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
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.
"the dragon's blessing - this deep understanding that suffering can be transformed and be transformative" ~ Guy Allenby
FIP is all about stress. Cat stress. Human stress - my son and I lost our appetites, stopped eating. I lost my spare tire and gained more under eye bags. Naturally we both got a cold almost immediately. Now I don't believe in God, I don't pray - there were no other adults to support me deeply emotionally; even worse - the vets were out of useful ideas so I was searching the internet until the small hours of the morning. I needed to stay strong for Mishka and for Michael. Plus there was no darn way I was going to let FIP take our health as well.
So from that spiritual void to calm everyone's panic, ease their pain, and later, to mend a broken heart I reached out for music therapy and meditation. All the wooo hippy junk I wasn't going to bother with when I was younger and life was easy. Certainly not in medical school - I was there to learn about drugs and surgical interventions.
I didn't really believe in the power of the mind until a christmas holiday a few years ago. It just bucketed down, and the family's holiday at Coolum was not the escape to sunny Queensland promised. So while Brisbane flooded and a state of emergence was declared, I retreated to the spa to sauna, sip tea and read Dr. Ian Gawler's biography "the Dragon's Blessing". Studies over the years have increasingly backed up what was at the heart of his healing from 'terminal' sarcoma but much derided at the time and for many years after - meditation. It improves the immune system, critical thinking and memory. With FIP I needed all of these things for each of us FAST without heading for a pill bottle. Music of the right frequency was a shortcut to moving our minds into the zone. There's an abundance of suitable music for free on youtube. It far exceeded my hopes for keeping Mishka comfortable and everyone calm during any therapy. Since she was a highly strung cat and we were all empathically wired in together, one buzz in the wrong direction could wind us all up. We even found one track that reliably sent her and my son to sleep quickly. I have kept adding to the playlist now and then for pleasure. It's unintentionally chronicled a mental healing with the tone of the tracks becoming brighter over time.
Other resources
Dr. Hedy Kober, a neuroscientist at Yale talks about how she began practising meditation to mend her broken heart.
Other resources I collected along the way are on the support and solace webpage. The most amazing was the facebook community - please also check that out and find what blessings you can as you face FIP.
This is a story I got from one of the FIP yahoo groups. It has stayed in the drafts folder of this blog for over a year. I didn't
manage to contact Tigger's mum for more details, a picture and so on. Post is copied
verbatim as I expect Tigger's mum wants the story out
there. So sadly I
don't have details of diagnosis, no bloodwork - that's a caveat, it may not be FIP but it's hard to think of what else could have made him so sick for 6 weeks; my notes say wet FIP. I can see the precipitating immune suppressing causes are pretty common ones. The move was big one as I recall; I think Tigger had to take a plane ride and was received at the other end unwell. He is a little older than usual. Most importantly Tigger's
successful treatment has commonalities with other survivors -
antibiotics combined with IV fluids and an immune stimulant - in this
case interferon ( i think probably it is feline interferon since this
cat is in Europe. ) special food (again wish I knew the details!) and intense daily attention.
Hi. I have a rambunctious male 5 year old cat. His name is Tigger. 5 months ago, I moved to Turkey. He had a shot for Luekemia (sp prob wrong) Anyway BAD idea. Don't ever get your cat a shot for this without getting him tested for the corona virus. I'm not sure if I spelled that right either but it's easy enough for you to google.
Anyway, the move and shot sent him into full blown FIP. His eyes were rolling to the back of his head, sky high fever, skin and bones, boy did I thought he was a goner. We started interferon and vitamins, antibiotics and Iv every day for a month and a half. Each day I spent 2-3 hours at the vet. 5 months later, he is alive and fat and happy. Each day I give him 2 vitamins. One in the morning and one at night. And they have garlic in them, yes, garlic.
If you make a serious commitment to keep your cat alive, I believe you have a pretty good shot of beating this with the help of interferon. I also give him food for sensitive systems and NO treats!! TReats do not help any cat. I have a second cat that seems to be fine and probably live to be 20. Tigger is living on borrowed time but I treasure ever extra moment. I also keep their cat box VERY clean. 2ce a day I clean it. My heart goes out to all owners with fip cats. It's heart wrenching, I know.
My other thought, a year of case history reviews later, is that I feel vets are not paying enough attention to fluid and salt (electrolyte) managment in FIP cats. Sick inapetant cats are easily dehydrated as they are desert animals
designed to get most of their fluids from freshly killed prey. Vets seem to devote all the owner's resources to diagnostic gymnastics while their patient slips away from under their noses. Any reasonably sick human wheeled into an ER would be instantly hooked to an IV while this is worked out.
