Can a cat's weight increase during feline infectious peritonitis?

A cat's weight may increase during feline infectious peritonitis. During the infection, the cat's appetite decreases, and its mental state deteriorates. If the cat develops a protruding abdomen during this period, it may experience a temporary increase in weight. As the disease progresses, the cat's weight gradually decreases, its temperature rises, and its skin and mucous membranes become yellow. Severe cases may exhibit symptoms of central nervous system involvement, such as eye tremors.

Do cats get fever in the early stages of infectious peritonitis?

Yes. In the early stages of infectious peritonitis, cats may exhibit fever, along with poor mental state, decreased appetite, and increased sleep. Some cases may also experience diarrhea and vomiting. Both dry and wet peritonitis cases will show chronic, fluctuating fever. In dry cases, the fever may last longer.

Improvement symptoms of infectious peritonitis

When a cat's infectious peritonitis improves, it will show symptoms such as restored appetite, improved mental state, normalized temperature, reduced lymph node nodules, and weakened jaundice. In wet infectious peritonitis cases, the cat's breathing returns to normal, the abdomen gradually shrinks, there are no vomiting or diarrhea symptoms, and its weight increases slightly. Its mental state also improves.

** Drugs for treating infectious peritonitis**

In the past, treatment for feline infectious peritonitis mainly consisted of antibacterial, antiviral, and immunosuppressive drugs. A new drug, GS441, is now available in the market, but it is still in clinical trials and has not yet obtained approval. However, cats treated with GS441 show improved symptoms, such as stable abdominal fluid levels and increased albumin-to-globulin ratio.