How do outbreaks of FIP occur in multiple-cat households?
Multiple sporadic FIP cases usually indicate that FECV is present and that multiple unrelated mutations have occurred to produce FIP virus. If there are multiple cases occurring simultaneously or in related or in-contact cats (which is very rare), we suspect that very young kittens all may have been exposed to an FIP virus from their mother or a nearby cat, the family of cats may be genetically predisposed, or, rarely, that cats have been infected with the FIP virus from a severely affected cat. What are some signs of FIP? The most common signs of FIP are cyclic fever (up and down), tiredness, and failure to grow. Some cats develop the “wet form” of FIP and may have difficulty breathing or a distended abdomen because of the accumulation of thick, yellow abnormal fluid in their chest or abdomen. Cats with the “dry form” develop masses (granulomas) on the kidneys, in the lymph nodes, in the brain and eyes, and elsewhere. Cats with dry FIP develop signs associated with the location of the