Also on the home front I
doubt this cat was left to waste his remaining energy dragging himself
to a litterbox too far, up a flight of stairs to the bedroom or being needlessly stressed by a bath (this is not sarcasm - I do actually
know of someone who went to the trouble of getting PI then bathed their FIP
cat. Predictably it took a downhill turn from there and is not listed on my
survivors log.)
"If you are going through hell, keep going." - Sir Winston Churchill
Lilly and Alethea's journey shows it is possible to come back from the
brink but it is only if the owner will devote to two hourly nursing
including horrible syringe feeds for as long as it takes. If one can't
do that i think don't bother looking for miracle drugs - immune stims
need time and basic building blocks in the cells to work a miracle.
"I initially gave Lilly 5ml of PI twice a week. Honestly she seemed to improve in the first week so much I was shocked." ~ Alethea via facebook January 16, 2013
"I want to give an update - if only to give others much hope. In November (2012) my cat Lilly who is about a year and a half old was diagnosed with dry FIP. I was told based on her condition that she would be dead in a few days. She was not eating and I was giving her subcutaneous fluids hourly.
I was told by my vet that the meds are probably not gonna work and that if Lilly recovered it was because she does not have FIP. I don't know really - all the test indicated she did. The uveitis in her eyes was so severe and she was dying right before my eyes.
I gave her her first dose of PI on November 18th and continued to force feed her with a syringe this high end prescription cat food. The food is a/d critical care and I would mix it with water and give it to her by syringe at least 1/2 a can a day.
After a week of being on PI and me feeding and caring for her around the clock she began to show improvement! I was hopeful. Lilly had what looked like uveitis in her eyes and it began to clear. She started eating a little on her own. I continued feeding her by syringe [twice a day] for one month even though she was eating on her own - and giving her the PI.
The uveitis and her blood filled eyes cleared in two weeks from the the time she started the meds. I gave her two [5 ml doses] a week for about a month and a half but now it's only once every seven days. I only give it to her once a week now because a. she seems completely well and b. it's insanely expensive. Lilly weighs about 7 pounds - probably 8 now because she has gained weight.
She hates the taste of PI - but I have learned to give it to her quickly and make sure she gets a treat after.
Lilly is now 100% - she seems as if nothing ever happened. She runs around and plays just as she did before she got so sick. I pray for her every day that she will live a long and healthy life with me - and so far it looks good.
Best of wishes to all of you - it is so hard to watch the animal we love so much get sick. Just a side note - Lilly was not on steroids except for maybe a week and I never gave her any antibiotics either when she seemed to have a cough. I also took her in for IV fluids in her veins every time she sunk to near death so I could manage her condition better. The little hairless spots on Lilly's leg is where they shaved her for the iv:)" ~ compiled from two Facebook posts from Alethea January 2013
To really fight FIP tooth and claw on behalf of a kitty who really doesn't understand is a hard decision as the outcome is far from certain - Sampson's owner sort of regretted making him miserable with the PI. Others who have ultimately lost their kittens have as well. I can only say whatever happens be kind to yourself, forgive yourself everything and be at peace. When I look back I will look all the way back and remember the happy times, for there were many.
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...it's learning to dance in the rain. " ~ unknown
This is Frank, a three legged Canadian alley cat who is going through treatment with PI for dry FIP.
Frank has started PI back in April 2011 on the Winn Foundation Study by Dr. Legendre. Here's his new family's report from Jan 2013. "In the summer of 2008 Frank was found in an alley by some very kind people. He was taken to a vet clinic as a very sick little boy with a fractured hind leg that was very infected, unfortunately they could not afford to care for the kitten and relinquished him to the clinic for care. The vet clinic took excellent care of this little boy setting his leg and nursing him back to health. Soon after he was well enough to leave the clinic we were asked to foster him. Frank came into our home with a cast on his back leg but full of energy. We had 4 dogs at the time but he fit right in, he soon became the boss of the house. Soon after his cast was removed Frank began to limp again. He was brought into the clinic to investigate and it was discovered that the infection had spread to the bone and the only solution was to remove the leg. After his surgery he returned to our home, by now we couldn't imagine life without him and the decision was made to make him a permanent part of our family. He was as active and playful as ever even playing with our miniature schnauzers. In the winter of 2011 we noticed that Frank had lost weight and brought him to the clinic for examination. He was diagnosed with dry FIP. Thinking it was a death sentence for him we were prepared for the worst but desperately looked into treatment options. Dr.Kremeniuk at Park Pet Hospital found out about a drug trial for cats afflicted with this terrible disease and Frank was accepted into it. Since he has been on the PI he has returned to his normal self and we are so happy! Frank loves to go camping with us in the summer, he wears a harness and eagerly explores the campsite. He is so loved by the whole family and we are so grateful for PI giving him a second chance at life. He is a fighter and is determined to live as long as he can. Thank you Dr.Sass and everyone involved with PI for saving his life".
