It can be hard to find a silver lining in a catastrophe as huge as the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet there is one – for cats at least. As long ago as Spring 2022, vets were successfully treating a serious feline condition called feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) with drugs called remdesivir and GS-441524. This was remarkable for two reasons. Firstly, this rare disease had previously been a death sentence for most cats. Secondly, the drugs concerned had been developed to treat human coronavirus disease. Authorization processes that would have normally taken years were speeded up by the pandemic and they became licensed human drugs. Crucially, this meant that they could be used off-label for animals.
What Is Feline Infectious Peritonitis?
Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is caused by a feline coronavirus. It is in the same family of viruses as the coronavirus that caused the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. However, SARS-CoV2 and feline coronavirus (FCoV)are not the same virus and humans cannot contract FIP. The virus is carried in the gut of many cats where it sometimes causes a mild stomach upset. In a small percentage of cats, it mutates, invades the cells of the immune system, and spreads throughout the body causing an acute infection.
It primarily affects young, pedigree cats and there are two forms. Wet FIP causes an accumulation of fluid in the chest whereas dry FIP causes inflammation in multiple organs.
Symptoms include a high temperature that comes and goes and lethargy. It can cause changes to the color of the eyes, behavioral changes, and seizures.
Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) has previously been a death sentence for cats.
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Treatment for FIP
Remdesivir is given by injection, but GS-441524 is administered orally by tablet. In very sick cats, a combination of both may be required over several days. Cats that have mild infections may only need tablets.
Vets are reporting impressive success rates with this treatment. Up to 95 percent of cats are cured!
Outbreaks of Feline Infectious Peritonitis
This subject is so topical because of an alarming increase in cases of FIP in Cyprus, the European Union’s most easterly State located about 50 miles off the coast of Turkey. The island is famous for its large feline population who were allegedly introduced by Saint Helena, the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great!
Named the ‘FCoV-23 outbreak’ it was first detected in January 2023 in Nicosia – within four months it had spread across the country and the incidence of cases was twenty times that recorded in previous years.
Experts suspect that a possible mutation has led to a highly virulent strain of the virus emerging. Even indoor cats are contracting the disease. A local welfare society claims that 300,000 cats have died as a result of the virus outbreak but local vets have put the number at 8,000 for the first half of 2023.
How Can COVID Drugs Help Cats With FIP?
Even though COVID drugs Remdesivir and GS-441524 are available in Cypress, they are expensive and beyond most cat owner’s budgets. However, the authorities recently announced that they would allow part of the stock of human coronavirus medication to be released for veterinary use. Not only is this good news for the cats that are cured but it also provides a unique opportunity to study and sequence feline coronaviruses and treatments. It is hoped that the findings will be of benefit to cats all over the world.
