Out With a Bang: New FIP Drug Trial Update and Spay Surgery for Luna (2017)

According to Dr. Pedersen’s research, the heat cycle may be more stressful on the cat than a minor surgical procedure.

Luna's last injection is tomorrow! It's hard to believe we've made it to this point. The last two weeks have been more challenging than the first ten, and here's why…

We’d all hoped Luna would make it through her twelve weeks of the trial drug before her first estrus cycle. We knew she'd cut it close as she turned six months old on July 9th. We also thought the FIP and drug therapy might delay the onset.

Our girl is doing great; her body did what it was supposed to, and heat cycles ensued. The plan was to have her spay done once she was off the drug. Because surgery increases the body's stress, there's fear of a relapse. Since she's the first in this trial, many things are uncertain. Estrus causes significant strain on the body, and Dr. Pedersen felt it best to proceed with the spay now while she has a few days of drug coverage forthcoming. Her first cycle was short--about five days, but bad enough to see we didn't want her to go through it again in three-four weeks.

The problem is that Luna's estrus behavior is creating more stress and aggravation than any stress caused by the surgery. Dr. Pedersen

We found an excellent vet willing to operate within the protocol Dr. Pedersen requested respectfully, and her surgery took place on July 18th, 2017. The quest took some work since our primary vet and many others are set in their standards and won't deviate. Dr. Pedersen wanted her home after surgery to decrease stress without pain medication or a cone as soon as possible. The pictured “Suitacle” Recovery Suit worked like a dream. She arrived home in three hours, still somewhat sedated, and awakened with my husband and me to greet her.

Cats have been spayed for decades without pre and post-sedatives and pain relievers. I don't object to pre-anesthetics, but post-surgical sedatives and pain relievers are unnecessary. Believe me, she will be running around the same day if done with a minimum fuss. Dr. Pedersen

We are so close. This trial has been too successful to let anything alter the positive progress. It's hard to imagine that something as simple as a routine spay surgery could cause a relapse, but it's possible. We thought Luna would bounce back quickly from the surgery. Still, she did give Dr. Weller some respiratory and heart rate challenges intraoperatively and was a bit lethargic the first two days. Her appetite returned the third evening, and she was exploring and climbing by the fifth day. She even spent 30 minutes chasing a fly. She's on the mend, and we're confident FIP is gone from her body for good!