Wet FIP (the effusive form) is a more acute, rapidly developing, disease, developing weeks or months after a period of stress such as rehoming or surgery.However these are not necessarily absolutes: some cases have elements of both the wet and dry disease Classically, there are two forms of FIP, depending on the cat’s immune response: wet (effusive) and dry (non-effusive).
The signs of illness are variable, depending on which part of the body is affected. How Feline Infectious Peritonitis Affects Cats?įeline infectious peritonitis in cats affects the body in a variety of ways, with the illness manifesting in either a wet or dry form.įIP is described as a pyogranulomatous vasculitis, with effects throughout the body. Male cats are more likely to develop FIP than females, and cats that are FeLV positive are also more likely to develop the condition. Most cases of FIP happen in young cats, aged less than one year, although cats can be affected at any age, and it’s more common in multicat households, and in pedigree cats (e.g. Cats seem more likely to develop FIP if they experience stress (such as visits to a cattery, post-surgery, or being rehomed), a phenomenon linked to the fact that stress affects the functioning of the immune system. There are thought to be links between how much FCoV a cat is exposed to (a higher virus burden is more likely to lead to FIP), and how an individual cat’s immune system responds to the virus. There are still questions about how this mutation happens and how development of FIP follows: The mutated FIPV virus is not shed in the same way as FCoV in the faeces, so is not thought to be directly infectious in the same way. The mutation happens in an individual cats, with the mutant virus multiplying rapidly, infecting the macrophages and monocytes of the host cat and spreading throughout the body, causing disease.
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This mutation may involve point deletions or mutations at the 3c gene but the full details have not yet been established.
However, in a very small proportion of FCoV-infected cats,the relatively benign virus mutates to become the Feline Infectious Peritonitis Virus virulent biotype, which goes on to cause Feline Infectious Peritonitis. Direct spread from cat to cat rarely happens.įollowing infection, the virus can be found in the gastrointestinal tract and the blood for a short period, and then may be shed in the faeces, for weeks, months, or in some cases, for life. The virus is shed in the faeces, spreading easily between cats, commonly via litter trays or boxes, surviving in the environment for up to seven weeks.Ī new cat to a household will be infected orally, mostly via contact with litter trays or boxes. One of the complicated aspects of FIP is that while Feline Coronavirus (FCoV) is very common, Feline Infectious Peritonitis is rare.įCoV, also known as Feline Enteric Coronavirus (FeCV) is found in 80-90% of cats living in multicat houses, but nearly all of these infections are harmless, with no signs of illness, or just mild signs of diarrhoea. Unvaccinated cats catch feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) through close contact with other felines.
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