I wrote this web page to educate veterinarians and cat owners WORLD_WIDE, about the latest research findings concerning the feline disease that kills an estimated 5 to 10 million cats per year in USA currently, and which I have spent decades researching. I have had some reseaerch successes with it, (cases where owners/veterinarians treating a cat using my approach, saw a return of health), published in the International Journal of Homeopathy, HPATHY. This page is currrently a draft version, and will be updated periodically, and with an entiurely rewritten version as soon as it is available. In the meantime the information here is at your disposal, gleaned from formal FIP research. Note that this is information not medical advice. An individuaol cat needs to be individually handled for its specific issues, either to prevent FIP or to build health in presence of it.

There is no direct treatment known for FIP at time of writing.
Currently, only the cat's own immune system can prevent or overcome FIP. There are ways to increase the immune system health, by homeopathy, as shown in hundreds of formal scientific research papers, not duplicated here. If you wish to know more about that, please feel free to email me.

UNDERSTANDING FIP.
There is new information about FIP and how it behaves, and which tells us more than we knew before. Finally we know more about HOW this scourge of an illness actually kills the cat - it uses old neutrophils! (More on this in the main article lower down.) There is progress on the following fronts:
* PREVENTION
* DIAGNOSIS
* MECHANISM - WHAT FIP DOES TO THE CAT
* DIFFERENCE/RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FIP CORONA VIRUS AND ENTERIC CORONA VIRUS
* STARTER DO/DON'T LIST FOR CATS WITH FIP ………. MUST BE FOLLOWED WITH A FULL CONSULT! Write for details.
* TREATMENT EXPERIENCE AND OPTIONS.
* PREREQUISITES THAT WILL PERMIT A CAT TO DEVELOP FIP.

 WARNING 

 WARNING 

First a warning:
RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEGDE OF THE WAY GLUCOCORTICOIDS WORK MEAN:
DO NOT USE GLUCOCORTICOIDS/CORTICOSTEROIDS in FIP cases.
 eg Prednisone - not on ANY cats with FIP under any circumstances.
 Prednisone, Dexamethosone and other glucocorticoids are much like artificial FIP.
They kill the cat kill by the *same* technique as FIP, namely by destroying the thymus gland and
 increasing the deadly (deadly in FIP) neutrophils. FIP already does that - do not add something
 which does that too!
Current veterinary manuals are mistaken (out of date) in suggesting steroids. Please refuse them and
  ask your vet to check the formal research proving how steroids do NOT help in any way at all. 

Other things thatresearch shows do NOT help, are the following, so do NOT use them either:
FIP vaccines, Antibiotics, Interferon, Feline or Human Interferon, Separation of kittens from the mother.    
ALL these items are proven via experience and formal research, NOT to help.




Is FIP contagious?


NO.
This needs some explanation.
Two corona viruses are involved in any discussion of FIP. One is Feline Enteric (gut) Corona Virus = FeCoV.
The other is the disease causing Feline infectious Peritonitis Virus - FIPV
These are two separate viruses. Their genetics is different in a very critical gene though they have about 98% common genes.
The important gene is the one that says what kind of cell the virus can live in.


* FeCoV can ONLY live in the cells at the very tips of the structural parts of the gut lining.


* FIPV can ONLY live in the specific white blood cells that are called macrophages.




What you need to know about FeCOV: 


FeCoV can be shed in feces, and transferred from cat to cat by the "oral-fecal" route, via litterbox and grooming activity
 SO this virus IS contagious and can be transferred from cat to cat. It is a ubiquitous virus - in  other words ALL cats will have it 
- and trying to get rid of it is like trying to eliminate dust - it is NOT possible, and that is why separation o kittens from
their mother is not practicable  to get rid of it. Within a short while the separated kittens will have it as well (unless they
are going to be kept in a sterile room and never allowed out). 

FeCOV will be transferred from cat to cat any time a particular cat is actively shodden virtues. This will not be all the time, but 
it will occur unpredictably from time to time, especially after gut health is compromised by something like food toxins or drugs.
My advice is to maintain gut health in cats by feeding NO fruit, vegetables or herbs in the food as they contain feline toxins 
 (eg Human fruit/veg/herb antioxidants are toxins to cats.), avoiding all drugs, and adding a small amount of well cooked 
plain pumpkin and rice bran - the best known proven options to feed healthy gut bacteria.
The healthier the gut, the less active gut corona there will be.


What you need to know about FIPV:


FIPV can only live in blood macrophages, it can not live in gut cells. So it can not be shed, and therefore can not infect other cats. 
So that means FIP disease is NOT contagious. SO where does FIP disease come from?
FIPV is a virus mutation of FeCoV which mutates inside an INDIVIDUAL cat, into FIPV. Mutations happen all the time in microbes,
 but the more *often* they happen, he higher the chances that a mutation will happen from FeCoV to FIPV, inside a cat.  This
 mutation will happen more often if there are more FeCoV's in which to mutate and also if there  is more stress to trigger higher
 mutation rate.


