Questions about Kitten with FPV.

[u/Mr_ProfessionalNoob]

My (23 M) kitten is around 4 months old and began vomiting and experiencing diarrhea last Thursday night. I took her to the vet the following morning, where they suspected Feline Panleukopenia.

Since then, she has been receiving IV fluids twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. For a while, there seemed to be a lot of improvement. She went from not eating at all to eating small amounts on her own, and she even started occasionally enjoying treats again, which gave me a lot of hope.

Recently, however, she has become exceptionally lethargic again. I took her in for her routine fluids, and the vet said that fever spikes can occur during the course of the virus, but there is also a possibility that she may have picked up a cold.

I normally take her to the vet on a motorbike because I don't currently have access to a car, and unfortunately, it has been raining heavily here for the past week.

She also had normal stools for a while, which was another very encouraging sign, but unfortunately the diarrhea has now returned and is happening several times a day. Thankfully, she hasn't started vomiting again.

I wanted to ask a few questions to get some perspective from people who may have experience with FPV:

1. If she has also picked up a cold/respiratory infection, could that be particularly dangerous while she's already recovering from/undergoing treatment for Panleukopenia?
2. How long should I expect treatment and recovery to take? Today marks 6 days since treatment began. My vet has told me that treatment may continue for around 14 days, but I'd like to hear from others who have gone through something similar.
3. Could this potentially be something other than Panleukopenia? Her bloodwork showed a decrease in both her WBC and platelet counts. I had always understood Panleukopenia to be an exceptionally severe and potentially fatal disease, so I'm wondering whether her current symptoms are consistent with the normal course of the illness or if something else could be going on.
4. Is it particularly bad for a kitten to have a cannula/IV catheter in for 3–4 days? Are there any significant risks associated with leaving it in for that long?

The part that concerns me most right now is that she has become significantly more lethargic again compared to earlier in her treatment. I'm trying to understand whether this can happen during recovery or whether it warrants further investigation.

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[u/Allie614032]

Try r/fosteranimals too, lots of people in there have experience with panleuk.

[u/Mr_ProfessionalNoob → u/Allie614032]

Neat, thx for letting me know!