FIP treatment - Contact

Please don't give corticosteroids like Prednisolone or Dexametasone to a cat with FIP. Although they reduce inflammation temporarily, and the cat looks better, they have the effect of destroying the cells of the immune system that are fighting off the infection. Once the thymus gland where thymocytes mature is suppressed, the virus is able to replicate unchecked. Topical corticosteroids used for conjunctivitis are absorbed percutaneously into systemic circulation. For watery, red eyes, try baths with chamomile and unpasteurised honey.

Antibiotics should only be used when a bacterial infection is confirmed and the cat's life is at risk. Prescribing antibiotics on the off chance that they will work is useless if the main pathogen is a virus; in addition antibiotics weaken the cat's immune system and cause intestinal dysbiosis. Once the beneficial bacteria in the gut are destroyed by antibiotics and dewormers, the damage to the immune system is irreparable. Among many other things, gut bacteria manufacture vitamins, essential short chain fatty acids and carotene that the cat cannot get even from a raw diet. In contrast, if the cat is allowed to fight off the infection the immune system "learns" to recognise the pathogen and becomes stronger as a result .

If a kitten presents with diarrhoea and fever, FIP is a possibiliy that most vets overlook as there is no test that differentiates between the different strains of feline coronaviruses. Most cats are able to neutralise the virus at this stage if their immune system is functioning normally.

If the kitten has been weaned, rehomed, dewormed, vaccinated and treated with antibiotics within a period of a few weeks, its yet immature immune system is overwhelmed and weakened by stress, an impaired gut microflora, and too many antigens and toxins from multiple vaccinations. In particular, kittens with swollen lymph nodes or teary, goopy eyes should not be vaccinated as this shows that their immune system is already battling an infection.

The immune system needs training so that it can create memory cells that will be effective when they encounter a pathogen. This means that white blood cells need to be exposed to different antigens in order to learn to recognise epitopes. If a kitten is given antibiotics, dewormers and vaccines, from an early age, its immune system will never fully develop. This is compounded by early weaning and neutering.

Rather than pump the kitten full of drugs, try some slippery elm syrup, with plain pumpkin for extra fibre and carotene. Add some plain bifidus powder as probiotic and organic rice bran as prebiotic. Without some fermentable fibre as food, beneficial bacteria just starve and become food for harmful pathogens that are then able to proliferate. Rice is not toxic for cats and does not alkalise the pH of the gut or the urine. Normally a cat would eat a small amount of grain present in the stomach of its prey, just enough to feed its gut microflora. Vegetables like tomatoes, broccoli, fruit, culinary or medicinal herbs and fungi are toxic for cats and alkalise their urine leading to struvite chrystals.

Avoid plant oils as they are inflammatory, and substitute with animal fats and fish oil; colloidal metals, as they accumulate in the cat's tissues and destroy the beneficial bacteria in the gut; lysine, as it impairs the immune system; pesticides, harsh cleaning products, and finally stress.

The treatment

You can buy any human brand, preferably without fruit extracts.

Vitamin C 1000 mg (pure ascorbic acid crystals, without bioflavonoids)

Vitamin B1 thiamine mononitrate 10 mg

Vitamin B2 riboflavin 10 mg

Vitamin B3 niacinamide 40 mg

Vitamin B6 pyridoxine HCL 10 mg

Vitamin B9 folic acid　 400 µg

Vitamin B12 cyanocobalamin 10 µg

Vitamin B7 biotin 300 µg

Vitamin B5 pantothenic acid 10 mg

Vitamin D3 5000 IU

I now buy food-based vitamins instead of synthetics, but this is what I used for two years with over 20 cats.

This is a human dose; you will need from 3-10 human doses the first day, depending on how much damage the virus has caused. The immune system seems to run out of vitamins to neutralise the virus once it starts replicating. The heavier the viral load, the more vitamins the the immune system needs. You can reduce the dosage as soon as the cat starts feeling better.

You can give the tablets whole, or crush them and mix them with filtered water. If the cat is anorexic you can put this mixture inside his or her mouth, the vitamins are absorbed very quickly through the buccal mucosa and into the bloodstream where they are used by the immune system.

You can make a thickish paste and daub it on the cat's fur, if she is still grooming herself.

I have described how to give vitamins shots subcutaneously below.

Feed chicken and beef broth and add some pumpkin for extra carotene that the immune system needs to function properly. Make sure it has no spices, herbs, vegetables or fungi as the cat's liver cannot conjugate complex plant molecules.

If the cat is throwing up, dehydrated, or has been ill for more than a couple of days, this is what I do:

I’ve had a very sick cat myself this Christmas. She was throwing up and not responding to the vitamins. I decided to put her to sleep but my vet was on holidays so I decided to try vitamin shots.

I bought inyectable vitamins and mixed about 6 cc of each with 500 cc of saline solution. My cat was very weak so I was able to give her this subcutaneously, since she did not have the strength to fight.

So at the moment I mix 15 cc of saline solution in a 20 cc syringe, and mix it with 2-3 cc of each vitamin, and I give her a subcutaneous shot several times a day.

The vitamins I bought were:

- Inyectable vitamin C, 250 mg/ml.

- Inyectable vitamin B complex, with B1 (10.5 mg), B2 (0.105 mg), B3 (26.25 mg), B5 (15.75 mg), B6 (2.1 mg), all per ml.

- Inyectable vitamin A (10,000 UI), D (1000 UI), E (1 UI), and this brand also has small quantities of B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12 and vitamin H.

You need between 3 and 6 ml of each vitamin per day.

In addition, I prick a vitamin D capsule (mine have 7000 UI of D3) and squirt it into her mouth. I do this several times a day.

So it seems that they are absorbing the vitamins much more efficiently under the skin, so you don’t need to stress the cat with pills.

You could also get a vet to come to your house and give your cat the subcutaneous fluids with the vitamins. Cats get stressed very easily, particularly when they are taken to the vet. They produce cortisol, a stress hormone that kills the white blood cells that are trying to neutralise the virus, so, again, try to minimise stress as much as you can.

Essentially you need to assess how much your cat needs yourself. I know these amounts to be safe as I've used them with very sick kittens, but a cat who's been sick for weeks or who has been treated with corticosteroids might need more.