The mutation  by itself is not enough to cause FIP. 
Mutations happen a lot, they essentially happen all the time at a rate that varies by stress level. IMPORTANT: STress is ANY stress as
 experienced by the cat - so it is individual, and it can be physical (early spay), emotional (change of home), immune damaging
 (vaccines), toxic (cleaners, food toxins, drugs), nutritional (Food toxins, deficiencies or lack of animal protein or presence of plant
 protein etc) - and anything else the cat's system or mind finds stressful to deal with.   

 In any healthy cat, with an INTACT immune system, the cat will fight off the mutated FIPV, and get rid of it - before any FIP disease
 can even start.  
It has been estimated that 80% of FIP mutations never lead to FIP because the immune system gets rid of the mutated virus before it
 can set up shop and replicate in macrophages and cause FIP disease.



In the unlucky cats who have a damaged immune system AND a mutation to FIPV, they can get FIP disease.


 
The FIP virus (FIPV) takes up residence and multiplies in the macrophage (a type of white blood cell) where the virus takes over the
 normal macrophage functions and MIS-directs them to kill the cat:


Normal Macrophages are like the garbage trucks for the body. They are supposed to go about picking up the garbage cans (by
 engulfing them), and dumping them out of the body. The "garbage cans" are much smaller white cells called neutrophils, which
 normally only are active up to 12 hours, and then the macrophages send signals that the neutrophils have done their job and they
 must become inactive and die - and then they are engulfed and taken out by those big macrophages. It's immune system's garbage
 collection system for anything that does not belong in the body.


     Neutrophils (think neutralize) normally go about neutralizing problems like viruses, bacteria and allergens etc - by engulfing
 them. Neutrophils contain toxin granules, so as to be able to kill whatever viruses and bacteria they engulf. ALL this immune system
 activity is directed from an immune system organ called the THYMUS.

So if the thymus is healthy, FIP virus mutations will be handled that same way - engulfed by neutrophils, killed by the toxin granules
 inside the neutrophils, and then removed from the body by the macrophages who in turn engulf all the used neutrophils within 12
 hrs and get rid of them. end of problem - IF the thymus is healthy.

When the thymus is damaged, that does not happen, and FIP disease happens instead:

Viruses in the macrophage, change the function of the macrophage. Instead of  getting rid of neutrophils quickly and before they get
 old and spill their toxin granules, the FIP-invaded macrophage sends chemical messages to the neutrophils that tells them to carry
 on living indefinitely. This is the key to FIP disease. Neutrophils,full of toxin granules, get old, break open, and release the toxins to
 kill the cat. Meantime the body is still making more neutrophils, as it assumes it needs a new batch every 12 hours or so. Very
 quickly, the neutrophil count gets VERY high - and those are all UNhealthy old neutrophils. EVERY CAT WITH FIP, starts out with a
 high neutron hill count in their blood work/lab tests. And it stays high as it is the neutrophils that do the killing.

(High neutrophils can also happen if the cat has a serious bacterial infection like pyometra or an abscess. Ut those are all new young
 neutrophils trying to capture all the bacteria, and there is no risk of them losing their toxin granules as in FIP.)
Neutrophils cause a LOT of damage in FIP. It is always near or in or on blood vessels, as the macrophages are in the blood. For
 example in wet FIP, the blood vessel walls are dammed enough to cause leaking of blood serum into body cavities (called effusion).
 Usually it leaks serum mostly and not many blood cells as they need bigger leaks to escape.


Neutrophils also have granules in them which are normally used to build scabs on wounds. In FIP, the broken neutrophils release
 these granules and they can build up into tumor-like scar tissue chunks called "granulomas". 
These may be small granulomas scattered about, such as in/on kidneys and liver near blood vessels there - or thy can build  up to
 big granulomas along the gut blood vessels or lymph areas. Granulomas can actually form anywhere the blood can go. Rare cases
 have had them on the penis for example, and they occur with nasty frequency in the brain and eye area, affecting eyes and vision,
 and/or causing seizures, or even in more external areas, like inside the nose which is one of the few p[laces they are visible. Vets
 have mistaken the internal ones as tumors, but they are not tumors and are not operable.


The importent thing is:

FIP has to do with a damaged immune system (usually by vaccines or steroids) PLUS a stress
 trigger for FIP to mutate. 
A cat with a healthy thymus gland can not get FIP, regardless of mutations, as that immune system component, the thymus, would
 cause any mutated virus to be killed and taken out like garbage.


[Homeoprophylaxis is a safe and proven alternative to thymus damaging vaccines, and will allow
 your cat to retain its resistance to chronic diseases including FIP - as well as giving the cat a safe way to resist the acute illnesses for
 which vaccines are intended.]




