Hi just want to pick your brains we recently lost our new Maine Coon kitten to corona related virus our vet was 99% sure he had developed FIP but we didnt want a PM done. The breeder has been great & just as devistated as we are, she blames herself for unwittingly allowing a new stud cat into contact with our boy & 1 of his litter mates who has also suffered the same end, just after they had had their vacinations so their imune systems would have been low. The stud cat is in quarantine & has had blood tests done & has to have follow up tests but is fine he is older so should pull through & has only been incontact with one other of her cats which is also quarantined & has been blood tested which was clear.

She has offered us another kitten from a new litter & he will be 8 weeks old at christmas & we could have him then if we want to. I dont mind what age but I am scared of the same thing happening, I know this litter hasnt been in contact with the stud & have read up on Dr. Di Addie's web site about prevention & will get a Feliway diffuser for the house & a spray for the cat box to lessen the strees of moveing house - we also have 4 pensioner mogs & 2 dogs

Its just a case of should we get him at 8 weeks & let him settle in before the added stress of going for vaccinations or let him go with his litter mates & get him at 12 weeks & then put him through the stress of moveing house?

Our cats are all house cats & havent shown any signs of illness from the previous kitten which the vet said that they should be fine as immune systems alot stronger.

We lost our 10 yr old Maine Coon in June to HCM & its not the same living without a wurlwind we just want to do as much as possible to prevent anything happening to a new coonlet any thoughts?

hi , sorry to hear about your kitten. It is very difficult to avoid coronavirus altogether - it's very common in cats, especially those from multi cat households but the vast majority of infected cats do not develop FIP.

I would say you'd be fine to get another kitten, but definitely not at 8 weeks and unvaccinated - the breeder should not even be suggesting that, as it's against GCCF guidelines (are her cats registered with GCCF or any other organisation?) Will the new kitten be from different parents than the one that died?

Vaccination is a cause of stress, but getting a serious infection that could have been prevented by vaccination, would be a much greater stress!

If your other cats are healthy then I wouldn't worry about them. FIP itself is not infectious. The usual advice is to wait at least 8 weeks after a FIP death before bringing in a new cat.

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Hi thanks for advise yes she is registered she just said we could have him at 8 weeks as she trusted us, I shall mention that to her when we go & meet the new babys, I think she is just trying to soften the blow of us loosing Merlin & this is also her 1st experience with corona so she is worried to understandabley.

I would rather wait as he will be bigger & stronger, different parents & it will be well over the time scale you mentioned by the time he is ready & I have already chucked out everything from bowls to litter trays - this lot think its christmas already with all there new toys etc

I agree with Kozykatz, I wouldnt take him unvaccinated, he will be vulnerable to infection which is the last thing you want. As you need to wait a while before you can take a new cat anyway, I'd wait and let the breeder vaccinate him and then allow at least a week after the final jab at 12 or 13 weeks before taking him home.

Sorry about your kitten. To answer your question, the Coronavirus is almost impossible (not impossible) to avoid in a multicat household. The best we can realistically do is build up their immune systems and hope that they can get rid of it, which most cats do.

I would imagine that this breeder is thinking is that letting you take the 8 week old baby would mean less chance of it getting infected but this is risky and it could already be infected or your other cats could have the virus.

It is difficult, there is a lot of understandable fear where FIP is concerned. At least your breeder should now be aware of the situation and taking precautions to limit the chances of the awful disease becoming endemic.

Personally I'd want to wait until it was a little older, had a stronger immune system and been vaccinated.

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Our darling Foxy is now at Rainbow Bridge. R.I.P. little one, you'll always be loved.

Thank you for all the advise

What sort of symtoms should I watch for in my older cats? & can I give them any sort of supliment? Should i give the kitten any sort of supliment to help his immune system, when we get him?

The cats are all eating fine, no sneezing or anything & they havent had the runs but then the the 1st symtom Merlin had was very heavey breathing which turned out to be the fluid on his lungs he ate very well except near the end but still ate. Its like an invisable death sentance I read somewhere FIP is also known as the purring death which seems about right as Merlin purred till the end bless his little paws