Naturally Occurring Feline Infectious Peritonitis: Signs and Clinical Diagnosis

SUMMARY Feline infectious peritonitis ( fip ) is a chronic debilitating disease characterized by fibrinous peritonitis and often pleuritis. Other clinical features include peritoneal and pleural effusion, inappetence, depression, persistent or recurrent fever, wasting, and anemia. The disease occurs throughout the United States in domestic cats and has recently been obseived in larger Felidae in the United States and Africa. It affects domestic cats at all ages, is more frequent in males, and often involves several cats in a cattery or household. The outstanding finding is, typically, abundant peritoneal effusion with a golden fluid of high specific gravity, much protein, and relatively few cells. There is often a relative or absolute hypergammaglobulinemia. Treatment is almost never effective.