My cat has Panleukopenia. Will he need long-term care and risk other cats?

I'm so sorry that your last cat passed away from panleukopenia. This is a parvovirus that is passed through various secretions and can survive fairly readily in the environment. As a result, it's virtually impossible to fully disinfect all materials - particularly carpet, rugs, and upholstered furniture. Hard, nonporous surfaces are much easier to disinfect with bleach diluted with water 1:32 and left on the cleaned surface for at least 5 minutes. Since this parvovirus can survive for up to a year, I would not take the chance of bringing Rag home until he's completed his entire vaccine series. I hope that everything goes well! https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/panleukopenia/

I am not sure if you mean to prevent other cats from getting sick or your cat from getting worse. I would recommend vaccinating all cats That come in contact with the sick cat. They should have 1 vaccine and than boostered 3-4 weeks later. Unfortunately for the sick cat panleukopenia is fatal. You can try supportive measures like iv fluids , antibiotics, probiotics and even a blood transfusion depending on illness level of the cat.

Parvo virus in cats (also known as panleukopenia) is a very serious illness with a poor prognosis. If Blue was not tested for feline panleukopenia and his diagnosis was an educated guess, it may be that the bloody stool and vomiting were caused by some other bacterial or viral infection, or intestinal parasites. I do hope that he continues to get better and go back to completely normal! A true panleukopenia virus infected cat can continue to shed virus particles for 6 weeks. I do recommend that he be seen by the vet to start vaccinations next week to prevent other viral infections that are prevented with proper vaccination. Here is some more information on panleukopenia virus in cats: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1983

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.

At this point, it will not help to vaccinate the other cats because they've already been exposed to the virus - all it would do, would be to weaken their immune system. It won't provide protection quickly enough to be of any use. I agree that cleaning and disinfecting the house is a good idea, as well as keeping the infected cat isolated from the others. In 2-3 weeks, you could talk to your veterinarian about vaccinating the other cats if they still aren't showing any symptoms.

I am so sorry to hear about Toffee! Unfortunately, panleukopenia virus is a nasty disease and many kittens do not survive. That being said, you do not need fancy medicine for it since it is a virus. The most important thing is keeping up with the hydration. Repeating iv fluids under the skin can help with this (ask your vet if s/he can teach you how, how much, how often.) Getting an antibiotic (oral or shot) is also important since Toffee’s immune system is very weak. Feed tiny amounts feequently is he is not vomiting. Sadly, even though we do all these things, many kittens do not survive. Best of luck to you and Toffee.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I'm glad everything tested negative for Kitty. We do not have an test for panleukopenia. And we do not test healthy cats for it. Cats with panleukopenia are sick: vomiting, diarrhea, low white blood cells. We sometimes use the dog Parvo snap tests to test cats who are sick that we think may have it but we usually diagnose it based on signs and blood work (CBC=complete blood count). I would keep her separate from your other cats for 2 weeks. I am assuming your vet started her vaccines and gave her the first FVRCP vaccine which has panleukopenia in it. She should have a second booster 3 weeks after the first one. If you want to be 100% safe, keep her separate until 2 weeks after the 2nd booster (5 weeks total, that is a long time!). But I would think that if she had no signs in 2 weeks she is likely fine. I usually see stray cats or new kittens pass upper respiratory viruses more often than panleukemia. I hope this helps!