What contagious virus is killing my 6-week-old foster kittens?

Hello, This could be several different things. Not eating following by seizures makes me concerned that they may be hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) from not eating. This usually leads to seizures, which can be associated with changes in urination and defecation. Infectious diseases are also very common in kittens. Many of the mother cats are not vaccinated and can pass viral diseases to their young. Feline Leukemia Virus, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline Herpes Virus, and Feline Panleukopenia can all cause kitten deaths. Unfortunately, with kitten rescue, we can't ever be sure of the mother's health beforehand. The better controlled the feline overpopulation problem is and the more cats are vaccinated, the better it will be overall. Thoroughly disinfecting bowls, litter dishes, floors, etc and quarantining cats in your home is the best way to minimize disease spread. I hope this is helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I’m so sorry for your losses. The only way to determine what the babies have died from would be to have a necropsy or postmortem exam done. I understand with foster pets this might not be financially feasible, but it may give answers and potentially help the remaining kittens. If all from the same litter they could have a congenital Disorder causing the seizures and death, or they may have been exposed to a virus while in utero or shortly after birth. Some toxins, exposure to flea control products, or medications can cause seizure and death. Diagnostic testing can be difficult with kittens this little but it may be worth discussing running a Health screen or viral panel on the remaining kittens to assess their health. Otherwise, the best thing to do is make sure they are on a good plane of nutrition, use only Anti-parasite products recommended by your veterinarian, and vaccinate as they get old enough. Thank you for taking care of these kittens, best of luck with the rest of the litter. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'm so sorry that your foster is not doing well. It sounds like she has been through a lot in her short life. Certainly, kittens that have a severe upper respiratory infection young in life can take a while to bounce back. You can perform a FeLV and FIV test at any time, but the results will have to be taken with a grain of salt at her age. The FIV test is an antibody test, so she could test positive if her mom was positive, but she may not have the virus. The FeLV test is usually a little more accurate in young kittens, but not always. The FeLV test looks for virus in white blood cells, so if her white blood cell count is low from her infection if may appear negative even if she has the virus. So while you can test at any age, you may need to repeat the tests again because of the reasons discussed above. So, I would recommend discussing it with your veterinarian to decide on the right route to go for your foster. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your questions. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Kittens may have diarrhea and low energy due to a number of conditions including intestinal parasites, viral infections, or a change in diet. I recommend having both kittens examined by a vet as soon as possible, as it is likely that the condition is contagious. To speed up the diagnosis, I recommend bringing a stool sample from the sick kitten in a disposable container for your vet to check for parasites. It is important to have the sick kitten evaluated as kittens can quickly become dehydrated and have low blood sugar, making them feel even worse. While it is unlikely that your son got sick from one of the kittens, it is possible. I recommend that you have him seen by a physician if you are concerned.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. There are many viruses so it is difficult to say for sure what this could be. Feline herpes virus is something we see quite common in cats so this may be what he has. Lysine supplementation typically helps shorten the duration of the viral infection and severity. I would make sure that he is tested for feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I am so sorry that this has happened to you and your family! Feline parvovirus also called feline panleukopenia is a highly contagious and often fatal disease with kittens being the most susceptible. Diagnosis can sometimes be confirmed using a fecal antigen test kit. However, because this fecal antigen is detectable only for a short time after infection, false-negative results are common. It sounds like this might have been the case with your kitten. Supportive therapy is the main course of treatment and prognosis is guarded. Because the virus is very hardy, it can remain infectious in your home for years, unless the environment can be appropriately disinfected with bleach.

There is a chance given the symptoms that this could be panleucopaenia, a highly contagious viral gastroenteritis in cats related to parvo virus in dogs. I would recommend testing at least one affected cat as if positive vaccines can help protect the others. Fluids and anti nausea medications can help