SOCK it to FIP

As part of SOCK FIP’s continuing efforts to raise awareness about this terrible disease, in September 2009 we launched a new and improved website at www.sockfip.org.  This redesigned website is designed to provide easy-to-access resources for anyone who has been affected by FIP whether you are a breeder, cat-lover, member of a rescue group or shelter, veterinarian or researcher. We are continuing to add content, and plan to include on the site comprehensive and up-to-date information on FIP, developments in Dr. Pedersen’s research, as well as support for those who are facing or have already experienced the loss of a beloved kitten to FIP, and, most importantly, information on how you can help SOCK FIP’s efforts.

We have reached a critical point in our understanding of FIP and it is imperative that we increase support for FIP research now. FIP is 100% fatal and kills an estimated 1 in 100 cats, many of them in the first year or two of their lives. For cats coming from shelters or catteries, the incidence can be five to 10 times greater. Despite hundreds of clinical and research publications on FIP since 1963, there is still no prevention, no treatment, no cure and not even definitive test for this disease. However, now, there is hope. Research being conducted at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine by Dr. Pedersen and his team of researchers is shedding new, important light on this terrible disease. There is an indication of a genetic susceptibility to the disease, and once the cat genome is sequenced in the next year or so we hope to make breakthroughs not only in FIP, but in other feline diseases. Your support of FIP research now will help move toward the goal of eradicating this terrible disease.

About Save Our Cats and Kittens from Feline Infectious Peritonitis (SOCK FIP). SOCK FIP is a group of cat-lovers, cat breeders, rescuers, shelters and veterinarians working together to generate donations to support research on feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Center for Companion Animal Health (CCAH). SOCK FIP is a volunteer organization run by people who have had personal experiences with this terrible disease and whose support is directed to the CCAH and its experienced group of FIP researchers. For more information, including information on how to make a donation, please visit us at www.sockfip.org.