In group situations where it might look like there is an epidemic of FIP -the reason for the FIP looking
 contagious is not that it spreads from cat to cat, but that the common factors that predispose the corona
virus  mutating to  FIP, (a damaged thymus plus a stress trigger for mutation, plus a high rate of gut corona activity) are there for all
 the cats in that environment.

In the past it was thought that corona virus titer would indicate likelihood of a cat getting FIP. It does not. That is disproved. Cats
 with low corona can still mutate FIP and will get the FIP disease if the thymus is not healthy.
On the other hand cats with high corona titer and lotus of mutations may have a healthy thymus and will not get FIP.
The thymus health is the most relevant prevention aspect for FIP. It IS damaged by vaccines, soy, steroids, chemotherapy drugs, and
 several other chemicals. 


The thymus gland is the area of focus needed for FIP prevention.



 This is the part of the immune system that is the seat of all resistance to chronic diseases. (A chronic disease is one that will not be
 cured if left alone, but will either go on for ever or kill its victim.) THIS is the aspect of health that needs rebuilding to prevent or
 overcome diseases like FIP.



 FIP, FeLV, Cancer, FIV, arthritis, allergies, diabetes, chronic kidney failure, hyperthyroid, etc are all chronic diseases and all need a
 healthy thymus in order for the cat to have resistance to them.
It is sad, that vaccines intended to help overcome acute diseases - have thymus damage as a longterm side effect - thus forcing cats
 to later get chronic disease instead. FIP is one of the few chronic diseases that tends to strike even very young cats. 





CAUSES OF THYMUS DAMAGE:




Some things KNOWN through research to damage the thymus include the following, and which thus are to be
 avoided, in order to not see FIP:
All corticosteroids (like prednisone, dexamethosone, etc) chemo drugs, soy in food, magnesium stearate in
 supplements (helps to get them through machinery into tablets - so buy powdered versions where possible),
 and vaccinations especially vaccine adjuvants. 




DIAGNOSIS OF FIP




Based on research:
ALL tests for corona virus are useless, including PCR tests, as ALL cats DO have corona virus.
2014 research shows th at effusion fluid corona virus is derived from the gut corona, and can not be assumed to be derived from the
 macrophages in a FIP case.
Macrophages of FIP are worth looking at under the microscope however, if found in effusion fluid for example,  as those of FIP are
 EMPTY, where working macrophages have phagocytosed (engulfed) contents. FIP macrophages are also "spongy" looking, unlike
 healthy ones.



The tests can not differentiate FeCoV from FIPV by "finding corona virus" RNA. (Not even the FIP-7B test).

There is currently NO test that is a "FIP test"

So do not waste your money on anything purported to be a FIP test, or corona test.

However, again according to research - FIP is easy to diagnose if you know how:

A blood test is needed. It will show for FIP:

HIGH neutrophils
LOW to low normal Lymphocytes……later in illness it will be low
HIGH Globulins
LOW to low normal ALbumin………. later in illness it will be low


There will also be signs of red call anemia present or developing.
The red cell values need to be seen as a whaler and in context.
(Please feel free to write to me for free explanations of what a blood test shows, they tend to have rather cryptic abbreviations. 
Your VET will diagnose, but I can explain what the tests show, and what was tested, to "put it into English" for you.)


In WET/EFFUSIVE FIP, the above also applies but diagnosis is easier as the effusion fluid is specific. It is leaked blood serum so it has
 a globulin level not too different from the level in the blood - a little lower. It is pale yellow like blood serum/plasma and sticky.
Other effusions have a different composition. (For example chyle is white, heart effusion is edema type fluid, and peritonitis fluid is
 full of pus.




STRESS CAUSES FIP MUTATION:




Along with a damaged thymus, a STRESS trigger (or several of them) is needed to cause FeCoV  to mutate to FIPV and result
 in FIP disease.


It is important to note that stress is not mere emotional stress but can be any kind of stress as perceived by
 the cat's system. Some cats will perceive more stress than others, and so foreseeable stresses should be
 avoided and at least spread out so they do not occur on top of each other. Stresses include:
* PHYSICAL stress, such as surgery or injury or illness of some kind. Especially in a very young kitten - such as early spay/neuter.



ANY Stress works the same way as glucocorticoids in doing thymus damage, because stress causes release of the glucocorticod
 cortisol, which causes thymus damage.


* NUTRITION stress, examples being:  low quality protein (any glutens, any "by-products" or "derivatives", any
 plant protein), low quantity animal protein (too low a percentage of genuine meat, fish and egg protein), lack
 or excess of any mineral or vitamin, presence of an ingredient that destroys nutrients (eg raw meat has
 surface bacteria that destroy nutrients and plant antioxidants like blueberries actually *deplete* cat
 antioxidants), lack of Vit D to keep immune system healthy, presence of artificial Vit K which is toxic (called
 menadione in commercial foods). 


