Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Feline panleukopenia virus outbreak in animal shelter cats
By Litster, Annette & Benjanirut, Chutamas·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2014·College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Case series of feline panleukopenia virus in an animal shelter.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats in an animal shelter showed signs of feline panleukopenia virus (FPV), which can cause severe illness. Symptoms included loss of appetite, dehydration, fever, and diarrhea. While some cats that tested positive for FPV survived, many did not, especially those that showed signs of circulatory shock before passing away. The study found that simply housing kittens with their mother did not improve their chances of survival, likely due to the prevalence of FPV in the shelter environment.
People also search for: cat vomiting diarrhea shelter · feline panleukopenia symptoms · how to treat cat dehydration · kitten illness shelter care
Abstract
The aim of this study was to describe a series of confirmed and suspected cases of feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) and in-contact cats in an adoption-guarantee shelter in an FPV-endemic area by reviewing shelter records over a 10-month period (January-October 2010). Cats were divided into three groups: in-contact group - asymptomatic cats that were housed with a FPV fecal antigen (Ag)-positive cat/kitten as part of a litter group (n = 66); FPV-survivors group (FPV-infected survivors) - tested FPV fecal Ag-positive and showed clinical signs of FPV, but survived (n = 27); FPV-non-survivors group (FPV-infected non-survivors) - showed clinical signs of FPV and either tested FPV fecal Ag-positive or were housed with an Ag-positive family member, but did not survive (n = 52). Ages ranged from 3 weeks to 3 years, but most were <6 months old (in-contact group: 79%; FPV-survivors group: 70%; FPV-non-survivors group: 85%). A seasonal peak occurred over summer, but cases occurred year-round. Anorexia, dehydration, fever and diarrhea predominated in the FPV-survivors group, and death was preceded by clinical signs of circulatory shock in the FPV-non-survivors group. Housing litters of kittens with their mother was not associated with improved outcome, perhaps because in this population clinical FPV infection was relatively common in queens arriving at the shelter with susceptible litters.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23873047/