How to reduce the risk of FIP?

Question

I recently had a kitten die of FIP and I have two other cats. Just would like to hear from others what they did to help prevent it from spreading to others besides getting the required shots.
They have already been exposed and only one got a shot of prevention prior to the exposure and the other did not.

Answer 1

well it all depends on how long they were in contact with the sick one. I also had a kitten die from FIP. I had adopted her from a rescue center. But it is not contagious at all. Some cats get it through other ways.

Answer 2

Anything which might have been contaminated by the sick kitten should be bleached or discarded, if practical. Unfortunately FIP is caused by a variety of coronavirus,which can be persistent in the environment. Fortunately it is unlikely for an adult cat without previous exposure to catch it; most infected cats are exposed as kittens, and it may remain dormant for years.

If possible, it would be a good idea to check on the area the kitten came from, since it probably picked up the virus before you got it. Bear in mind that if you got it from someone who found the kitten as a stray, the kitten was more likely exposed outside than in the person's house.

DO NOT get the injected vaccination; this actually makes infection with FIP more likely; get the intranasal type, if the cats get vaccinated at all.

DO NOT rely on the so-called blood test for FIP; this is really only a titer for antibodies to any kind of feline coronavirus. If your cat has been vaccinated it will almost certainly turn up a false positive on the titer. Sadly there are many veterinarians who are lazy or ignorant enough to recommend euthanizing a cat based ONLY on this test, which means a lot of innocent cats killed for nothing.

Answer 3

I have had and fostered several kittens with FIP. For a few of them, their entire litter died from it. My cats were exposed, but have been fine. I would never ger the vaccine. From what I have been told, even from Cornell, it is not a great vaccine. It seems that many of the cats effected have a genetic predisposition for it and that it why whole litters will die. I am sure my cats would test "postitive", since they were exposed, but that means nothing. Many cats will test positive for exposure to the corona virus.
I do not worry about it and so far my cats have been fine. Several of the kittens they were exposed to were YEARS ago, and not one of my cats has had a problem.

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fip.html