New cure for Feline Infectious Peritonitis | Dr. Justine Lee, DACVECC, DABT, Board-certified Veterinary Specialist
As a veterinarian, one of my most hated feline diseases is Feline Infectious Peritonitis, commonly abbreviated FIP. This is more commonly seen in purebred cats, and is due to a coronavirus that mutates into a very dangerous disease. It can result in dry or wet FIP, and you can find more information at Cornell’s Feline Health Center.
Previously, there was never a good diagnostic test (no easy blood test) or cure for this. Thankfully, some new research has just come out on this thanks to researchers at Kansas State University and the University of California-Davis veterinary schools. This study was funded by Morris Animal Foundation, and was recently published in September 2017 in a study called “Efficacy of a 3C-like protease inhibitor in treating various forms of acquired feline infectious peritonitis” the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery.
You can download the article HERE.
The researchers discovered an antiviral drug, 3C-like protease inhibitor GC376, and tested it in a clinical trial of 20 client-owned cats that were diagnosed with FIP. As of time of the publication, 7 of the cats were in remission from FIP. According to Dr. Kim, “We found that most of the cats, except for those with neurologic disease, can be put into clinical remission quickly with antiviral treatment, but achieving long-term remission is challenging with chronic cases.”
That said, being that this disease has always had such a terrible, poor prognosis before, this gives some hope for veterinarians and cats owners.
Please note that this new antiviral drug is NOT yet readily available, but we hope with more funding and research, we can get this life-saving antiviral available to help cure FIP!
Hello,
My precious once spunky 7 month old kitten was diagnosed with fip 5 days ago. She is currently on mirtazepine, azithromycin and prednisone and not responding much at all. It is suspected that she has the dry form ad of right now. My vet has given me the weekend to see if she improves or else euthanasia… Please if you can help me I truly will appreciate it.
I’m so sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, there’s not much available for treatment of FIP yet although current research is pending.
Same comments as Madeline – my 8-month old kitten is suspected to have FIP – I have 7 other cats in the household. I feel heartbroken and helpless. Can anyone help?
Dr. Lee,
I would like to share with your readers some new information on a cure for Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). In 2019, Dr. Niels Pedersen of University of California, Davis published the results of a clinical trial that cured many of the participating cats https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6435921/. Unfortunately, the drug is not available through normal channels but what seems to be the same drug is available as a nutritional supplement at http://www.mutian.com. It is an expensive treatment but, in my experience, has been safe and reliable and has cured my cat Chester (technically he is still in a post treatment observation period for another couple of months but his x-rays and CBC/chem are that of a healthy cat). In addition, they offer a guarantee if a cat relapses and support from their veterinarians on a Facebook page FIP Treatment with Mutian. Many cats are now being cured from what was recently fatal in a matter of weeks or months from diagnosis.
Since it is not available through normal channels, many veterinarians are unaware of it. I adopted two kittens in May of 2019. Mika was diagnosed with FIP in July 2019 and succumbed in a few weeks since we did not know about the cure. Chester was diagnosed with FIP on December 2, 2019 at an emergency clinic where they told me about Mutian. I began treating Chester with Mutian Capsules on December 5, 2019. He was noticeably better in days and almost back to normal in weeks. On February 26, 2020, Chester completed the prescribed 12-week treatment and is now in an 84-day post treatment period during which a relapse is possible, but unlikely. At the end of that period, he will be considered cured. The story of Oswald, one for the many other cats that has been cured, can be found on Facebook at Oswald’s fight with FIP using Mutian.
Thanks to this treatment, Chester is still alive and likely to stay that way. I do not want others to lose their cats when they have an option to treat them. I can be reached at ejmontiel1@gmail.com. I am happy to speak with anyone who would like to speak with someone with first hand experience. I am also happy to share Chester’s medical records with anyone who would like to share them with their vet.
Ellen Montiel
Hi Dr. Lee!
I am a Mizzou Alumni from Mizzou’s Sinclair School of Nursing and currently work as an ER Nurse / in school for my Nurse Practitioner’s. I’m contacting you because I recently took in a kitten into our home in the hopes of providing a friend for our Bengal cat Gypsy. We had the new kitten for around 1 month before we noticed him having a swollen belly and took him to our vet. We treated him for works twice, thinking he had a bad case of worms and he ultimately died 3 weeks later. After researching and discussing his case further with our veterinarian, I believe he died of FIP and that he probably developed feline coronavirus from our Bengal. I have some questions and wanted to talk to someone who specializes in felines. Is there any way you would be available to answer some questions for me regarding FIP?
Thank you so much,
Leeza Edmundson
Sent from my iPhone
I’m so sorry to hear about that. In Bengals, I’m especially worried about this. I don’t do consults on this but would recommend contacting Cornell’s Feline Health Center. Best wishes, Dr. Justine Lee