What are the clinical signs of FIP?
The clinical signs of FIP are extremely diverse. Broadly two forms of disease are recognised, so called ‘wet FIP’ and ‘dry FIP’. In wet FIP the most obvious signs are due to accumulation of fluid in body cavities – usually either the abdomen (eventually causing marked swelling and distension of the abdomen) or the chest (around the lungs) causing difficulty breathing. In cases of dry FIP, the disease mainly manifests as areas of inflammation within various tissues of the body. This can lead to very diverse and often complex clinical signs including neurological disease, ocular disease, liver disease, kidney disease and intestinal disease. Some cats also have a mixture of the ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ forms of the disease. Affected cats are often quite ill, becoming lethargic with a poor appetite and weight loss and there is often fluctuating pyrexia. The course of the disease can vary from a few days to a few months. In the early stages, some cats remain quite bright, but over time there is an i
