My kitten was exposed to FIP. Should I test her if she has no signs?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | unspayed
Hi, my friend's cat has been diagnosed as FIP, and my kitten only had her first shot(not included FIP vaccine). They never shared food or litter box. It's already passed about two months and my kitten never showed any sign of FIP, so do I still need to do a FIP test to make sure she's all right? Because my future roommate has one cat that has 3 shots and one babycat that only has 1st shot.
5 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on November 20th, 2016
I'm sorry to hear that! FIP is a nasty disease in cats, so I definitely understand your worry. I will try to answer your questions and give you some basic information about how this disease works - it's a bit more complicated than most other infectious diseases! FIP is caused by a coronavirus - coronaviruses themselves are extremely common in cats, and almost all kittens are exposed to them at some point. In a very few cats, the virus mutates into a much more dangerous form and causes FIP - this seems to be partly related to genetics, but it's not fully understood why this happens in some cats but not others. So although the coronavirus can be passed from cat to cat, FIP is not really considered to be a contagious disease because most cats who are exposed to a coronavirus will never develop the more dangerous, mutated form that leads to FIP. So, the bottom line is that your kitten will probably be just fine. There isn't much you can do at this point, since there is no diagnostic test for FIP. Although a vaccine does exist, it isn't recommended by the AAFP (American Association of Feline Practitioners) because it hasn't been shown to be effective and can actually cause illness in some cases. I would recommend preventing your kitten from having any further contact with your friend's cat to be on the safe side, and monitoring your kitty for any signs of a problem - but it's very likely that she will be just fine :)
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Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on
FIP can be transmitted via cat to cat contact via saliva, so if Tiger did have face to face contact with your friend's cat, then there is a chance she could have FIP. The virus can also live for weeks in the environment. Cats who have initially been exposed to FIP usually show no obvious symptoms, so she could currently have it even though she is showing no signs. I would recommend having an FIP test done her to make sure she is alright.
0Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on January 8th, 2019
Just a little bit about FIP one of the most misunderstood and frustrating disease. It all start with a virus in cats called Feline Coronavirus. This virus usually doesn’t cause illness or if it does just a little diarrhea or intestinal inflammation. It is very common and most cats (up to 80% of cats have been exposed to it). Sometimes for reasons that we do not know this virus mutates or changes into FIP. The mutation that causes FIP is more likely to occur in immune compromised cats (kitten for example) . the FIP virus is not being passed once it mutates and is not contagious. So to sum up FIP is not contagious but it is a mutation of a contagious disease. The thing we can do is stop the contagious Coronaviruses, from which the FIP virus mutated, they are not very sturdy viruses and can be removed from the household environment by common household cleaners like bleach. There is no need to dispose of bowls, blankets and litter boxes since the dishwasher, clothes washer will decontaminate. I am sorry to hear about your little kitty FIP is a horrible disease but I wouldn't give up on the other one as I explained the FIP will not spread from one cat to another.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on January 30th, 2019
FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) comes from the virus Coronavirus. What happens is Coronavirus mutates into a fatal FIP. There are two different types: 1. The dry form which typically appears as a fever that resolves with fluids but comes back. Typically these cats can live for some time 2. Wet form where they develop fluid build-up in their abdomen and chest and they can quickly go into liver failure. Just because your cat has Coronavirus does not mean they will get FIP. There is a test for Coronavirus but I have had a negative test and a positive FIP on necropsy so the test isn't the best. Most cats have Coronavirus, will they ever get FIP? Maybe, maybe not. It is a disease that is extremely frustrating. We don't even know if FIP is definitely contagious. Coronavirus is contagious but that doesn't mean that every cat that is positive for Coronavirus will develop FIP. We also know that some households can have 1 cat get FIP and then all of the cats while another may have one cat get FIP and no one else affected. I am sorry I cannot fully answer your question as FIP is a sad disease that we still don't have all the answers too. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on June 29th, 2018
I'm so very sorry to hear that Oliver has FIP. Unfortunately, FIP does not have any treatment and cats that contract the disease will die from it. However, the good news is that FIP is not contagious to other cats, so your other cats should not contract the disease. The disease is very complicated, but FIP is caused by a corona virus (which is contagious) and in some cats (we don't know why), that corona virus mutates into FIP. I am attaching more information about FIP below which may help explain everything in more detail for you. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951549 Any other cats that appear to be sick should certainly be evaluated by your veterinarian. Since all the cats have likely been exposed to corona virus, it certainly could mutate and cause FIP in one of them, but FIP is overall a fairly rare disease, so hopefully the other cats will be fine. I hope that was helpful and answers your questions. Thanks for using PetCoach.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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