My kitten died from coronavirus. How can I protect my new kitten?

Hello. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Great question. I personally would not be worried about your cats contracting FIP. The coronavirus is found in the saliva and feces of infected cats. Therefore, cat-to-cat contact and exposure to feces in litter boxes are the most common modes of infection. Contaminated food or water dishes, bedding, and your clothing may also serve as sources of infection. It doesn't sound like this is a concern based on your description of how you separated the cats, washed your hands, etc. The coronavirus can live in the environment anywhere from 3-7 weeks. After 3 weeks, however, the number of virus particles present is probably too small to cause infection. Many disinfectants will kill the virus, including household bleach diluted 1:32 in water (1/2 cup of bleach per gallon of water). So, you may want to do a thorough cleaning of the area where you housed the kittens and it may be best for you to not get any foster kittens for at least a month to try to prevent the new ones from getting infected. Hope this answers your questions. Best wishes.

There is very little that can be done regarding limiting the spread but it is important to understand that FIP is a very special infection, it's a virus that goes through a transformation in a minority of cats only, the actual FIP virus is not transmissible, the original virus is coronavirus, most cats get it but will never transform it to FIP.

First off, I'm so sorry you recently lost a kitten! An effective disinfectant to feline distemper is bleach. I would use bleach to clean the entire house. You need to get rid of all the kitten's belongs, as they will have the virus on them and it can be passed to any new cat. This includes bedding, toys, and litter boxes. Get all new stuff for the new cat. The most important to way to prevent the next cat from catching is vaccination. I would recommend getting an older cat, around four months of age, who will be fully vaccinated. I hope this helps!

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/

Coronavirus itself is in most cases harmless to cats and many cats will have a coronavirus infection that will go unnoticed. The problem in a very small minority of cases is that this virus mutate into a new form and becomes what is known as FIP (feline infectious peritonitis) which is a fatal disease. The mutated virus cannot be transmitted to another cat. To summarise, risk is minor, but still exist.

I'm am sorry for your loss. Wait at least 1 month. Vacuum and clean as thoroughly as you can. Hard, non porous surfaces (and bowls, toys, etc.) can be washed in hot, soapy water or the dishwasher. Rinse in a 1:32 dilution of bleach. Any toys or bedding that cannot be sanitized, should be thrown out. Normal exposure to air and sunlight will usually kill the FIP virus in the environment within 2 weeks.

I am very sorry to hear that. the other kittens are not at direct risk because FIP is a mutation of a virus called Corona, but the mutation itself is not contagious (they cannot be infected by the mutation). nevertheless if they caught the corona virus there is always a chance that they could develop this mutation, but it is very unlikely.