I'm not yet sure if Frank is still on the PI and at what dose. He's been through a lot and he's obviously determined to enjoy life to the full - thanks to his wonderful new family and vets for giving him that chance! Goodluck to you Frank.
Food does not come in a pyramid for Mishka, just - Noms or Antinoms. (nom = sound cat makes head down in plate of yummy food "nom nom nom") Strangely
curcumin extract. ground eggshell, the appallingly black fulvic
minerals, and Dr Wheatgrass extract which all cause my human child to gag are acceptable cat condiments.
Noms - fish, roast chicken, roast lamb, mashed pumpkin, Kraft cheeseslices,whey powder, raw egg yolk, grass and wheatgrass even though this sometimes makes her gag or even throw up (the kitty equivalent of alcohol? so nom i don't care about hangovers?)
Tish's list is of course the complete reverse - except for spirulina - evil green pond sludge which no one except me thinks is acceptable. Mishka will reject the entire plate of food if it contains a particle of antinoms the size of a nailhead.
So of course a raw diet is just what the doctors Addie (FIP research), Lipkin (virus hunter) Kremer (HIV expert below) ordered for our purebred princess. Ziwipeak (airdried meat - fits into the definition of a raw diet as it avoids high/low temp processing ) and raw eggyolk are the closest she gets to a primal diet.
The experts mention L carnitine which is the one amino acid I thought a carnivore would have trouble being deficient in. Turns out we can cook the nutrition out of anything;
" dog and
cat foods are extremely low in free L- Carnitine levels as compared with
that found in raw ground beef. Most pets are maintained strictly on
commercial pet food diets and are thus kept chronically deficient in L-
Carnitine. " Lack of Carnitine causes muscle weakness including heart disease. http://meowmeowmom.wordpress.com/2008/05/05/the-carnitine-conundrum/
Carnitine is easy to get as a powder - but the acidic form has a sour taste which cats loathe. If you cannot pill a cat who won't eat raw try QUINICARN chicken flavoured powder Supplement For Dogs & Cats "Supports Body's Defense Against Physiological and Metabolic Stress" cat dose 250 mg daily
Kremer's Nontoxic AIDS Therapy and Prevention
I am slowly reading a scholarly work on HIV/AIDS by Heinrich Kremer, 'The Silent
Revolution of the AIDS- and Cancer-Medicine' A complete summary of the book is available online - http://www.aliveandwellsf.org/kremer/it has the lowdown
on what kicks a system from th1 to th2 and how to prevent that; makes
so much sense, like a universal theory of disease. I cut to the healing section yesterday. it has
some reccomendations which may translate well to cats. the key is to
avoid oxidative stress and support the glutathione levels in the body; FIP cats have low plasma glutathione.
it is why dr addie wants us to add arginine to the diet for FIP as a
couple of teaspoons of raw red meat a week - again i'm researching precise
dose levels for supplemental powders as Mishka won't eat raw ( so much cheaper and easier if she would just eat the meat raw! Amino acid supplementation is fiddly - stuffing up ratios causes much more harm than good.)
NAcetylCysteine NAC another key antioxidant in the glutathione chain may also be useful both as treatment and preventative. "N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a chemically modified form of the dietary
amino acid cysteine. Cysteine and NAC contain sulphur, which is key to
protecting the body from damage by oxidation. Other sulphur containing
antioxidants include alpha-lipoic acid and glutathione. Glutathione
levels are considered the most reliable indicator of the body's
resistance to oxidation, and NAC plays a role in glutathione metabolism.
While touted by many supplement manufacturers as a precursor to
glutathione, NAC probably has more of a sparing effect. That is, it
neutralises oxidants in place of glutathione, allowing glutathione
levels to be maintained."http://www.manorvets.co.uk/pet-sub-sub/972-n-acetylcysteine/
Step 8: Get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw. Step 9: Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap. - from HOW TO GIVE YOUR CAT A PILL IN TWENTY EASY STEPS
< Some cats are Zen masters. Sub cutaneous fluids seemed sooooo easy from the video
demonstration by the very pregnant lady vet (nope). We are talking
about a longhaired cat that thinks fur brush is medieval
torture device so the road to health was always going to be a little
extra challenging. She didn't even like the pentoxifylline transdermal
cream (pea sized blob rubbed into ear twice daily) The only patient more
uncooperative than the cat is
my husband - the doctor.
