Cat Chat Feline Forum

Hi - looking for some advice!

Up until last week, we were a one-cat household. Our little baby was put to sleep last week after contracting FIP and deteriorating pretty quickly!

Both hubby and I are finding the house so empty and are keen to give anotehr little fur baby a home but have seen some mixed reviews online about home long you should wait after having FIP inyour household. I don't think I could cope not having another around at Christmas time and causing chaos with gift wrap and the tree...but obviously don't want to introduce a little kitten to our home and put it at risk?

Any thoughts or experiences appreciated!

Heather, I have no experience of this whatsoever but would suggest maybe speaking to your vet and also speaking to a few other vets and see what they say

I really do hope that you have another furry friend in the household come Christmas x

when my Boycie died of FIP, I had another kitten in the house, who had actually been cleaning him up, and showed evidence of the Coronavirus, which can mutate into FIP

the Bristol Veterinary Hospital, who had diagnosed, and euthanized, Boycie, advised me that Trigger might get it, but to avoid any stressful situations which can cause the mutation - I also decided off my own bat to let the severe diarrhea he had run its course, as it could be the body's way of shedding the virus - Boycie too had had severe diarrhea, but had been treated for it, and I still wonder if that had been a mistake - though please understand this is only my own logic at work

Trigger stayed well though, despite having to be neutered, and is still with me 13 years later - he could have been a carrier, but as Tiffany came into the house as a very young kitten a year later, and stayed healthy, probably not

if you do take on another cat, though, I would recommend it is an older one, who most likely will have encountered the Coronavirus before, and have built up some resistance to it - a cat from a multicat household could be a good candidate

The fip itself is not contagious and it's highly likely your cat contracted the coronavirus long before symptoms of fip appeared, and the corona virus is spread in their feaces so not likely to be around the home. I would highly recommend to be on the safe side you purchase some virkon from e bay or similar online and disenfect your house with that before you get a new little one but that's more for peace of mind than anything else. I lost my Charlie to it last year and do rescue and my vet was not at all concerned about the others.

I spoke with our vet today who didn't seem overly concerned about having another new kitten. She said online is great for reading up on things but can also be a curse...absolutely! She doesn't see why there would be any immediate risk so I think a good deep clean and we should be ready to go. Maybe a pedigree or maybe a rescue kitten, not sure yet. Decision decisions...

I have no experience with this but I would think from the sound of it a good clean, with new litter trays, food containers and bedding, should be fine. I do hope you find the right little furbaby soon - or maybe a pair? Don't let all that love and care go to waste - your boy would be proud of you passing the love on. x