Coronavirus and FIP

[Peppy]

I have a question about coronavirus and FIP. I know that coronavirus can mutate and in its mutated form can cause FIP in cats. The rescue group I work with has a cat that has tested positive for coronavirus (but we are unsure if she has FIP--they are doing more tests). The vet says that because she has coronavirus, even if she doesn't have FIP, she can never be around other cats.

From what I have read, this doesn't sound right. It sounds like coronavirus is somewhat common, but that it rarely mutates. Does anyone know if a cat with coronavirus needs to be isolated from all other cats for life?

[Fenway]

Incidence and Prevalence
There are two strains of FIPV. The Type I strain, or FCoV-1, is believed to cause about 85% of all identified FIP cases. The less common Type II strain, or FCoV-2, accounts for the rest. FIPV probably affects less than 1% of the cats brought to veterinarians for treatment.

Coronavirus infections are common in cats, especially those in catteries and shelters where large numbers of kittens and adult cats share living space. It has been estimated that 80% to 90% of all the animals in multi-cat households where FECV is present become infected.

The prevalence of FIPV, on the other hand, remains low in the wild and domestic cat populations, probably less than 2%. In multi-cat households or catteries where the disease is present, it can be as high as 10%. In some shelters and catteries, the disease rate can be as high as 20% over a period of several months.
Source (http://www.animalhealthchannel.com/fip/)

Here is my experience with FIP
We lost a cat to FIP a few months ago. She was my mom's cat, in a 3 cat household. The vet basically said that it is likely the other cats have coronavirus. My cat, Fenway, has spent time at my mom's house (cat sitting on vacations, etc) so there is a possibility that he has coronaviris too. It sounds to me like most cats shelter cats carry the coronavirus. If you are working with a rescue group the houses a lot of cats, the majority, if not all of the cats are probably already infected.

Does anyone know if a cat with coronavirus needs to be isolated from all other cats for life?
I guess I can't really answer your question. I never had Fenway tested, but we are keeping him away from other cats just in case. Even though it is very rare that the virus mutates, we didn't want to take any chances.

I actually went to the vets to have him tested but the vet talked me out of it. He basically said that if he is a carrier, there is nothing you can do about it. I regret not having him tested, so on his next visit I'll probably have the test done. The vet also said that even if he did test positive for coronavirus, it shouldn't affect our decision to get another cat because mutation is so rare. I'm not sure how I feel about that, though.

I'd be interested in other people's experiences and advice too.

[jesvet]

Check out this link:

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=228

According to this article (and Alice Wolf is a very respected author on this topic) 30% of cats, and 80% of cattery cats have corona. It's very common. I have not heard of lifelong isolation for coronavirus positive cats (unlike something like, say, FIV) but perhaps the vet has new research indicating this is the recommended practice now?

[Peppy]

Fenway and jesvet, thank you both. You both confirmed what I had read in the past, which is that a lot of cats carry the virus and therefore it doesn't make sense to isolate a cat who has it.

Jesvet, I don't think that this vet is relying on anything new. I suspect that she is using this as an "easy" or "safe" answer, rather than really delving into the issue.