I can’t wrap my head around the fact that this is distemper that took Avis. First of all, until just a few days ago she was eating like there was no tomorrow. With distemper they don’t eat. She was also drinking a lot of water (until she shut down) there was no vomiting, no bloody diarrhea, no lethargy. They tested her for distemper and although it isn’t conclusive because it is designed for dogs. It’s the canine scratch test, she came out negative. Maybe I am in denial, I don’t know but if it were distemper how in the world did her newborn kittens survive for over a week?
When distemper hit here 8 years ago, we lost 17 cats/kittens in two weeks. NO one here is ill- and the two other cats who came from the same trailer park are doing well- eating, drinking, hiding from me, using the litterpans, normal stool. Distemper shows no mercy and takes no prisoners.
I built the bonfire- burned two cat condos, all the bedding, the nursing box, the litterpans all of it went up in flames. I am not going to take the chance and say definitely that this wasn’t distemper but it sure didn’t act like that dreaded disease. I have to wonder if it might have been FIP instead? Only a blood test (white blood count) would say if it was distemper, but that is a moot point now as Avis was put down early this morning.
Was any of Avis’s blood saved for other tests? Can one be done now?
Assuming that you won’t know if it was distemper or not, is there a way of determining if distemper is in your shelter by observing the other cats? I know nothing of the disease, so these questions may be pointless.
I’ll know in a week but the family was isolated from all the other cats and I just sterilized, bleached and steamed cleaned the room they were in and will not let any of my newest kittens into the room. But there are two cats here not vaccinated against distemper- feral living in the house/sanctuary. The disease is such that it finds unvaccinated cats and attacks. Plus the two kittens in the deck enclosure, they came from the same trailer park- they may also show signs in a few days to a week depending on how pre-acute this strain is acting.
I was just thinking that same thought, that if they had come from that trailer park they would not be the only ones that had it and any dogs in the area might also be infected with it as I am sure they co mingled. The vet would of course have to notify public health in the event of wide spread outbreak. Continued prayers going out.
I have never heard of using a canine distemper test for panleuk. It was my understanding that the diseases are not related.
Can they do a necropsy?
I wonder if they still have the momma and kittens. It was only yesterday morning. It might be worth the cost in the long run to do any testing needed to determine the unknown.
Although it is called feline distemper (easier to say I guess) it bears no resemblance to the canine distemper and the two species can’t catch it from each other (at least not yet) It stays species specific. My hope is the vet decided to do a necropsy just to settle his own curiousity but even those can be inconclusive. I did talk to my feline specialist and she said that based on what I told her, it could have been distemper in the early stages that hit suddenly and unexpectedly. So for me to defy the professionals and stay open and accept kittens in the next few years would be foolhardy (to say the least).It would make us unethical rescuers and that’s not what CATS Inc., is all about. I still have cats here to find homes for- Bravo my sweet 2 year black boy got adopted over the weekend! I have the two trailer park kittens to socialize and the declawed boy to work with- and yes, he bites, he snaps, he swats. He is a work in progress.
Mike was trying to make me feel better last night and he said “At least your vet costs will stay down!” With the added euthanasia of the family- the bill is once again up in the thousand dollar range. I’m just glad that Avis is no longer suffering. When I saw her in isolation on Monday- she looked like a cat who was giving up. 🙁 God only knows what would have happened to her if she had stayed in that trailer park without us intervening and trying to help her.