Should I worry my puppies will get sick from a mysterious cat illness?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Some illnesses can be transmitted from one cat to another from your hands or clothing. I recommend washing hands and possibly leaving shoes away from your cats if the stray sneezed on or near them. Basic good hygiene will help prevent disease transmission to your kitties. If you are able please take the stray into the vet as soon as you are able as it sounds like she may have a significant respiratory infection. Be sure that she is tested for feline leukemia and FIV before you ever let her near your cats to be safe.

It would be helpful to know the age of kittens when you got them and how soon they developed symptoms as this would help determine whether they had it before you got them or were exposed afterwards, by other cats or possibly common food bowls, litter trays etc. I would recommend getting an older cat/kitten that has been fully vaccinated at least 3weeks before you take it next time and sterilise or replace all bedding, bowls etc

From the core vaccines, rabies would be the main virus that could be transmitted from a kitten to a dog. If your dog isn’t up to date on rabies you should make sure he gets vaccinated not just due to potential exposure but also because it’s a very important human public health concern. I would guess that most kittens going into a foster situation would be too young for a rabies vaccine. You may want to have Onyx on a flea and tick preventative since young kittens can have fleas, and even if they have been dewormed intestinal parasites could still be a concern if he could access the litter box. Hope this helps!

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.

Well it depends what the cat was sick with. I'm going to assume the cat was sick with an upper respiratory infection and there isn't anything I would be particularly worried about here. There aren't many contagious diseases we worry about crossing between dogs and cats. I would recommend watching for general signs of disease (lethargy, poor appetite, nasal discharge, coughing/sneezing, vomiting, and diarrhea) in the next week or two just to be safe, but there isn't anything you need to do at this point and a very low likelihood of anything coming from this encounter.

Do you know why the puppy passed away? Has your dog had a full course of vaccinations (at least three, better 4 basic and then regular boosters)? If so, she will likely be protected. But, just to be sure, find out why the puppy died. CHeck with your veterinarian if you have to worry.

Sorry to hear this! Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon situation with small kittens. They usually die suddenly like this due to a heritable defect, poor immunity, or a severe disease like panleukopenia. There are very few diseases that a kitten can pass onto people and considering that she died so quickly, I would not be concerned about any diseases that could be passed to people. Most of the diseases carried by cats that can be passed to people are not a problem for healthy people and would not be nearly as deadly. If you did get a disease like toxoplasmosis or bartenolosis there would be warning signs such as feeling malaise, or Flu-like. Again, it's extremely unlikely for this to happen to you, but if you did feel sick in the next two weeks, then it would be good to mention the kitten to your doctor. Either way, the diseases that you could get from cats can be treated and would not be deadly (besides rabies, which is extremely unlikely in this case). I really wouldn't worry though. I've seen many of these little kittens die suddenly in shelters and have never had a concern about a zoonotic disease (disease passed from animals to people). I hope that helps.