* TOXIN stress, examples being: House plants, household cleaners (baking soda is safe), medicines prescribed
 for the cat, vaccinations, dewormers, flea treatments, flame retardant on furniture, neoprene and silicone
 products, herbs and toxic antioxidants  (fruit, veg and herbs which are beneficial to humans but toxic to cats),
 as cats lack ability to break them down in the liver into beneficial components  unlike humans, resulting in
 toxin stress as the cat's system tries to cope. Products known to be severe toxins that were "grandfathered" in before laws against
 such toxins - eg Windex more recently uses a toxic formula included in the original patent but not used in Windex till recently.
* EMOTIONAL STRESS, examples being moving house, being bullied by another cat or individual, knowing they
 are disliked by a household member, too little individual space especially high up, being caged.



* DEVELOPMENTAL STRESS, examples being early weaning from the mother cat before 3 months minimum,
 early spay before 6 mos minimum, rehoming before the developmental lessons of the mother cat between 2
 and 3 months of age, insufficient nutrition in the first few days to develop a proper fully functional liver.
 (Kittens are born with an immature one).  


* VACCINATION stress.
Cats are born with an undeveloped immune system. The plan to vaccinate before 3 or 4 months of age when they can do SOME
 immune system activity - is very damaging, with no ability to make antibodies. After 3 or 4 months there is some immune system
 activity but it is not foully mater till somewhere along the 1 year and even to 4 year level. 
You will see thymus damage and thus FIP rate, in line with this immune system immaturity and also in line with the vaccine use in
 cats without a mature immune system.  It should really be no surprise that we see so much FIP in young kittens and in cats under a
 year, and then under 4 years - it all follows immune system maturity and damage.

FIP currently kills 1 to 10 per cent of cats.
Vaccines are a significant part of the problem due to the thymus - immune system - damage they cause.
The thymus is the body's first line of defense for infections, and it is the body's ONLY line of defense for chronic disease.
Vaccines are aimed at the body's back-up system for infections (There is no backup system for chronic diseases like FIP) - The
 infection back-up system is the antibody system in the bone marrow. The thymus is not involved in antibody aspects of infection
 fighting. But vaccines damage it.
Interestingly if a cat gets a natural disease, it will make antibodies but it will ALSO strengthen the thymus to fight infections better.
 So that is the opposite effect from vaccines for future infections. Natural disease strengthens the body's *first* line of defense
 against infections from the thymus. Only man weakens or destroys it!
My advice: If yo MUST vaccine fro sow legal reason, then at least use the homeopathic remedies that help prevent
vaccine damage.
Write to me for more information on safe illness prevention, and on preventing vaccine damage.








So to summarize:

 
 A cat can only get FIP if it has a damaged thymus resulting in no defense against FIP, AND it has enough
 stress triggers over a short period to trigger mutation of gut corona to FIP virus.
Prevention of FIP is readily doable by protecting thymus health, eliminating stresses where possible and
 spreading out the rest, and also with use of a homeopathic resistance building remedy such as FIP/FeLV/FIV 30C.


NOTE:
FIP will attack by  mutating in a stressed cat even if the kindest environment is present - but  where the cat's
 body feels stressed. Some cats have a personality to stress more easily and about different things or as
 regards different body organs, than other cats.
TOXINS also stress some breeds - those closer to the wild ancestry -  and those with red, dilution and smoke genes
 more than others, eg Bengals, Savannahs, cats with red or cream or smoke genes or combinatons.
Other built-in stressors for some breeds include the hairless gene - as the cat is under stress to produce
 enough heat, eg Sphynx cats.
Breeds that have the color restriction  genes such as siamese (cs), burmese (cb), and albino genes (ca) seem to
 also be at a disadvantage statistically but I have yet to deduce the mechanism.



TOXIN stressors are the ones I would like to stress most, as my finding after studying more than 700 cases, is that cats
 with FIP have no toxin resistance and yet have to fight back against the toxins released from aged neutrophils.
 Eliminating toxins and overcoming them, becomes of prime importance in FIP, whether the toxins are
 nutritional, medicinal or any other kind. TOO often "cat" products sold "for cats" contain cat toxins. MOST commercial foods
 have them, and most "cat" supplements. Common toxins in "cat" products include alfalfa, yucca, garlic,
 blueberries, and potato, and that is just touching the tip of the iceberg in feline toxins "out there" under
 supposedly "cat" specific labels. 




THE FOLLOWING IS A *SUGGESTED* DO AND DO-NOT FIRST AID  LIST FOR USE BY CAT OWNERS/VETERINARIANS
 WORKING WITH A CAT WHERE THE VETERINARIAN HAS DIAGNOSED FIP. 

It has  been developed based on research in cats witih FIP, and is a l ist of ideas, not a list of things to do. 

