New Guidelines on FIP Provide Veterinarians With Information For Quick Diagnosis

The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and EveryCat Health Foundation have released new guidelines on Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), providing veterinarians with essential information to diagnose the disease.

As FIP in cats and kittens is a difficult-to-detect disease, the goal of the 2022 AAFP/EveryCat Feline Infectious Peritonitis Diagnosis Guidelines is to help veterinary professionals make an early diagnosis of this deadly disease. The guidelines provide detailed characteristics and pathogenesis of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a disease caused by a feline coronavirus (FCoV).

The user-friendly guidelines were published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery and provide various diagnostic factors to understand when testing for FIP. The resource also contains clear clinical images, diagrams, and tables to help veterinarians better understand and proceed with the FIP case. There is also a health questionnaire attached with the guidelines, which can be printed.

Giving a historical insight about the FIP, the task force co-chair, Vicki Thayer, DVM, DABVP (feline) said that the disease is more deadly for cats younger than 2 years.

“First recognized more than 50 years ago, feline infectious peritonitis has been one of the most important infectious diseases and causes of death in cats, especially affecting cats younger than two years old,” said Vicki Thayer.  

He further added, “FIP can be challenging to diagnose in some cases and is often considered an enigma by the veterinary profession. Today, diagnosis relies upon evidence from signalment, history, physical examination findings, and diagnostic testing.”

“These guidelines were written with the intent of providing the most current knowledge available in one comprehensive format combined with extensive supplemental resources all in one location,” says task force cochair, Susan Gogolski, DVM, PMP, DABVP (canine/feline). “[This] will be an invaluable resource to veterinary teams around the world as a clinician builds the index of suspicion of FIP, brick by brick.”

FIP is a fatal disease in cats and can become fatal when untreated. So, early diagnosis is inevitable to prevent casualties.