Cashew, a 4 month old, 1.12 kg intact male kitten presented on July 17, 2023 with weight loss, inappetence, lethargy, jaundice, intermittent fever, wheezing and uveitis. An ultrasound showed masses on the kidneys and that they were severely enlarged. A sibling had already passed from FIP and Cashew had steadily been declining over the past couple weeks. The owner stated, “He saw a specialist vet today who says it’s 100% FIP.” Labs were run showing anemia, jaundice, neutropenia, low albumin and an a/g ratio of 0.6. Cashew tested negative for FeLV/FIV.

 

The owner was concerned Cashew would not make it through the night. He was extremely ill and as an experienced kitten foster she said, “there’s a solid likelihood that he crashes overnight, even if I do everything in my power. But I want to give him a chance. He’s really, really ill.”

July 17, 2023, treatment of GS injections was initiated at 10 mg/kg BID.  Prednisolone was begun at 1 mg/kg. Cashew was also given subq fluids and B12. Cashew responded to treatment quite quickly but for the next few days was a pretty sick kitten with fluctuating body temp, diarrhea and showed some ataxia. The decision was made to increase the GS dosage to 12 mg/kg BID.

By July 27th Cashew was on 12 mg/kg SID and his owner said he was thriving! She said he had a “great appetite, playful and cuddly as ever. I can’t even say how glad I am that I didn’t give up.”  Over the next two weeks, Cashew went from nearly dying to acting like a normal kitten! An attempt was made to wean Cashew off the steroid. However, Cashew became a bit lethargic and had a fever of 40.2. The prednisolone dosage was increased again to 1 mg/kg and he bounced back immediately.

 

Mid August Cashew was doing very well, eating lots and gaining weight quickly. His vet check went well and he weighed in at 1.8 kg. The prednisolone was now slowly being weaned again and this time he did very well with the decrease. Blood work on August 15th showed excellent resolution of the FIP markers with the anemia and jaundice fully resolved, proteins back to normal with an a/g of 1.1 and the WBC within the normal range. On August 25th Cashew was over 2kg and doing fantastic! By the end of August, Becky started adding gabapentin before injections to reduce stress.

 

Sept 10th another great update – Cashew was doing great, up to 2.3 kg and full of energy!

On Sept 14th labs were run again. There were no concerns other then the neutrophils were at the high end of normal. A sibling also being treated at the same time had elevated neutrophils as well. The veterinarian commented it could possibly be due to the kittens teething. The decision was made to leave the dosage the same and monitor until followup blood work. Cashew was clinically doing fantastic with absolutely no concerns. The owner commented, “Overall he’s doing well. Eating and playing like a champ. No lethargy or appetite issues at all, just a sweet, happy little dude.” September 26th Cashew was neutered. His surgery was uneventful with no complications.

 

October 6th new blood work was done. The neutrophils were back in the normal range and the lymphocytes were elevated which was the excellent immune response we were looking for. Cashew’s veterinarian commented that his bloodwork looked amazing. On October 10th he stopped treatment.  On January 17, 2024 Cashew had a vet exam and blood work. All his FIP markers were looking excellent and there were no clinical concerns. His veterinarian and treatment advisors deemed Cashew officially FIP free. To date he is a very healthy cat with no medical concerns. Attached are pictures of Cashew as well as the blood work values through treatment and observation. All data used in this report is being released with the owner’s full knowledge and consent.