Any individual cat needs individual assessment as to what it may or may not benefot from, either from this list or elsewhere.
SO this is information on things that have helped cats with FIP in the past, it is not medical advice.
It IS developed from past case study, experience of veterinarians and cat o wners nursing cats with FIP,  and research knowledge:
 


(Nothing here is a prescription or medical advice; this information on what has helped other cats with FIP;  it's *your choice* to use
 these suggestions or not - it is legal to treat your own cat, (or to have your vet treat your cat). 


DO 

NOTE THESE AMOUNTS ARE FOR AN ADULT CAT OF TEN POUNDS OR MORE.
You would use less if your kitty weighs less than ten pounds - perhaps half as much for a kitten.
* Feed lots of meat, fish, egg, baby food all meat (eg Beecham), and  Hills a/d (from a vet).
The liver in the Hills a/d helps against the potentially deadly  FIP anemia.
 PET-TINIC MAY HELP TO PREVENT ANEMIA. THIS brand is less nauseating than other which contain many feline toxins.
* If your cat can not eat on its own, then feeding by child's dropper may help, after mixing one of the last two with equal parts water,
 or preferably plain pedialyte electrolyte solution. 
THIS ANIMAL  PROTEIN FREQUENT FEEDING IS ESSENTIAL to maintain muscle mass. The sooner the better.
The liquid is essential to maintain liquidity of blood in FIP. (FIP may leak so much effusion fluid that the blood itself is depleted of
 liquid and no l onger flows, a fatal FIP complication found on autopsy in multiple cases studied.)
* FIP tends to cause loss of potassium, and a small amount suppllemenets may be appropriate - check with the vet and the blood test
 results - 10mg per dose supplement for two SEPARATE doses a day has helped cats (NOT more at a time as it upsets the heart).
 Potassium gluconate or citrate tastes better than potassium chloride, and one can find 99mg capsules to use, or discuss with your
 vet. Mixed with sugar and divided into suitable number of doses WITH meals, it has been beneficial.
* Half a capsule of Moducare made by Thorne (get it on line when you can, it is not as urgent as pet-tinic) or Aspen brand - no other
 manufacturers - avoid all those with a flower picture on the bottle as found in HF stores and some on line ones due to problem
 excipients. It is an immune system supplement to help the thymus TH-1 function (see research in Natonal Library of Medicine) that
 is appropriate in FIP,  emptied into a day's food, so not fed all at once.
(Do NOT use other immune system items without discussion of ingredients first with someone knowledgeable on feline toxins and
 the immunology details of FIP mechanisms, as *most* supplements are contraindicated in FIP, by stimulating the opposite area of
 the immune system to the part needed in FIP, or suppressio of the inappropriate part of the immune system (as with steroids). 
Moducare is a Thorne product or Aspen product you have to order on line.
* If abdomen is bloated with fluid, Cinchona officianalis  or Lycopodium clavatum 30C (or 6C preferably if available right away - from
 a HF store) has been used as first aid until a way to help the thymus is chosen, to try to resist fluid accumulation.  Selection where
 this helped in the past, was made on homeopathic principles such as Lyc for cats seeking company and Chin for cats hiding when ill.
***** 
The standard use is: Make it "aqueous" by putting a tablet in a cup of water, getting it to dissolve then "succussing" it (shake hard
 against something like a phone book, or I use my thigh) 100 times. Also succuss 10 times between doses. A cat dose is HALF a cc
 (0.5ml). Health Food stores usually have these first aid options. Use twice a day initially - this has been used as a short term first aid
 option, only while seeking more appropriate help. 
****
* With or without jaundice being present, (to prevent it developing), a remedy called Plumbum metallicum (such as from Washington
 Homeopathics or other supplier, 8C potency, or lowest C potency available), has been usefiul in resisting anemia. 
 
***
One or Two 60 watt blue light bulbs from a hardware store have been  good as well to help dissipate jaundice, which in FIP often
 occurs - as a result of breakage of red cells by neutrophiul toxins.
 The bulb COLOR matters, needs to be blue, not black. It is the same principle used in blue lights for newborn humans with jaundice. 
* When fever of 103 or higher was present, several doses aqueous Ferrum phosphoricum 200C (or 30C if that is all that was
 availahble) have been useful especially before meals, to offer oxygen to handle fever better,  as digestion requires normal temp. One
 supplier option:

...see above for how to make aqueous...
As first aid (helps give oxygen) its use has been effective this way - it was made aqueous, and dosed every 5 minutes when fever did
 strike, up to ten doses in one session - but stopped as SOON as the fever *started* to drop. 
* Where  loose stool occurred, the following has helped:  a tiny pinch of slippery elm bark added to each meal - plus once more daily,
 also 1/4 teasp plain pumpkin, 1/4 teasp  rice bran and a pinch plain bifidus powder (Source Naturals has it called Bifidyn
 POWDER)..... small pinch added to food and mixed in.
***
FIP kills by toxins so it matters to counter that with cat-safe detoxification  nutrients:
The folllowing have been found effective.
* Taurine 500mg per pound of food - or more.
* As much Vit C (as ascorbic acid,  preferably PURE powder/crystals) as cat can tolerate, without bowled looseness - not more often
 than every 6 hours. - Mixed with sugar to taste. (Owners Tasted it, and if too strong, diluted it and used the dilution water to mix
 with food or use separately, whichever worked for them and their cat).
Better still the veterinarian on the case in some cases has agreed to put it into Ringers Lactate SUb-Q fluid and prescribe that for
 daily use to help flush toxins - it is available as "injectable" to use this way. [Standard amount is 100mg per pound of body weight,
 added to fluid  each time fluid is given, Sub-Q, in case your vet asks.]

