WHO WE ARE
FIP Safe was created and is supported as a community initiative of FIP Global CATS. Allied with veterinarians, researchers, and pet parents, FIP Global CATS (Community, Advocacy, Treatment, Support) aims to support and empower pet parents faced with a feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) diagnosis. We are committed to defeating FIP, advocating for change, advancing research, and sharing our passion—cats—not profit.
We are partnering with researchers, pet parents and veterinarians to share information both to advance research and keep the FIP community safe and informed. Launched in June 2023, the purpose of FIP Safe -- the FIP Community Quality Testing Initiative is to collect, manage, review, and present laboratory drug analysis results. The information is made publicly available to help cat owners, veterinary personnel, and researchers.
WHAT WE DO
We share information to empower cat owners, researchers and veterinarians.
Since its discovery in the late 1950's, FIP was a dreaded diagnosis -- a death sentence with no effective treatment. In 2018, a study published by Pedersen et al. shone a ray of hope that FIP could successfully be treated, using a 3CL protease inhibitor antiviral known as GC376. The following year a second study from Pederson demonstrated that a nucleoside analogue known as GS-441524 was also effective at treating FIP.
Despite the fact that these drugs were not available through veterinarians, desperate cat owners found ways to source the antiviral compounds, treating their cats with or without veterinary assistance. Anecdotally, thousands of cats have been treated successfully using antiviral compounds, and "citizen scientists" have assisted in collecting data to help researchers evaluate the efficacy of the treatment.
Unfortunately, this has resulted in a situation where often little is reliably known about the treatment substances used. What little testing is done is often not shared. There are also financial incentives to vendors and many support groups who are commissioned by them -- often claims are made about testing with no evidence presented, and used to promote their product and denigrate "competitors".
Our goal is to collect data from independent testing laboratories and published study data and share the information widely to allow cat owners to make informed decisions for their pets, help veterinarians advise their clients, and improve the data available to researchers.