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VACCINATING YOUR CAT - SOME MORE DETAIL
There are three main diseases protected against by the yearly vaccinations which your cat requires. If you would like to know some more about these diseases and what they may do to our pets, read on.
Click any of the diseases from the table to jump straight to that section:
Feline Infectious Enteritis (or Feline Panleucopenia) is caused by the Feline Parvovirus, it is a very resistant virus and can exist outside of the cat for up to a one whole year. Young cats are most at risk although cats of any age can succumb to infection, especially those with a defective immune system. It is spread in bodily secretions and taken in through the nose and mouth.
What are the clinical signs of infection?
Many cats will shake off the virus before clinical signs occur but some
will succumb to a potentially fatal illness. Often cats become very depressed
and do not want to move around, they develop a fever and become
dehydrated. They do not want to eat, they may appear to want to
drink but seem unable or may vomit after drinking. The intestine
becomes very gassy but there is often no diarrhoea until the later
stages of disease. The numbers of White Blood Cells (those responsible
for immunity) often fall to dangerously low levels.
If cats contract the virus whilst pregnant, any kittens may be born with brain damage this is classically seen as a kitten with a marked tremor.
How do we diagnose the disease?
Diagnosis will be based on clinical signs and absence of vaccination.
Confirmation in deceased animals is by post mortem pathology.
Is there a treatment?
The outlook for cats which fall prey to the severe disease is very poor.
Antibiotics have no effect on the virus but may help to rduce the risk/severity
of secondary bacterial infection. Treatment is supportive; a drip is usually
required to provide fluids and combat dehydration and liquid foods are
required during the recovery stages. Vigorous treatment provides the best
chance of recovery but vaccination will reduce the risk of catching the
disease.
Cat Flu is a syndrome which can be produced by more than one virus (unlike in humans, this "flu" is not caused by an influenza virus). The two organisms involved are Feline Herpes Virus and Feline Calicivirus. Infection can occur in cats of any age but is most severe in cats under six months of age, old cats and cats with other immunosuppressive illness.
What are the clinical signs of infection?
Cats often become dull and lethargic because of a increased
body temperature. Depending on which kind of "cat flu" the
cat has, some or all of the following may feature:
Discharge from the eyes and nose and mouth breathing because
the nose is blocked, drooling of saliva combined with retching
or gagging. Sneezing and coughing. Ulcers on the tongue,
palate and sometimes the nose are seen. Cats will rarely die from such
infection but young and severely affected kittens are most at risk from
secondary bronchitis and pneumonia.
One of the main problems with "cat flu" is that once your cat has contracted the virus the signs can recurr for many years to come. The virus can lie dormant or survive at low levels within the cat's body and then when the cat becomes run down or stressed the signs of flu can begin again.
How do we diagnose the disease?
Cat flu is usually diagnosed on the basis of clinical signs although there
are laboratory tests if confirmation is required.
Is there a treatment?
There is no cure for the "cat flu" once it is contracted, cats
will either rid themselves of infection or become long-term carriers of
the virus (they can then pass on the virus to other cats through their
bodily secretions). We often need to provide supportive care such as antibiotics
to reduce secondary bacterial infection (antibiotics have no effect on
the viruses themselves), decongestants and vitamin complexes.
Vaccination should reduce likelihood and severity of the disease if given in advance of infection.
Leukaemia in cats can be simply a cancerous disease but the majority of Feline Leukaemia is caused by the Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV). The Feline Leukaemia Virus is a retrovirus and belongs in the same group of viruses as the virus responsible for AIDS. FeLV is of absolutely NO RISK to humans. Transmission of infection is direct from one cat to another with saliva being the main source of virus particles; FeLV is also shed in urine, faeces and the milk of lactating cats.
What are the consequences of infection?
Many cats will contract the virus, their immune systems will overcome
the infection and they recover... these are the cats we don't hear about
as they are not ill or are only ill for a brief period; they will make
up the majority of cats infected. Cats which recover from the virus in
this way can still shed the virus and, therefore, be infectious to other
cats for several weeks or even several years... it is thought that the
risk to other cats is LOW from these cats.
The unfortunate cats are those which become persistently infected with the virus... these individuals have an 85% chance of dying from an FeLV related disease within three and a half years of becoming infected.
Which cats are most at risk?
The most imprtant factors seem to be age and the amount of virus that
the cat is subjected to. Kittens under 14 weeks are the most vulnerable
and kittens less than eight weeks are very susceptible. Kittens born to
cats with persistent Feline Leukaemia Virus infection ALL become persistently
infected themselves.
Old cats are also at higher risk because their immune systems tend to be less able to fight off infections.
The amount of virus that a cat is exposed to is greatly increased if there are many cats living in one household or family and one of these cats has the viral infection.
What are the clinical signs of infection?
Feline Leukaemia Virus has its own range of clinical signs but can also
make the body more prone to other infection because of an immunodeficiency.
The list of FeLV related signs is long but includes:
The immunodeficiency results in an inability to fight off other infections so the cat's body becomes easy picking for many other diseases, the signs of which, will vary.
How do we diagnose the disease?
Diagnosis is suspected on clinical signs and history but must be confirmed
by blood sampling to detect virus particles. This can often be performed
in the practice laboratory on special kits. Blood is sometimes sent to specialist
laboratories to confirm the diagnosis by growing the virus in special cells.
Is there a treatment?
There is no cure for Feline Leukaemia Virus Infection. Cats positive for
the virus which live in multi-cat households are at great risk of passing
the virus to the other cats in the house so it is strongly advised that
thought is given to find ways to keep FeLV positive cats away from the negative
cats.
Vaccination helps to provide protection against FeLV, the vaccines are between 70 and 100% effective. It is advisable to test cats for FeLV infection before vaccination so that if the cat develops FeLV after vaccination, one can be sure that the cat did not already have the virus. Many people chose not to test their cat and go ahead with vaccination because of the extra cost of the blood test.
Information compiled by Chris Ditchburn for Blackness Veterinary Surgery.
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