Last week Vleġġa almost didn’t make it. Vleġġa is a five-year-old calico cat I saw on Sunday morning. She had earned her name from being so fast on the chase and she was clearly a lovely cat.
But when I saw her that morning, her condition was dreadful. Apart from being dehydrated and with obvious signs of not having eaten for a week, she was also suffering from runny eyes and had a nasal discharge that was obstructing her breathing so much that she was forced to gasp through her wide, open mouth.
All these were clear signs of upper respiratory infection, which is more commonly known as cat flu. Upon questioning Vleġġa’s owners, it transpired that she had started to be unwell a few days after a stray kitten was introduced to the household.
Cat flu is a very common and highly contagious feline disease that varies in severity and which can sometimes be life-threatening. It is a viral disease caused in most cases by feline calicivirus (FCV) or by feline herpes virus (FHV) and can also become complicated by bacterial infections.
Kittens and unvaccinated cats that have never encountered the virus are highly vulnerable to infection due to a lack of antibody resistance.
Elderly cats and immuno-suppressed cats weakened due to other viruses such as felv (feline leukaemia virus) and FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) are prone to cat flu. Similarly, cats receiving treatment that suppresses the immune system are also at risk.
Symptoms of cat flu may vary from cat to cat, depending not only on which virus or compromising bacteria are involved but also on the age of the cat and its immune state.
Ocular and nasal discharge, such as was evident in Vleġġa’s case are typical, yet this can further develop into pneumonia or lung infection, particularly when bacteria become involved. Severe eye ulcers are also very likely , as often happens in kittens when the herpes virus is present.
Cats that have recovered from cat flu may continue to be contagious for a long time, even though there may be no obvious signs of illness. For this reason, you should always seek veterinary advice before introducing another cat into your household.
Tests are available at specialised laboratories to identify the particular causative virus but very often your veterinarian will carry out a diagnosis based on the typical clinical signs of upper respiratory infection. Treatment may vary, depending on the severity of these same symptoms.
The risk of cat flu to your cats can be greatly reduced by regularly vaccinating them with their annual booster
Being a highly contagious disease, cat flu viruses are of great concern where cats are kept together in large numbers. Cat flu can occur not only in cat colonies but also in boarding and breeding catteries.
These three situations require individual medical preventative measures according to the different challenges that each offers. Medical check-ups, basic hygiene and active immunisation by vaccination typically form the backbone of any such programme.
When it comes to protecting your cats from contracting cat flu, it is important that you minimise direct or indirect contact with such high-risk colonies. Indirect transmission is when a pathological agent is transferred from one animal to another from contaminated objects and surfaces.
Cat flu viruses can survive in the environment for up to 10 days. Hands, clothing or food bowls that have been inadvertently contaminated with cats that either have or have come into contact themselves with the contagion can all be a means of indirectly spreading the virus. Direct contact is when, just as in Vleġġa’s case, an infected kitten was introduced into the house.
It is highly commendable for cat lovers to save stray kittens and cats and welcome them into their home. It is also quite natural that the human instinct to nurture takes over and that placing a lonely, scared cat in with ‘company’ is perceived as the right thing to do.
But it is vital that before newcomers are introduced, you protect your own pets against any contagious diseases that incomers might be carrying. The safest thing to do, is to place the new arrival in a separate location. All members of the household must observe very strict cleaning regimes of the area and carry out all possible hygiene measures for utensils, clothes and hands. It is worth pointing out that sometimes even this may not be enough.
The risk of cat flu to your cats can be greatly reduced by regularly vaccinating them with their annual booster. This would be done by your veterinarian after making sure that your cat is in good health and able to be vaccinated in order to provide an immunity against both cat flu viruses.
Because of the aforementioned indirect transmission, vaccination against cat flu is recommended even for cats that are always kept indoors.
Vleġġa was given intensive treatment to improve her airways and reduce her upper respiratory distress. Nutrients were given both by injection as well as orally.
Her owners played a very important part in treating and nursing her back to life, including frequent hand feeding and loads of loving care. It was so good to see Vleġġa’s improvement day by day as the week progressed.
After five days of treatment and her owners’ unrelenting love and dedication, she finally spontaneously asked for food for the first time in a long while.
thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com
Dr Martin Debattista is a veterinary surgeon.