Example of what has helped using ascorbic acid powder/crystals:
Mixed 1/4 teaspoon ascorbic acid (1250mg Vit C) with a heaped teaspoon of sugar. dissolved that in a cup of water. Mixed that with
 equal amounts of food and used at meals.
*  100 IU Vit E per day (for adult cat)
* One capsule fish oil a day mixed in food. Started with one drop, and gradually increased over a week, faster if cat tolerated it well.
* Used Ringers lactate fluid hydration (Rx from a vet) to help the cat process toxic products from FIP, ..... it is subcutaneous fluid that
 includes potassium, important to ask the vet for a Rx and how much to use (maybe 50 ml for a 4 lb kitten is typical). It was found
 impostant to stress/discuss with the vet, teh toxicity issue of FIP method of death  - fluid being mainly to help the system to process
 metabolites (neutrophil toxins released in FIP, which is the FIP mechanism to kill) and thus maintain appetite better, being very
 relevant and helpful to remove toxins - it is suggested mainly for FIP toxins, to help these be eliminated (much as fluids are used in
 kidney failure) ....though it helps hydration as well.
In other words it helped hydrated cats as well as dehydrated ones, and in FIP is mainly desirable for toxin flushing.

* Free-feedings of nontoxic dry food between assisted meals. Use of high protein no-toxin version - current best options:
- Diamond ACTIVE CAT has 40% protein and no toxins and is chicken based. This NEEDS the above gut health items (pumpkin, rice
 bran, bifidus) as it lacks them. It is chicken based and without cat toxins.

There is a NEW food of the same name in an  ornge bag that is toxic. The ingredients are changing:-( 
- Kirkland Costco Cat Maintenance is a poorer choice due to lower protein and for FIP we need high - but it has no feline toxins,
 currenltly in the blue bag (it is made by Diamond so this may change) so better than nothing and better than toxic foods. I suggest
 strict avoidance of feline toxins during FIP as the cat already has to many to deal with. Cats like these foods and you'd need to feed
 chicken or other meat or fish in addition. So okay while cat eats well. The idea is to get good protein into the cat whatever way works
 best for you  both in FIP.
- Redmoon petefood, salmon and chicken - not the one wit potato which is toxic to cats.
I would Try NOT to use other commercial foods as they have feline toxins in them (fruit, vegetables, herbs are toxic to cats) as we
 have seen in FIP case study that one needs to eliminate all possible toxins.

* Pet-tinic syrup has been helpful. Pet-tinic has iron with copper and vitamins syrup, to build red cells. I like this brand, others can
 cause vomiting too easily. This can be part of an anti-anemia strategy, as a supplement used as directed. (By the time a cat is white
 with anemia and wobbly on its legs it can be too late as red cells take two weeks to mature, and it is a common complication of FIP
 so I feel it makes sense to try to pre-empt it. 

* Vit E (100 IU a day) and Vit C (as above) are both important for building red cells as they make sure the iron gets where it can be
 made into hemoglobin needed for red cells  (and not sequestered in the tissues and unavailable). 



Homeopathic remedies may be available at your local HF store which would be great as that is fast and speed counts. Otherwise
 here's a good supplier. Always get the smallest quantity, like 2 drams of any solid/globule/tablet form, as you never need much:
http://www.homeopathyworks.com/jshop/section.php?xSec=34&xPage=1



ALL the above is supportive. (NOT treatment.) The MAIN REMEDY for restoring thymus health so that the cat could use its immune
 system against  whatever ailed it, is matched to the individual cat (not to the disease) - and is what I believe is needed to restore 
homeostasis and thymus function - making the cat healthy enough to be able to fight the actual illness in the ways the immune
 system is designed to do.

These are SUGGESTIONS based on research - please see them as INFORMATION and not instructions.
You and your vet must decide what information to use if any.






