Symptoms and forms of FIP
There are several forms of feline infectious peritonitis: wet (effusive), dry and mixed. Here are the signs of each.
Signs of all forms
- fever that doesn’t respond to antibiotics;
- lethargy;
- anorexia;
- vomiting;
- weight loss up to malnutrition, or poor weight gain in kittens and young animals;
- pale mucous membranes due to anemia;
- liver damage, accompanied by yellowness of the mucous membranes;
- renal failure, kidney enlargement.
Wet (effusive) FIP
Present in up to 80% of FIP cases due to a vasculopathy: fluid leaks through vessel walls into body cavities. Cats with fluid in the chest experience labored breathing. Cats with fluid in the abdomen show increasing, non-painful abdominal distension.
Symptoms of the effusive form usually develop and progress relatively rapidly. The effusion can be:
- abdominal (ascites),
- and/or pleural (pleurisy),
- and/or pericardial (pericarditis).
Dry FIP
Caused by small buildups of inflammatory cells and granuloma formation in various organs. It is typically associated with neurological and/or ocular signs (e.g. uveitis).
About 10% of all cases of non-effusive FIP occur with neurological symptoms due to damage to the nervous system:
- convulsions;
- impaired coordination of movements;
- wobbliness;
- changes in behavior (with granulomatous inflammatory brain damage).
In some cases characteristic eye changes are observed:
- a change in the color of the iris;
- hemorrhage in the anterior chamber of the eye or clouding;
- spots on the posterior surface of the cornea.
The most common external manifestations of FIP
