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A Cure for The Deadly Feline Disease FIP Will Be Available Soon in the US

Medication for FIP, the deadly feline disease, will be available for the first time in the US on June 1.

If you are a cat owner, you may be familiar with the name Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). This is a disease that affects cats. It is caused by a mutation in the feline coronavirus. It is something you never want your own cat to contract since this is usually a fatal comdition. Most cases of feline coronaviruses are largely harmless and go away on their own, but occasionally the virus mutates to become FIP. The tissues around the kidney, brain, or belly may become extremely provocative as a result of FIP. While the early signs of FIP might vary, they frequently include your cat sleeping more than normal, an occasional fever that rises and falls, appetite loss, and low activity.

"Once a cat develops clinical FIP, the disease is usually progressive and almost always fatal," the Cornell website states.

However, good news comes for cat owners. The reason is, that researchers in the US have succeeded in developing a drug for FIP and will release it for the first time on June 1.

Fox News reports that "Stokes Pharmacy has formed an exclusive partnership with the Bova Group to offer a U.S.-made compounded oral treatment for feline infectious peritonitis (FIP)," as stated in a statement from compounding pharmacy Stokes Pharmacy in New Jersey.

The U.K. and Australian-based veterinary pharmaceuticals company, Bova Group, began selling the medication ingredient GS-441524, which treats FIP, in 2021.  But the medication wasn't available in the United States. As a result, cat parents started using the black market to assist their furry partners. The compound was awaiting approval in the United States, although it had received approval in the United Kingdom and Australia.

On May 10, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said “There are certain conditions where the agency does not intend to take enforcement actions for compounded products for use in animals."

According to Fox News Digital, FIP Warriors, a group established in March 2019 that assists cat owners in obtaining the meds required to treat their cats, are "cautiously optimistic" about the announcement that vets will be authorized to prescribe treatment for cats with FIP.

Jessica Guyette's cat, pictured while sick, left, and after she was cured, right.

Jessica Guyette, a resident of Washington, D.C., became one of the 'testers' for this drug in curing FIP cats. Guyette was told that her cat had FIP after several vet visits and that there was nothing they could do legally. She found FIP Warriors after a veterinarian "secretly suggested" she might use internet forums to get the medications that could save her cat.

"At this point, there were no other options," she said. "She was still losing weight, very lethargic, and I could tell that she was dying."

"Within 48 hours, I could see that my cat was starting to feel better, and within a week she was back to normal," she added.

Hannah Shaw, an activist, and author, as well as the founder of the Orphan Kitten Club, said "It is a huge triumph that FIP, which has been considered a fatal disease for so long, is now able to be legally treated by veterinarians."

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