MORE SUGGESTIONS TO CONSIDER (OR NOT)- ALSO BASED ON RESEARCH FINDINGS FROM STUDY OF FIP CASES IN CATS:

I WOULD NOT DO THESE THINGS BASED ON FINDINGS OF PAST CASES AND OTHER FORMAL RESEARCH:


* Use anything (except things on the above list) without ensuring it is not toxic to cats, because any feline toxin can kill a cat with FIP.
* Especially of course NO prednisone or steroid. 
Research refs for why are available - please ask.
*NO OTHER DRUGS either - research shows not one is helpful. Feel free to discuss. I'm happy to provide research references on this if
 you wish (for yourself or your vet).
* Lysine is immune suppressing - it prevents growth and repair. 
* Amino-biplex or other "holistic" immune system options. AMino-biplex icontains toxins for cats. "Green" items and other
 antioxidants that are good for humans are nearly all toxic to cats. 
* Do not  use anything containing fruit, greens, herbs, or vegetables (other than plain cooked pumpkin).
* Alfalfa, garlic, yucca, grapes and other high-antioxidant fruits are toxic. Check foods to be sure there is none in them.
* Cleaners like lysol, chlorine, windex etc are toxic. You do not need that, 
******************************
FIP is not contagious. It is stuck inside macrophage blood cells and can not get out of the body to be contagious.
*****************************
Clean with ordinary baking soda.

* Do not use  "Immune system supplements"  (other than Moducare) as they usually affect the wrong part of the immune system or
 contain toxins such as alfalfa, spirulina, garlic, etc. Get professional help adn ingredient assessment before using supplements in
 FIP, from someone who understands the research on FIP up to the current date, and the immunphamacology of FIP.

NOTE: Research shows FIP has antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) as one of its killer methods, which means that any increase in
 antibodies actually makes FIP worse.  So do not use products intended to "boost immunity" in ways that boost antibodies as that is
 contra-indicated in FIP due to this ADE mechanism.



END SUGGESTIONS.


I STRESS - DISCUSS APPROACHES WITH YOUR VET:  USE THIS *INFORMATION* TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS.

THIS IS NOT A LIST OF INSTRUCTIONS - IT IS A LIST OF IDEAS AND INFORMATION AND PAST HELPFUL FINDINGS AND RESEARCH
 RESULTS TO CONSIDER.






SURVIVAL AND HEALTH RESTORATION AFTER FIP; 


MORE DETAILS:

Cats have survived correct positive FIP diagnosis.



FEVER:

FIP starts out with symptoms that are easily mistaken for a cold or flu, with high fever and looks okay a while
 before showing the typical diagnosable FIP syndrome some weeks later. (BUT - there are already high neutrophils) During high fever
 - which may return over and over again in some cases - 
the FIP virus is replicating in macrophage blood cells (the ones that tell the neutrophils NOT to die but to
 become old and toxic so as to kill the cat). It helps to stop the fever but not with drugs. Rather use cat safe
 antioxidants and Ferrum phosphoricum 200C homeopathic remedy in water, and cold packs, and wet towel
 rubs. Please contact me for details, and known options. This is the most unpredictable and variable disease we know of, and it needs
 some very special care to have a chance of beating it.



The cat's first line of defense against FIP is a cellular immune response.
This can in fact overcome FIP but requires an intact thymus.
 The danger with FIP, happens when the invading virus gets PAST the cellular response, to the general immune
antibody system in the bone marrow (This is actually a secondary line of defense intended to be used only if
 the main one via the thymus is overwhelmed or missing) ....however it is overactive after vaccinations as this
 antibody system is the one that is revved up by vaccines. This is a huge problem in FIP:





ADE

FIP has what is called "ADE or Antibody-Dependent-Enhancement" 
It means that instead of antibodies helping a cat with FIP, they help the FIP virus and "enhance" the FIP disease.


Antibodies are why out of date traditional FIP treatment uses things like steroids/prednisone that knock out the
 antibody immune system. However that is based on out of date knowledge from when it was thought that
 antibodies killed the cat in FIP. We NOW know that it is neutrophils that kill the cat - and we also know that
 steroids/prednisone actually INCREASES neutrophil production and destroys thymus. So while the use of steroids was never shown to
 be beneficial in FIP, it was  (and sadly still is) given to cats in hope of benefit. This
 is a terrible mistake as it turns out that steroid/prednisone  actually acts like artificial FIP to make it worse, not
 better and pretty much guarantees death with zero increase in lifetime.



   
But if the cat can fend off the FIP at the cellular/Thymus response level, not the general level of antibody manufacture in the bone
 marrow that makes it worse - then it can get rid of FIP altogether.
Antibodies actually make FIP WORSE - and make it progress faster - so do NOT go near any FIP vaccine!
There will NEVER be a vaccine for any chronic disease such as FIP, FeLV, FIV. Vaccines can only ever do anything if the body can itself
 use antibodies to wipe out the illness, and that does not apply in chronic disease.
I hope that helps explain this horrid FIP phenomenon. You can see why a conventional vaccine for FIP would be
 contraindicated, as it would teach the body to make antibodies - and that would actually *predispose* faster
 antibody-enhanced death from FIP if FIP got into the cat after that…apart from the FACT that antibodies can not be useful in a
 chronic disease anyway. 



