1. Feline Infectious Disease
Control
Maggie Roberts BVM&S MRCVS
Director of Veterinary Services
Reg Charity 203644 (England and Wales) and SCO37711 (Scotland)
2. Cats Protection
What Do We Do?
•UK only charity
Education
•Public
•Veterinary Profession
•Others in animal welfare
Neutering
•Early Neutering
•Financial assistance
•Ferals
Rehoming
•Reuniting owned animals
•Accepting strays and handed in cats
•Rehabilitate and rehome
3. Today's Talk - Overview
Why are infectious
diseases a problem?
A few specific cases
Cat ‘flu
Feline Parvovirus
Ringworm
FeLV
FIV
How we contain disease
4. What makes cats different?
Cats were originally solitary hunters.
Not evolved to live in close proximity with other
cats.
Cats can be carriers of disease without showing
symptoms
5. Why do cats in shelters get sick?
Immune System!!!
Stress
Host susceptibility
Transient population
Different bugs from
different places
Shelter environment
factors
Population density
6. Direct (from cat to cat)
Disease Saliva e.g. FeLV
transmission Sneezing e.g. cat ‘flu
Fighting e.g. FIV
Rubbing e.g. Ringworm
Indirect (from people or
objects)
Pens e.g. Ringworm
Litter trays e.g. Coronavirus
Food bowls e.g. FeLV
People’s hands,
shoes etc e.g.
Parvovirus
7. Cat ‘flu
What is it?
Feline herpesvirus (FHV)
Feline calicivirus (FCV)
Chlamydophila felis
Bordetella bronchiseptica
8. Cat ‘flu
Clinical Signs
Sneezing
Runny nose and eyes
Conjunctivitis
Ulcers
High temperature
Quiet and subdued
Loss of appetite
Dribbling
A cough or loss of voice
Gingivo-stomatitis
Lameness
9. Feline herpesvirus
Feline rhinotracheitis virus
Who’s got herpes?
Cats will be lifelong ‘carriers’
Virus shedding
Shedding may last up to 14 days
Virus survives in environment for only
18hrs
Spread by direct and indirect
contact
12. Feline calicivirus
Constantly mutates – clever!
Virus survives in the environment for up to 10d
Spread by direct and indirect contact
Cats can become ‘carriers’
50% still shedding 75 days after infection
Most cats stop shedding 1 year after infection
Some will be lifelong carriers - without symptoms!
20-30% of cat population estimated to
be shedding
14. Feline calicivirus
(VSD)
New strain known as ‘Virulent Systemic Disease’
Swelling of head and paws
Flu signs
Jaundice
Bleeding from nose and bowel
Death
All ages can get it
Even vaccinated cats
16. Chlamydophilosis
A bacteria
Likes to piggy back on viruses
Got to treat it right or it sticks around
Easy to kill in environment
Spread by direct contact only
18. Cat ‘flu
What do you do??
VACCINATE
Isolate and barrier nurse
Good nursing care
Can’t kill the virus
Antibiotics for secondary
infections
Pain relief
Decongestants
Reduce stress
Specific testing may not be
necessary?
20. Feline Parvovirus
Also known as:
parvo
enteritis
panleucopenia
What is it?
Virus
Bad news
Spread between cats by
direct or indirect contact
with contaminated faeces
Survives in the
environment a long time
21. Feline Parvovirus
Clinical Signs
Sudden death with no
signs
Lack of appetite
High temperature
Weight loss
Severe vomiting
Severe diarrhoea with
blood and mucus
Dehydration
24. Feline Parvovirus
What do you do?
VACCINATE
Isolate and barrier nurse
Good nursing care
Can’t kill a virus
Fluids (oral or I/V)
Antibiotics for secondary infections
Vaccinate in face of outbreak
Use the right disinfectants
32. Ringworm
What do you do?
Isolate and barrier nurse: spores
Oral medication
Itraconazole (Itrafungol; Janssen) for 5 week course
Topical treatments
Miconazole shampoo (Malaseb; VetXX),
Enilconazole (Imaverol; Janssen), Lime sulphur
If long haired may need clipping
Use the right disinfectants
33. Ringworm
CP says:
3 CLEAR CULTURES BEFORE HOMING
Things to Remember:
Ringworm spores can survive up to 2 years
Appropriate disinfectants are: Bleach or Virkon
(Peroxygen compound)
Steam cleaning
34. FeLV
What is it?
Feline Leukaemia Virus
A retrovirus
‘Friendly’ disease spread
If mum has it – all kittens will too
Only survives for a few hours in the environment
Cats may be infected but be
asymptomatic for some time
35. FeLV
Clinical Signs
Recurrent secondary
infections
High temperature
Lethargy
Cancerous tumours
Anaemia Photo courtesy of Fort Dodge Animal Health
Usually young-middle
aged cats
36. FeLV
What do you do?
In house test e.g. Idexx snap test
Confirm positive results
37. FeLV
What do you do?
Isolate suspected cases and barrier nurse
Test all in contact cats
85% of infected cats die within 3 years of
infection
CP euthanase confirmed FeLV positive
cats
38. FIV
What is it?
Feline Immunodeficiency
virus
A retrovirus
‘Fighting’ disease spread
by biting and fighting
If mum has it 1/3 of
kittens will become infected
Only survives for a few
hours in the environment
Often middle-
aged cats
40. FIV
What do you do?
Test all in contact
cats
Separate
CP Policy
Indoor home
Euthanasia for
positive ferals and sick
positive cats
41. FeLV/FIV
Ideal to test everyone
– cost issue
Which cats do CP test?
Sick cats
Unneutered adult toms
Pregnant queens
Nursing queens
Kittens of FIV positive queens
Orphan kittens
Feral cats
Stray cats
Cats going communal area
Any cat known to have been in contact
Any cat the vet is suspicious of
Any cat before it undergoes extensive treatment or
surgery
42. FeLV and FIV in the shelter
Virus does not survive long in the
environment
Usually needs direct contact (grooming,
fighting) to be transmitted
Housing singly and using good hygiene is
sufficient
43. Containing disease
Why know about the
bugs??
What’s a Fomite?
We are the major source
of infection transmission!!
44. Containing Disease
Personal Protective Equipment
Apron
Gloves
Oversuit
Sleeves
Overshoes
Hat or hood on oversuit
Mask?
Goggles?
Idea is all items should be disposable
45. Containing Disease
Keep infected cat isolated
from all other cats
Wear and use Personal
Protective Equipment
(PPE)
Use suitable disinfectant
that is effective against the
disease
Clean and handle infected
cat last
46. Containing disease
Have separate cleaning utensils for
isolated cat
Use disposable litter trays and food bowls
or return trays and bowls to same cat
47. Containing
Disease
Use disposable bedding or soak in
disinfectant before washing on hot cycle
Wash contaminated bedding last and
separate from other bedding
Use footbaths containing disinfectant
48. Containing disease
Deep clean area for
5 continuous days
after housing
infected cat
Steam clean first if
possible
Stop the movement
of cats in or out