Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), once a near-certain death sentence, has been transformed by new antiviral treatments into a treatable disease — but access and cost remain major welfare barriers.
The transformation of FIP from a fatal diagnosis to a treatable disease represents one of the most dramatic welfare advances in feline medicine. However, the welfare benefit is distributed unequally — cats of owners who can afford treatment survive; others face euthanasia for a now-curable condition. Treatment access barriers include cost, drug availability, and veterinary knowledge gaps. Advocacy for affordable treatment access and improved veterinary education can close this welfare gap, potentially saving thousands of cats annually.