Meet Ludo, an extremely brave 7 month old cat. Ludo made an incredible recovery from a debilitating disease that he suffered from as a young kitten, with the help of his dedicated owners and the team at Chestergates Veterinary Specialists.
Ludo first visited Chestergates when he was just 12 weeks old, under the care of our internal medicine Specialist Andrea Petrelli. Ludo’s owners were concerned that he seemed very lethargic, less playful and wasn’t eating as much as he usually did.
Preliminary tests run by Ludo’s referring veterinary practice showed that he was severely anaemic – this is when the amount of red cells in the blood is abnormally low. Anaemia can be life-threatening if very severe, as red blood cells carry the majority of the body’s oxygen supply. Ludo also had a fever – this, as well as the anaemia, was making him feel very poorly indeed! 
On presentation to Andrea, Ludo weighed less than a bag of sugar at 0.9 kilograms. His tiny size made performing diagnostic tests and monitoring difficult, but our wonderful internal medicine team rose to the challenge!
Andrea examined Ludo carefully and noticed that his abdomen was rather enlarged. He suspected there may be excess fluid within Ludo’s abdomen causing this enlargement.
Andrea ran several blood tests for Ludo to check many different parameters, including his red and white blood cells, liver and kidney function and inflammation markers. To investigate his enlarged abdomen, Andrea scheduled an abdominal ultrasound scan for Ludo, which was performed by our highly experienced Head of imaging Pablo Menéndez Alegria.
Prior to his investigations, Ludo was assessed by our Specialist anaesthesia team, who created a bespoke sedation plan for him. Sedating Ludo ensured he was relaxed and comfortable throughout his procedures. During his sedation, our excellent medicine nursing team diligently monitored Ludo’s vital parameters including his heart rate, blood pressure, electrocardiogram (ECG) and temperature to keep him safe. You can see our amazing medicine nurse Natalie Lawrence monitoring Ludo during his sedation. 
During the ultrasound scan, Andrea’s initial suspicions were proved to be correct. Ludo had lots of fluid in his abdominal cavity, which surrounded his organs – this is termed ‘ascites’. Some of Ludo’s intestinal lymph nodes were also enlarged. Pablo took samples of the fluid and lymph nodes from Ludo, which were sent off to our laboratory for further testing.
Through interpretation of Ludo’s blood results, as well as the findings of his ultrasound, Andrea was highly suspicious that Ludo was suffering from a disease called Feline Infectious Peritonitis (also known as ‘FIP’). This diagnosis was confirmed from the laboratory tests run on Ludo’s blood and abdominal fluid. 
FIP is a severe viral illness caused by a mutated form of Feline Coronavirus (also referred to as ‘FCov’). Thankfully, most cats that are exposed to Feline Coronavirus will show no clinical signs and remain healthy, or develop very mild symptoms. However, unfortunately, a small proportion of exposed cats like Ludo will develop FIP. With this condition, fluid can accumulate in the abdomen (as in Ludo) and/or the chest, and cats typically feel very lethargic, with a loss of appetite and a fever.
Until very recently, FIP was sadly considered to be untreatable. However, recent developments in veterinary medicine have brought about a new anti-viral treatment called GS-441524, which is related to the human antiviral drug Remdesivir. This drug can dramatically improve symptoms for cats with FIP and can lead to remission of the disease!
Andrea prescribed a 12-week course of GS-441524 for Ludo, with regular check-ups scheduled during this time. Just three days into his treatment, Andrea was extremely pleased to hear from Ludo’s owners that he was brighter, more playful and his appetite had returned! This dramatic improvement continued along Ludo’s treatment course. His referring veterinary practice performed blood tests and clinical examinations to ensure Ludo was staying on track with his recovery.
At the end of the 12 week course, Ludo returned to see Andrea. The most immediate change Andrea noted was that Ludo had grown SO much – he now weighed 2.75 kilograms, the equivalent of 2 and ¾ bags of sugar! Further blood tests and a re-check ultrasound scan of his abdomen confirmed that Ludo’s FIP symptoms had completely resolved, and so his medication could be stopped. Ludo was back to his playful best! Because there is a chance that FIP can recur, Ludo’s owners will continue to monitor him for signs of relapse.
We are so proud of Ludo for making it through his prolonged treatment course and doing (and growing!) so well. He was always happy to see our team, so much so that his constant purring prevented Andrea from being able to hear his heart when listening with a stethoscope on several occasions! Thank you to Ludo’s lovely owners for allowing us to share his story and supporting him so well on his journey to recovery. WELL DONE LUDO!!!
