Dear Noa is gone due to dry form of Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). He was born in this house to mom Bati. He was always taken care of. However him and his siblings have always had some issues with upper respiratory diseases. Noa was brought to the vet in summer 2021 to cure a pneumonia.
He was more fragile than his sisters, however we never suspected this could happen. We are truly sad and feel quite frustrated that despite the fact Noa never went outside, he has been taken away, way too soon by this terrible disease,
This form of FIP is fatal and has no cure yet whilst its humid version has a costly experimental medicine.
What we have learned about his version of the fip is that it may be a strain of the feline coronavirus that mutated.
It is usually shed in the feces but the process can last months.
Most cats that develop FIP are between the ages of 3 months and 2 years old.
Most cats exposed to corona virus develop an appropriate immune response. Unfortunately Noa had a weaker system. He was euthanised as his body was only becoming weaker by the day. His kidneys were not doing their job anymore and we took the decision to help him go.
Dry FIP is considered to be non-effusive. Little to no fluids accumulate in the abdomen. The initial tests run in February discarded the wet, effusive form of FIP.
Noa was a quiet guy with temper. He was not a fighting guy and was ok with most of the other cats. He knew how to get respect tho.
Even his disease was not a problem for anyone else. He has been around the other cats for the last months, week and days. Just as if he was going to be here for ever.
So now you may wonder,
Yes there is a vaccine but the success rate is low. The reason being that FIP is a poorly understood disease. Today we read an article saying that it is not yet recommended to vaccine your cats from FIP.
While infection will lead to this fatal disease in only a few cats, we all see and hear more and more cases.
Our little Noa did not develop the strand leading to the contagious wet fip. He has been admirable til the end and we miss him dearly.
