Lifesaving treatment now available for Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP)

MILTON, Del. - Imagine adopting and falling in love with a small, adorable kitten, only to find out it has a rare, deadly disease with no cure. That was the heartbreaking reality for some pet owners, until recently.

Feline Infectious Peritonitis, or FIP is not contagious. It is a mutation of the coronavirus and is more common in young cats and kittens. Symptoms can be neurological or cause anorexia and lethargy.

CoastTV spoke with veterinarians who confirm that before now they didn't have any treatment options to legally prescribe, and the drug was difficult to find or extremely expensive on the black market.

A 20-pound, fluffy orange cat named Alvin is a survivor of FIP. His mom says she took on an emotional and $10,000 financial burden to cure him. 

"At the time there was no treatment in the United States, it was only overseas," she says. 

Alvin underwent an 84-day treatment plan that started with injections.

"Every time he gained weight, he needed more medicine, so it went up a couple hundred each pound he went up," Alvin's mom says.

A game-changing treatment is now giving cats the nine lives they deserve and this cure costs a couple thousand dollars instead.

Dr. Marianne Bailey, owner of Queenstown Veterinary Hospital and Western Shore Veterinary Hospital in Annapolis says Stokes Pharmacy has developed an active metabolite of the drug that can be given as a pill.

"This is a compounded medication," Dr. Bailey says. "It's not one that has gone through FDA trials."

Brandywine Valley SPCA Medical Director Dr. Sheri Wood says she thinks many vets are familiar with it and will jump at the opportunity to use the antiviral medication.

"There are a lot of drugs actually that veterinarians use that are available for our use that haven't been approved by the FDA," Dr. Wood says. 

Dr. Bailey and Dr. Wood both say they haven't seen a lot of cases of FIP recently, but they're prepared to prescribe the newly available medication if they do. 

"FDA approval would be wonderful, but it's probably going to take years," Dr. Wood says. "In the meantime, we can treat a lot of cats that otherwise we would have to euthanize."

FIP is no longer a death sentence for today's cat population and it was never one for Alvin.

"I was willing to do anything for him and even put myself in debt for him," Alvin's mom says. "He's playful, he is fat and healthy. At the time when he first had FIP, he was only 4 pounds."

Alvin's mom says there are programs that can help cover the cost of the medication. 

Dr. Bailey says cats are good at hiding diseases. If they start hiding and stop eating, she says get them to the veterinarian. FIP can present itself in a couple of different forms. 

"We call it the wet form," Dr. Bailey explains. "They can get fluid accumulation in their chest or their abdomen. That can make it difficult for them to breathe."

"There's a dry form which causes eye or organ problems, like liver," says Dr. Wood.

To read more about the FIP symptoms and cure, go to stokespharmacy.com/fip/cat-owner-resources/.