Over the last few weeks I’ve seen about a dozen cases of cats with a deadly infection that looks like panleukopenia. (That’s feline distemper, otherwise known as the “P” in the FVRCP vaccine most well-tended cats receive.)
Their families bring them in to our hospital in carriers with perforated sides. Waiting their turn to be seen, they’ve sat in their carriers in the lobby alongside the similarly-perforated carriers of healthy cats.
The receptionists may tell our clients to mind one-another’s carriers and keep them well apart. If we know one of the pets waiting his turn is sick in a potentially infectious kind of a way we’ll usually have them wait in the hall outside where chairs are available to make this an easier option. But big bad infectious diseases are not always obvious to the owners.
The risk is obvious: Even bringing your healthy cat to the vet can prove fatal when a virus as deadly as panleukopenia is making the rounds in your community—that is, if your cat is unvaccinated.
In this case, most of our clients’ affected cats are outdoor cats. If they’ve seen a vaccine at all it’s because they’ve been to the local shelter where they received a rabies shot—but nothing against any of the other standard kitty viruses (i.e., panleukopenia).
Because of this rash of transmissible disease we’ve had to call clients and cancel kitten appointments. We’ve had to make sure any feline patients were fully vaccinated before giving them the choice to keep their appointment or come back at a safer time. Absolutely NO unvaccinated cats were allowed to cross the threshold into the hospital’s airspace.
But what about the cats who were in the hospital before the outbreak made itself known? What about the unsuspecting cats in carriers waiting to get their three-year vaccines and the kittens that might have come in and out alongside the carriers of the pre-diagnosis panleukopenia cases?
We’ve been very lucky. Only the unvaccinated animals who arrived with their disease in full flower have succumbed. None of our clients’ other felines were affected.
Infectious events like these are inevitable in every community where outdoor cats are maintained and incomplete vaccination protocols applied. For me, they help maintain my personal perspective on why vaccinating ALL cats is a necessity.
Even if your cat never goes anywhere outside your home she runs the risk of having to see the vet, right? For my clients who refuse all vaccines on the grounds that disease transmission is impossible within their small household of cats, it’s often hard to convince them otherwise, even when I mention the “veterinary risk.” They fear the vaccine more than they do the disease.
I guess the possibility of disease transmission after a freak encounter with an unvaccinated cat at the vet’s seems like a far-fetched notion compared to the more statistically investigated risk of suffering a vaccine reaction, but do we really know which condition—vaccinated or unvaccinated—imperils the average cat more?
It seems to me that with safer vaccines and smarter protocols the risks are minimal. Why risk a poor outcome at the vet’s if yours happens to be one of those carriers perched three chairs down from a panleukopenia case your vet doesn’t know about yet?
Add Comment13 Comments
Great point, sorry to hear about the outbreak but glad your clinic is so savvy.
My concerns also extend to those indoor cats that escape or suffer home loss during a disaster where they get housed among other animals in mostly poorly ventilated housing situations.
Try as I might, it is difficult to get indoor cat owners to see the risk and those who let their cats roam outdoors in these parts--don't tend to vaccinate either posing risk to predators and the local ecosystem that also houses bobcats, mountain lions, and other critters who are infected by domestic pets roaming loose and pooping where ever they please.
If you figure out a good motivator--let me know.
Diana Guerrero November 2nd, 2008 11:52:00 AM
I'm a vaccine minimalist myself, but I do keep my animals vaccinated. I think the issue of vaccine-related reactions, sarcomas, etc. amongst many owners is an issue of well-intentioned people with too little information making decisions without the appropriate base of knowledge w/which to interpret the information they have. It really does get kind of ridiculous. Vaccines are good, period. Yes, over-vaccination, vaccinating w/sub-par product, or vaccinating for every disease for which a vaccine is available w/out regards to the animal's exposure is silly and potentially dangerous. But the big picture is that vaccines are safe, effective, and important. We had a client recently bring in her sick, unvaccinated, indoor-MOSTLY cat...she kept saying how she didn't "believe" in vaccines b/c they caused tumors and veterinarians were just trying to rip her off. Yeah, lady - that's exactly it. Way to go protecting your pet from the evil veterinary community. *rolls eyes*
anna November 2nd, 2008 04:33:00 PM
So what are your recommendations for fvrcp??
Connie November 3rd, 2008 12:44:00 PM
Like anna, I minimize the cats' vaccinations but they *are* vaccinated. I believe that vaccines in general are good, but following the new protocols is also important. I had a difficult time after we moved finding a vet who followed the new protocols and used the less likely to cause cancer vaccines. I lost a cat to Fibrosarcoma, and I believe over vaccination played a role. But from what I read, genetics also plays a role in vaccine associated Fibrosarcoma. I still have his littermate, so the genetic part is of interest to me.
Raven's Mom November 3rd, 2008 12:52:00 PM
Connie: Here's the AAFP's 2006 recommendations (I rely on these in my practice):
http://www.catvets.com/uploads/HTML/VaccineSummary...
Dr. Patty Khuly November 3rd, 2008 02:12:00 PM
maybe my parents' house has invisible signals that speak to cats saying "it's fun to live here. camp out in their windows and they just might invite you in" because on numerous occasions especially in windows open weather we've had strays on our deck peeking in the windows. we even had an orange cat who looks very similar to our indoor only cat laying with him body to screen to body. if it wasn't for him being fully vaccinated, i'm pretty sure scary disease transmission would be possible.
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