I think the homeopathic remedy's approach of strengthening cellular immunity and prevention of infection this
 way, without any fear of a virus getting in there to be able to trigger an antibody response (since there is no
 virus in the remedy), is the way to go. PLUS avoidance of thymus damage and stress avoidance and stress
 management.



That said, in a well developed case of FIP, where the symptoms may NOT be the initial FIP symptoms, but 
something different in an advanced case, I would see a real homeopath (with a D.Vet.Hom or D.I.Hom) degree -
 not a "certification" (which some vets have indicating a few weekends of a first aid course completed in
 homeopathy)  for the best way to treat those symptoms in the specific cat. The MOST CRITICAL ASPECT to treating a case of FIP, is a
 well managed, and specifically matched remedy - matched to the individual catt's innate features.
This is the basis of restoration of health to the thymus (independent of the illness present if any)  and is how the cases that recovered
 so far, got healthy again after FIP. Theyt recovered thymus functio and the immune system then took over against the illness, the
 same way it normally prevents the illness.
(Mutations of FeCoV to FIPV are NORMAL. They only cause FIP disease if the thymus is in bad shape.)



These thoughts are mine about FIP - based on the study of datasuch as lab readings and autopsy results from thousands of FIP
 cases, kindly sent to me from veterinarians worldwide and from cat owners. My resultant information research on FIP, adding in the 
research worldwide, of others, plus my genetics and homepathy research, has resulted in the accumulation of data on what has
 worked and what has not, in FIP to date. My research work has resulted also, in some cats recovering healthy use of their thymus,
 and thereafter recovering spontaneously from FIP and other illnesses.

Since no other method has so far been published to recover thymus health sufficiently for a cat to be able to recover from a disease
 such as FIP, I feel this is a sigificant research success, and deserves further develpment.




Please also read my scientific papers published in HPATHY International Journal of Homeopathy, with case examples and case
 management options, based on cases where owners and/or  vets used the findings from my research to restore thymus health,
 enabling the cat in questio to overcome its FIP in the normal way. My most recent paper is in the Nov 2009 issue.  




 FULL HEALTH CAN BE RESTORED TO CATS WITH FIP
 IN AT LEAST SOME CASES:

Here is one example of a FIP case handled with homeopathy and nutrition by its owner and vet, which shows how a cat can be
 restored to full longterm  health after having had FIP - essentially restoring thymus health, and then letting that do the work.
 FIP during this time consuming process, is a very complex disease to handle, and needs a great deal
 of intensive care, time and dedication and preferably a homeopath with advanced techniques with involvement to guide
 dosing .... but is great when it works.
The article here also explains the principles I applied in 2003 when suggesting a homeopathic approach to FIP.


FIP Case, March 2003, using homeopathy and nutrition.


IMPORTANT: 

At the time we did not know how FIP killed a cat, and the approach is out of date in some respects. The principle that holds is that a
 remedy can restore thymnus health only. Overcoming FIP is somethig the cat has to do, using its functioning immun system. 
Since then my research has found that an approach aligned to inherited characteristics of the cat is MORE effective in restoring
 thymus health than the approach used in this 2003 case. The 2003 case is only remarkable in being the first iknown survivor of FIp
 worldwide.




That was the first successful use  of  my research in a case of FIP. There have been more since then with slow but steady progress.



An ongoing challeneg to my research is the damage caused top the thymnus by steroids. Recovering a thymnus after steroid damage
 has proved elusive to say the least. More recently, one cat has so far survived FIP for 18 months despite having had Steroids,
 indicating some significant recovery of the thymnus. This has been very hard to achieve, and uses a new approach to try to undo
 steroid side effect damage. More research is needed. (My research is funded entoirely by myslef, and by unsolicited donations).
  I do hope that more cases will eventually recover thymus health and be saved when they got prednisone before the owners or vet
 knew its dangers.



I also have written two scientific papers based on my work with FIP, the latest of which is linked below.
Some other cases since the first can be seen there, and the paper explains to other homeopaths worldwide, how to work
 with an FIP  case using homeopathy - it is intensive work, and the results published in this scientific paper are
 based on  several hundred cases:


HPATHY: FIP CASE MANAGEMENT BY HOMEOPATHY WITH BEFORE/AFTER PHOTOS



Do Send me an email:



Email (Please copy it down carefully, removing spaces and using the @ and . where indicated) 


 furry boots at fastmail dot com







Please note that it is often impossible to reply to aol email addresses so I suggest if you use aol that you contact me from any other
 email address, (perhaps a free yahoo email.)

If that email does not work (happens sometimes, wish cyberstuff was more robust) please use the following email instead or as well.
Email:  alternate email address

















FURRY BOOTS Norwegian Forest Cats

 - Companions with Character!





For a whole lot more FURRY BOOTS fun - 
 PLEASE CLICK ON My PHOTO ! ! ! 


Furry Boots Norwegian Forest Cats