Thanks Debbie, you already knew I was worried about this. You haven't done anything to worsen my anxiety about it. You do make a good point that there are likely many bengals even on this forum who have or had it and their owners didn't know, and are fine.
Sherry, the vet basically says he would just be more dominant if we didn't neuter him. He said that if he didn't come into contact with other female cats, he probably wouldn't start spraying but that isn't a guarantee. From what I understand, every time the virus replicates, there's a chance the strain will mutate and they often go through MANY mutations. It's only one of these mutations that will cause FIP, and there's no way to know if our kitty has that one. And even of those kitties that do get the mutant strain, some will have a strong enough immune system to fight it off, but others will not, and those are the ones who succumb to FIP. So the vet thinks we probably don't have anything to worry about, but he agrees that the research I sent him does indicate that the stress of a neuter can weaken the immune system enough to allow the mutated FIP strain to get the upper hand, if they are already fighting the mutated strain. And my concern is that many vets, including ours, haven't had a lot of first-hand experience with FIP, so they just don't really know what they're talking about.
I guess the question we will try to get answered prior to neutering is what is the overall condition of Orion's immune system right now? If the high lymphocyte WBC count on his blood panel is indicative of a strong immune system (which I'm hoping it is, as SOMETHING is making all those lymphocytes so it must be his immune system right?), then maybe we'll just give it a few weeks and hope it gets a handle on whatever he's fighting, then complete the neuter. If it's the opposite, maybe we wait 6 months, or a year? If he does happen to get the mutant FIP strain in the coming months, at least we will be doing everything we can to make sure we don't worsen the condition of his immune system...
_________________ ~*~Holly~*~
Orion ~ Light Gold Black Rosetted Bengal, born 5/19/15 Apollo ~ Tuxedo Marbled Tabby, born 1/7/12
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