Conference misery::feline

    My breeder mentor has been using the FIP vaccine on all her kittens for
    as long as it has been out.  But, she doesn't wait until the kittens
    are 16 weeks like the SmithKline Beacham recommends.  She uses it at 4
    weeks and 7 weeks, since if the cat was going to be exposed to FIP, it
    would probably happen before 16 weeks.  Anyway, she has had no adverse
    reactions, and none of the vaccinated kittens have died of FIP (so
    far).
    
    I recently began using the FIP vaccine too.  I gave it to three of my
    kittens, two were 16 weeks old, and the other was almost 8 months old.
    It has been about a month or so since they were vaccinated with the
    second dose.  No adverse reactions so far.  
    
    I know that giving the vaccine will increase FIP titers, or possibly
    show a titer in a cat that was previously showing no titer, but we have
    no idea how the vaccine will affect blood proteins and globulin (which
    is my method for screening for FIP).  So, I did full blood panels on
    all three cats before and after vaccinating.  There was a slight
    increase in the levels of protein and globulin from before and after
    the vaccines, but it is impossible to know whether the vaccine caused 
    that or if it is just a normal variation that can occur from one blood 
    panel to another (I have never had two blood panels done on the same
    cat come out exactly the same).
    
    I have about 10 more doses of the vaccine and plan on giving it to my
    next litter at 4 weeks and 7 weeks.  Depending on the number of doses I
    have left, I plan to give it to my two stud boys (who occassionally see
    outside girls that belong to close friends), and maybe some if my
    breeding girls.  My new boy, Piano Man, also received the FIP vaccine
    at 4 weeks and 7 weeks and at 7 1/2 months old he is a strapping
    healthy cat.  
    
    I admit that until the Winn Foundation's independent study is complete
    that the jury is still out on the FIP vaccine's effectiveness.  But, 
    from all that I have read, the vaccine cannot cause the disease.  It is
    an intranasal vaccine, and it doesn't get absorbed into the bloodstream
    like other vaccines.  It stays in the mucuous membranes of the nose.
    
    Prior attempts to create an FIP vaccine did fail.  It is true that most
    cats recover from their first exposure to FIP, and then die on their
    second exposure.  The makers of Primucell FIP claim that they overcame
    this problem by making it an intranasal vaccine.  I am not a clinical
    researcher so I don't exactly understand how this works, nor can I
    explain it to others.  
    
    
    So, in conclusion, let me just say that I feel that I am using this
    vaccine on an experimental basis.  I also remember that when the first 
    Feline Leukemia vaccine came out, many of the vet teaching schools
    claimed that it was totally inefective.  There is still controversy
    about that vaccine, all these years later.  In a lot of cases the
    controversy comes from those working on a competitive vaccine product.
    
    Jo
    

    My veterinarian, who is a board member for the Winn Foundation, said
    that at the last annual meeting in CFA, they had a speaker talk about
    the new FIP vaccine.  They stated that it was at least 50% effective.
    My two cents.
    Karen

    Well, I guess 50% effective is better than nothing, Karen.  I can only
    hope (and pray) mine don't come down with this.  The only ones I've
    given this vaccine to (suggested by my vet) are Dandy-Lion and Amber,
    mainly because they are the only two who go to shows while the rest
    stay in the apt. all the time.
    
    Pat & Clan