a rough diagnosis of FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis).
At the time, I didn’t know much about FIP, but I quickly realized it wasn’t good news. I couldn’t help but cry as the vets explained the details. FIP is an immune-mediated disease caused by a feline coronavirus, and while there's no direct test to confirm it, the mortality rate is high. It primarily affects cats under 2 years old and is more common in males, which Snickers was. The virus had likely been carried by Snickers and his siblings, and it mutated, causing his symptoms.
FIP comes in two forms: wet and dry. The wet form builds fluid in the lungs and abdomen, while the dry form affects the nervous system, leading to neurological signs and seizures. Based on Snickers' tests—high fever, fluid in his lungs, abnormal blood plasma levels, and physical symptoms—everything pointed to the wet form of FIP.
At that point, our options were limited. We could try a chest tap to remove the fluid and give him steroids to help manage the disease, or there was an experimental injectable drug from China that showed promise in curing FIP.
We decided to proceed with the chest tap, which gave Snickers immediate relief and helped with his breathing. He was started on prednisolone, a steroid to hopefully slow the disease's progress. The vets also informed us about the experimental drug, a daily injection for 84 days, with a rough cost of about $5,000 at the time. It wasn’t a guarantee, and we just couldn’t afford that option.
We decided to focus on keeping Snickers comfortable and make his remaining time as peaceful as possible. It was an emotional time for our family, especially explaining things to our kids, but we were determined to make Snickers’ days as happy as we could.
The prednisolone helped bring his fever down and restored his appetite. While he continued losing weight, he still had moments of energy and was more like his old self.
Six months later, his breathing became labored again, and I noticed him spreading his arms wide as he lay down to make it easier to breathe. A vet visit confirmed that fluid had built up in his lungs again and his fevers returned. They did another chest tap on him and we were given some hope—just a week before, the FDA had approved a tablet form of the injectable medication we had looked into months prior, GS 44154.
We were the first patients at our vet’s practice to try this new option. They reached out to Stokes compunding pharmacy and the medication came in a fish-flavored, chewable tablet that would be given daily for 84 days. The cost was much more reasonable, at around $1,100 for the full treatment.
We immediately ordered the medication, and it was overnighted to us, arriving the next day. Snickers seemed to enjoy it, eating it most days, though some days we had to hide it in cheese or lunch meat, or orally pill him.
As the days went on, we started to notice improvements. Snickers became more active, ate better, and gained weight. His hair, which had been shaved for chest taps, began to grow back. This, to me, was a sign his body was healing.
After finishing the 84-day treatment, I began to worry. With the medication being so new, there was little research on long-term effects.
Would the disease return once he stopped the medication? How long would it take to show up again? Was he really cured?
I decided to easy my mind and two months after the end of his treatment, I took Snickers back to the vet for a check-up. We all were overjoyed when they told me how well he was doing. He had gained almost 5 pounds, going from 7.2 to 11.8 pounds. His blood work was normal, and his x-rays showed no fluid buildup. The vets were pleased with his progress and reassured me that recurrence was rare—if another autoimmune disease didn’t arise, it was likely a one-and-done situation.
So, here we are—just over a year after his diagnosis—with a healthy, feisty, and sweet cat. I’m beyond grateful we took the chance on the new medication and that Snickers is thriving today!!
There is hope and my wish for sharing our story is to encourage other families who are faced with a FIP diagnosis to give the medication a try.
For more information about FIP visit https://www.stokespharmacy.com/fip/cat-owner-resources/
https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/feline-health-topics/feline-infectious-peritonitis
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