Pharoah tries stemcells for FIP and the cure for FIP is found!

One success story at a time

With FIP there is no point being conservative except for the sake of the cat's comfort. So it was no surprise to hear that yet another innovative therapy is being tried - adipose stemcell therapy for dry FIP. The cat is called Pharoah and his vet is Ed Pattison of City Vets, Exeter UK https://www.facebook.com/cityvets/photos/a.128542133823284.22418.128403317170499/957763074234515/

But how interesting is this - the vet who pioneered the use of adipose stemcells for arthritis in dogs in australia, Simon Craig, was the same chap who cured Dusty of wet FIP - see survivor's page

and how dull and unsexy is this - Hip arthritis in dogs by the way you can simply prevent with adequate vitamin C and a proper diet.
http://oneradionetwork.com/health/dr-r-geoffrey-broderick-world-renowned-veterinarian/

Dr Belfield has the word on vitamin c in animals and was kind enough to answer my emails when Mishka was diagnosed. he did try it for FIP of course and it was the one thing he had no success with after it was established :( That's what we are up against.
I have NO DOUBT this is the same with FIP - we can prevent it  simply - no rocket stemcell science required and finally someone in authority is brave enough to say it 

"The best treatment for FIP is not to get it in the first place: if you are going to buy a pedigree kitten, make sure your Vet sends a blood sample to the University of Glasgow Veterinary Diagnostic Services to get a certificate saying that the kitten tested negative for feline coronavirus (FCoV) antibodies: we need to put consumer pressure on bad breeders and reward good ones." Dr Dianne Addie rocks! http://www.theexeterdaily.co.uk/news/local-news/exeter-vets-pioneer-stem-cell-treatment

- see prevention page

• stop inbreeding 
• stop crowding 
• stop malnourishment of starvation and stop feeding COOKED CRAP & KIBBLE to cats - they weren't designed to eat cereal; they are not birds.

Leap of Faith

"Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it." - Tori Amos

I wrote this just before Mishka died on Feb 1st but I've decided to post it unchanged. Update: a few edits and see the comment from Dusty's mum below!
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Dusty is the reason we are treating Mishka. Dusty survived wet FIP of the lungs in part thanks to injections of feline interferon and oral prednisone in 2007. I first wrote about him in a post about Hope http://onecatlife.blogspot.com/2012/10/hope-is-black-swan.html

Virbac sent me the case history and amazingly here was a cat I could believe in because I knew the vet practice in Sydney (I think my mum even took our old cat there on occasion. Chloe was a stray my brother took in who lived to be 17 on a commercial diet without ever getting regular vaccinations btw)  so I phoned the vet, Simon Craig who verified the cat was still kicking and had made it off the interferon. Based on Dusty's outcome we did the math and decided we could afford the treatment on the basis of expecting a dead cat or a cure in a little over two weeks - but there you have it, each case is unique and Mishka has not progressed as well - but she's not dead either, so the budget is completely blown by five months worth of extra drugs. We have apparently converted an acute illness into a chronic one - as allopathic medicine does so well.

Possibly due to her more advanced disease ( she has abdominal FIP as well) her own genetic challenges (she is a Birman, Dusty is a Scottish Fold) or that two week delay or not using the steroids first up. Dr Addie does mention in her wet fip case study, which I only recently read, that the wet FIP response to FOI is higher for cats with FIP of the lungs, and doesn't seem to work as well on abdominal FIP.

My suspicion is this is because abdominal FIP can be cryptic for longer in that area without causing distress. Mishka had abdominal fluid for a few weeks to a month perhaps before we knew she was sick.

It wasn't until her lungs really filled up that we rushed to the vet. Perhaps she was also dehydrated somewhat and thirstier than usual. Here she is the night before, mucking about and looking ok:

She may have been sick for much longer as the earliest signs are so hard to detect as abnormal, if indeed they were - she started being more sleepy (thought that was natural as a cat growing older and not being a kitten any longer), more cuddly and purry - well she got to know us and that's a nice thing, she was very hungry and insisted on 4 am snacks - well she's a growing cat. She got so chubby she was stuck in her cat door - that was cute (ok my son had at that stage twigged something was up. "mum Mishka is not a cat anymore" ? "Definition of a cat - fits anywhere the head fits" ??!!! )

Definition of a cat - fits anywhere the head fits

 Mishka's Leap of Faith

 
and so we followed the example of Dusty. I feel like a cartoon character that's headed over the cliff - can't stop running to look down now or gravity will reassert itself. Hoping to make it to the other side on pure momentum. Courage kitty - leap!

Hope is a Black Swan

"Rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno" (a rare bird in the lands, very much like a black swan) ~ Juvenal

The first thing you will likely hear after the diagnosis of FIP is that 'there is no cure'. Utter bunkum - there are cured cats - not a sure thing, not easy and not cheap but just one survivor proves that it is possible. Black swans did exist unbeknownst to Juvenal writing in 1st century Rome. If your cat has wet FIP the cure is Feline Omega Interferon (FOI); if your cat has dry FIP the cure is Polyprenyl Immunostimulant (PI). UPDATE: PI has also possibly cured a kitten with wet FIP. The sooner you start the more likely the cat will do well.

Wet FIP Cases

Miracle 6 week old F6 Savanah http://onecatlife.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-miracle-kitten.html

Dusty 3yo scottish fold - survived wet fip with pleural effusion in 2007. Still alive and well October 2012 and on no meds. Diagnosis confirmed by Jaqui Norris, University of Sydney direct immunoflourescence of pleural aspirate. This is the feline omega interferon (FOI) 'poster case' for the manufacturers Virbac.

Click here for full case history

I talked directly to the vet responsible for Dusty's case - Simon Craig in Sydney Australia; his practice is up the road from where I used to live and I have followed their pioneering work in autologous bonemarrow stemcell treatment for hip arthitis in dogs which we can now use in humans too, thanks to their collaboration with a local doc. Be aware Simon Craig says it is no miracle cure and did not help most of his patients and he has not used it in years.

Dry FIP Case

The Hucaby cats live in Nashville Tennesee. Gringo (white cat in centre photo) was 2 years old and Natasha was 15 when they contracted dry FIP in 2006. Both were successfully treated with PI and Natasha reached the grand old age of 20 in 2010. (Update: at autopsy Natasha was found not to have FIP "Natasha passed last year of natural causes at the age of 21. Dr. Legendre has not included her data on his paper since he doubted that she had FIP (he had no doubts about Gringo). Natasha's necropsy revealed no FIP, as I recall. Dr. Legendre was correct as always." Oct 2012)

Click here to read their story

Polyprenyl Immunostimuant (PI ) survivors - reprinted with permission