Fortunately Mishka eats size 3
capsules pretty reliably like kibble if we put them in a teaspoon of
moist food served as the entree when she is hungry. Most supplements
have to be downsized anyway - get empty gelatine capsules. More excellent tips on medicating cats from Joel Kehler. Here's one method for getting the little pills down without upsetting kitty. (although it looks like i faked it she did eat the pill!)
What's worse than pills? Liquids. Even 6 mls is a lot of liquid for a cat if it tastes bad. Their natural response is to drool like Niagara Falls and squirting too much in fast may choke kitty. It doesn't actually need to be medicine. The early days of FIP with a dehydrated, inapetant cat required some syringe feeding of electrolytes and food. We found the process so distressing initially - and then we discovered the magic of soothing music. It still wasn't a picnic and if she hadn't perked up within 48 hours we would have pulled the plug. Here's ahow to give liquids video from Lauren via FIP fighters on facebook. Her cat doesn't look impossibly upset by the whole process. "One thing I would like to add that Brian (giving the syringe) did during the video: It looks like when she turned her head he was giving the syringe head on/under nose. Try and avoid this at all costs. It's a lot easier on the cat if you do it on the side and they naturally open their mouth when you do it there.Here's a few pointers:- Smaller syringes are MUCH easier to use. If you're doing this long-term always keep a few on backup because they do tend to break a lot.- If the medicine/food is cold, you can take the syringe in-between your hands and hold it/roll it for a few seconds to warm it up.- If your kitty is nervous be sure and massage the back of her neck and talk to her while you're administrating the medicine/food.- This is A LOT less of a mess but still keep a napkin nearby. You can still make a papertowel bib if needed.- If your kitty doesn't like being on her back AT ALL you can still do this technique but have her on her tummy instead. Still go from the side and still hold her close, it'll make her feel more safe and secure. You don't have to grab the scruff hard. It's only for a little bit of control and comfort on her end. I'm fully against hurtful techniques against cats even if a vet is doing it to get medicine in. I can assure you this in no way harms your cat and it should be instinct for them to accept it.Be sure and give your babies lots of love and kisses after this and possibly a treat if they're not too stressed over it so they associate this with some kind of positivity instead of a majorly hated event."
Polyprenyl
immunostimulant is a taste issue for some cats, the insert says 1%. It
was initially tested via injection - now it is approved for oral use so
unfortunately the company are refusing to advise on injection except to
say it will sting as it is hypertonic. After a somewhat traumatic first
effort when i tried mixing the entire dose into Mishy's lunch we settled
on a pattern of putting it a ml at a time into a well in a level
teaspoon of moist food and carefully pushing this shut and serving it
piecemeal to a very hungry breakfast kitty. Any higher ratio leads to
rejection. If she starts to look satiated we stop and start again an hour later -
she is sometimes full after 3-4 mls. A heaped teaspoon is actually a
prey sized meal for a cat. The PI is only stable after mixing with food
for about 30 mins and must be kept out of the light. Video of how we do it
here is Tanja's unhappy experience of using PI with her cat Sampson :
I
chose to go with PI as I was looking for that miracle that would keep
Sampson alive a lot longer, and the successful cases looked better on
paper than the interferon; unfortunately for Sampson he threw a clot and
with everything he was battling at the same time I could not morally
try to make him recover from that plus the FIP.
Personally
I do not think the PI was working for Sampson, before he threw the clot
I had already decided to stop the PI treatment, his belly was also
starting to feel quite fluidy and I believe it was transforming into the
wet form. It is a gamble and I do and don't regret using PI. If I
hadn't I would always wonder but the process of giving him the PI in
such a large amount by mouth was quite stressful for him and I wish we
hadn't spent our last days doing that.
Sampson,
he was honestly the furry love of my life and miss him so much that it
feels like a piece of me has been torn to shreds, if i could go back and
they could offer me an injectible, absolutely without a doubt i would
do that, giving it orally was the worst part of the whole thing, no
matter how i did it.
Videoing the method could be good, i was
giving S-man the full amount in one go because he wouldn't eat the food
with any on it, and i didnt want to give him the meds more than once in a
day because i felt bad making him do it again, we just had a big treat
of chicken loaf afterwards.
