Feline infectious peritonitis

Feline infectious peritonitis is a contagious disease caused by coronavirus infection. Generally, contact with infected cats or their ascites can lead to infection. Feline infectious peritonitis is a form of peritonitis caused by coronavirus infection. As the disease progresses, the abdominal circumference will increase, and often abdominal drainage is required to reduce pressure. This has a significant impact on the cat's health. Therefore, if a cat at home has infectious peritonitis, other cats should be isolated for breeding.

Diagnosis of feline infectious peritonitis

Theoretically, infectious peritonitis can be transmitted to other cats. It is usually divided into exudative and non-exudative types, with the exudative type being more common. Common clinical symptoms include variable fever, lethargy, anorexia, weight loss, diarrhea, ataxia, mild paralysis or paraplegia, nystagmus, retinitis, uveitis, anterior chamber hemorrhage, and so on. Diagnosis requires biochemical, serological, hematological, histopathological, and immunofluorescent antibody staining tests.

Causes of feline infectious peritonitis

All breeds of cats are susceptible to infectious peritonitis, mainly due to two reasons: First, due to the large-scale breeding of pedigree cats, they live in crowded conditions with poor living environments, making it easier for them to contract coronavirus during their early childhood, resulting in disease. Secondly, compared to Chinese native cats, pedigree cats have weaker resistance, making them more susceptible to disease.

Symptoms of feline infectious peritonitis

In the early stages of peritonitis cases, dry and wet symptoms are similar, with fever, lethargy, anorexia, and sometimes diarrhea. Later, granulomas occur in various organs of the cat, with the liver and mesenteric lymph nodes being the most severe. Therefore, the cat may show symptoms such as anemia, jaundice, weight loss, etc. In addition, it can also affect the central nervous system and eyes, resulting in ataxia, orientation disorders, nystagmus, iridocyclitis, and sometimes the eye lesions are the only clinical manifestation.