Panleukopenia is spreading amongst the North’s feline population
A cat disease has emerged in the Northern Netherlands, called “panleulopenia“. The disease (which only affects cats) is not new, but the virus is re-emerging after herd immunity was lost amongst the North’s feline population. “Get your cats vaccinated,” veterinarians warn.
Veterinary assistant Kitty van der Terp from MaxiDier in Groningen says that she’s been getting quite a few calls from concerned cat owners asking if they should vaccinate their cats, reports the regional news channel RTV Noord. “The answer is yes, especially when the vaccination has expired,” she says.
The disease isn’t new says Van der Terp: “But because we have achieved group immunity through a lot of vaccination, we managed to keep the virus under control. But stray cats, for example, are not vaccinated, and domestic cats that have not been vaccinated can also become infected.”
How do people know their cat is infected? Van der Terp: “They get terribly ill. The cat gets diarrhoea, vomits, has a fever, in short, general malaise. You really notice when your cat has the disease, you can’t get around it. ”
Kittens and older cats are particularly sensitive, warns Van der Terp. “It’s almost always deadly to them.”
Hence the warning: have them vaccinated!
Image via Flickr user Paulo O. License here.
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