Injecting sub cutaneous vitamin C was actually orders of magnitude less stressful than a misguided attempt to use ascorbic acid in her food or as a syringed supplement. (note: Sodium ascorbate though is virtually tasteless to a cat.) Although it must have stung like a bee, it was quick and we were forgiven eventually. We decided 4 shots only after the IV was removed to taper the dose down and give her the best start at the beginning of her illness. Mishka now gets interferon by injection. Actually it is knowing the routine that makes it unstressful - shot and then noms. It really helps to be given at a consistent time and the same 'medicine location' not used for sleeping or feeding, held by her bff Michael. She even stays relaxed with him in the car and at the vets.
“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.” J.R.R. Tolkien
The long words really get to me sometimes "Bovine dialyzable leukocyte extract"? Is that a nice name for bloody extract of squished cow? There seems to be a possibility of a scam in the supplements labelled 'transfer factors' - some FIP cats are getting http://transferfactor-4-life.com/thesecretoftransferfactors.aspx
I think however there is legitimate research: As Prof Lipkin says - raw meat is full of goodies!
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S156757690400219X
Bovine dialyzable leukocyte extract (bDLE) is a dialyzate of a heterogeneous mixture of low molecular weight substances released from disintegrated leukocytes of the blood or lymphoid tissue obtained from homogenized bovine spleen. bDLE is clinically effective for a broad spectrum of diseases. To determine whether bDLE improves survival and modulates the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes in LPS-induced, murine endotoxic shock, Balb/C mice were treated with bDLE (1 U) after pretreatment with LPS (17 mg/kg). The bDLE improved survival (90%), suppressed IL-10 and IL-6, and decreased IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-12p40 mRNA expression; and decreased the production of IL-10 (P<0.01), TNF-α (P<0.01), and IL-6 (P<0.01)
in LPS-induced, murine endotoxic shock. Our results demonstrate that
bDLE leads to improved survival in LPS-induced endotoxic shock in mice,
modulating the pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression, suggesting
that bDLE is an effective therapeutic agent for inflammatory illnesses
associated with an unbalanced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine
genes such as in endotoxic shock, rheumatic arthritis and other
diseases.
Hoping the ever helpful Dr Norris will comment soon. The amazing claims for some supplements are worse than hair product ads. It pays to be skeptical and do your due diligence though the horrible knowledge that FIP is a rapid disease means this is a real dilemma. In hindsight I would like to erase the two week delay popping homeopathic drops on an intermittently febrile cat while I tracked down and checked out feline interferon (FOI). Hence I hope this blog will be helpful to others in some way rather than just more to read and worry over.
"Every event which might claim to be a miracle is, in the last resort, something presented to our senses, something seen heard touched smelled or tasted." ~ C. S. Lewis
Carol Drymon of Windhaven Exotics was given some of the first Polyprenyl Immunostimulant as part of the initial field trials. The vet who introduced her to PI is Meredith Beard DVM. The kitten dubbed "Miracle" who had a presumptive diagnosis of wet FIP in 2009 is still alive and well as of April 2013 Carol tells me Miracle is living in San Diego now in a loving home. I hope to get a picture sometime :)
"The most astonishing event during my use of the PI to this date, was with a six week old F6 Savannah kitten born September 1st, 2009 that had the wet form of Feline Infectious Peritonitis, FIP. Her full sister had been put to sleep shortly after starting the PI protocol (because of confirmed FIP). This kitten’s abdomen was extremely swollen and she was becoming very lethargic and ill. At the veterinarian’s, she was diagnosed by Dr. Beard as having wet FIP after a tummy tap that withdrew the typical yellow viscous fluid that FIP is known for. I decided to give her a chance with the PI. I kept this kitten (now named Miracle) on the PI, even after the prescribed two week protocol time period had ended. After the first five weeks, there was a noticeable reduction in the swelling of her abdomen. She was eating starting to play again, too. After two months, the swelling was almost gone and the kitten was gaining weight and began to appear more normal in her body, even though she was still only half the size of her four other siblings. I continued with the PI, adjusting the dose as she grew, and she was growing. After January 2010, I was only giving her the PI every other day, the dose being given was according to her weight. She was acting normal. She looked normal. She was never sick and was playing with other kittens in one of the big kitten rooms. To date, Miracle is no longer on the PI. She has grown considerably, although she is still slightly on the small side, and she is extremely healthy. As far as I’m concerned, her wet FIP was cured by the use of PI."
Perhaps the criteria used for diagnosis of wet FIP were not 'hard' enough for Miracle to make the Sass and Sass "PI Hall of Fame" FIP survivors page - whatever the reason I was only given this information after begging for a trial of PI on facebook FIP fighters page. Prior to that we were continually reminded that PI was ineffectual for wet FIP.
"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.
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.
I talked directly to the vet responsible for Dusty's case - Simon Craigin 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)
