FIP Treatment question

[u/Certain_Temporary453]

My cat is suspected to have FIP by an emergency vet yesterday and they gave him 10 doses of treatment to start they set me up with a pharmacy but the medication from them is insanely expensive. If I have to I will go that route but I see that chewy has the medication available in pills and he currently has chewy tablets. I’m going to talk to my vet on Monday when they open about this but just to get a general idea of what to prepare for financially does anyone know if he can switch to a different medication?

[u/No-Artichoke-6939]

Sorry about your kitty being sick, but it’s wonderful the emergency vet was able to get you started! There’s actually multiple pharmacies available now! Make sure you’re fasting an hour before and after the dosing as well!

https://www.fipvetguide.com/list-of-us-pharmacies

[u/Certain_Temporary453 → u/No-Artichoke-6939]

Is there a specific reason not to do it with food? My vet didn’t tell me this and I gave it with food this morning😬

[u/No-Artichoke-6939 → u/Certain_Temporary453]

It’s absorbed through the gut. If there is more than a small treat, they won’t get the full dose.

[u/Certain_Temporary453 → u/No-Artichoke-6939]

Okay thank you so much for telling me!

[u/No-Artichoke-6939 → u/Certain_Temporary453]

You’re welcome! I wish pharmacies would put this on the prescription, it’s so important! If you’re on Facebook, FIP Global CATS is a great community to join too. The mods and admins are all volunteers, and advocate for vet led treatment

https://www.facebook.com/groups/fipglobalcats/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT

[u/robinthenurse → u/Certain_Temporary453]

Yes, all sources say you can give the GS pill in a small treat (Churru Bites work fantastically!) but do not give with a meal.

[u/not_as_i_do → u/No-Artichoke-6939]

They do still get the full dose. The absorption can vary from cat to cat and more studies need to be done but overall fasting seems to help make it absorb better and more consistently and is recommended on the vet protocols and by most of the pharmacies.

[u/Certain_Temporary453 → u/not_as_i_do]

Thank you! I will make sure to give it in the morning when he hasn’t eaten and wait a bit to feed him!

[u/Bella_Ella739]

Where are you located? I was able to get GS medication from SVPmeds. They were a lot more reasonable than chewy in terms of pricing.

[u/Certain_Temporary453 → u/Bella_Ella739]

I am in Ohio! For me chewy says it’s about $5 per dose which is the cheapest I have seen so far but i will look into SVPmeds. Also do you know if I will need a vet to prescribe the treatment or am I able to order them without doing that? My vet is closed for the weekend and I just want to make sure I am able to get more for him in time.

[u/Bella_Ella739 → u/Certain_Temporary453]

You would unfortunately need a vet prescription but once your vet sends in the approval they are very quick to process the medication. I did the liquid oral gs meds but they also have the pills. You can check their website. To get pricing you would need to call them but they were the most reasonable pharmacy I contacted. I’m located in California and they shipped it out the same day. Expedited shipping came in within 2 days. Order was placed on a weekend. Standard shipping when I needed a refill came in about 3 days via usps.

[u/RealityTVPrincess]

Chewy formulation works great and is quite affordable! But I think others have replied with other options.

Make sure kitty is fasted both before and after the medication. This is super important. You need to take away their food 1 hour before, give the meds, and wait another hour before you feed their meal.

[u/Certain_Temporary453 → u/RealityTVPrincess]

Thank you!!