Is it safe to keep a new sick cat in the same room as my healthy cat?

1. Yes, Sifu can and should be vaccinated since the vaccine for the cat respiratory viruses (herpes and caliciviruses) also covers the panleukopenia virus. While some cats will continue to have intermittent symptoms of respiratory viruses others do not so it’s possible that Sifu will completely ‘recover’. 2. Routine cleaning should eliminate the virus from your room, so it should be okay to move Panda back. Cats can continue to shed virus even after their clinical signs are gone so I typically recommend waiting at least two weeks after clinical signs are gone to introduce Sifu and Panda. You should consider getting Panda vaccinated as well.

Congratulations on your new pet! Physical distance is not as important as actual contact. If your new kitten is in a cage or crate, this still likely allows for the cats to touch each other through the bars. Certain viruses can be transmitted in nasal discharge, saliva, and cats can scratch each other even through small openings. I recommend trying to keep this cage in an area your other cat cannot reach or in a bathroom. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you have!

Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This is an undesirable situation to be in when adopting a new kitten. You did the right thing by leaving kitty there becuase upper respiratory infections are highly contagious. However, if your cats are up to date on their FVRCP vaccine, this greatly reduces the chances of them getting ill also. There is a small chance that the virus can survive on fomite objects, but typically it is spread through direct contact or through aerosolized droplets from oral secretions, similar to the flu or common cold. You can change your clothing just to be safe, before coming in contact with your cats and home and just wash your clothing as you normally would, and monitor your cats for any symptoms. However, like I said, there is a low chance of transmission this way. Upper respiratory infections are very common in cats, so once the kitty is free of illness, wait about 10 days before considering adopting him. He also should be up to date on his vaccinations. Once a cat gets infected, they are likely to get re-infected in the future and have upper airway issues as an adult. I hope this helps and best wishes with your prospect kitty. Take care.

Yes, you need to keep your cat separated from the kitten. Parasites, Felv/FIV viruses or the respiratory infection could all spread to the adult cat. Make sure to wash your hands and change any clothes that came in contact with the kitten after you handle him to lessen the chance of contamination. If you cannot locate the owner and the kitten is sick, have it examined by the veterinarian so that it doesn't get worse. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

I'm glad you are doing your homework before bringing new fur babies into the situation. Most shelters will routinely deworm their pets and test for leukemia and FIV. So you definitely want to make sure these treatments/tests are run prior to adopting the new kittens. Its not unusual for new cats and kittens to break with upper respiratory infections within the first 2 weeks of being adopted. Herpes virus is very common in cats (some estimate 80% of cats carry the virus) and it comes out in the stress related to being in a shelter and being rehomed. Now, this is not going to happen to every cat/kitten but its not unusual. Therefore, your best chance to avoid this would be to get a cat/kitten that has been kept in a foster home. It will likely still have herpes but the environment should be less stressful, therefore less risk of the virus becoming active. Keep the new pet separated for 2 weeks. That way if it does have an outbreak, you will at least have it contained. You could also put your cats on 500mg of lysine twice daily to help booster their immune system. Kittens get 250mg twice daily. Please post again if you have any further questions!

At this point, it is likely too late to separate them. Have the kitten examined by your veterinarian and treated for a respiratory infection if diagnosed. Monitor your older cat for symptoms and have him or her treated if necessary.

Yes, it's best to keep him in and isolated from your cat while he gets over the infection. These infections are quite easily spread from one cat to the other and it's very difficult to prevent transmission in the same household; but you can try to isolate the sick cat away from your healthy one for at-least one week after the infection appears to have resolved. They spread it through nose-to-nose contact, so avoiding this is most important for avoiding transmission. I hope that help and FuiFui gets well soon.