How do I know if my cat has an FIP infection?

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How do I know if my cat has a FIP infection?

Veterinarians can presumptively diagnose FIP in a cat based mainly on the animal's medical history, signs found during their physical examination and with results of various laboratory tests (4). One of the issues with diagnosing FIP is that there isn’t one simple diagnostic test to confirm that a cat truly has the disease.*

The only way to positively confirm diagnosis of FIP is by biopsy or examination of tissues during an autopsy (5).

* ELISA, IFA, and virus neutralization tests will detect whether the cat has been previously exposed to a feline coronavirus, but they can not tell whether the exposure was to the non-virulent strain of the feline coronavirus or to the lethal strain that results in FIP (2).

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Seeking veterinary medical attention for a cat as soon as symptoms appear is ideal.

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