Symptoms of plague in cats: how to deal with feline plague and recognize the disease
Such a disease, like feline plague (panleukopenia) belongs to the viral diseases of the family Parvoviridae. It is highly contagious and poses a serious danger to the animal.
Today we will talk about it, which is a given feline disease, also you will learn, what are the symptoms of plague in cats, and how it can be cured.
The general concept of feline chumka
Once a cat is infected with a dangerous virus and doctors diagnose it, the first symptoms appear:
- reduction in the number of leukocytes;
- temperature rise;
- symptoms of diarrhea;
- vomiting;
- the cat's body is severely dehydrated.
Cat chum can also be labeled with the following names:
- cat fever;
- parovirus infection;
- infectious enteritis;
- agranulocytosis;
- feline ataxia;
- infectious laryngotracheitis.
The peculiarity of the virus is its stability in the environment, as well as all sorts of disinfectants and high temperatures. Due to all this, it is able to retain its pathogenic properties for a long time. The disinfectant in concentrations up to three percent cannot kill the plague virus, also for him not terrible temperatures to 60 degrees for an hour.
The feline plague virus is able to enter the environment through feces, urine or saliva of a sick animal. Infection occurs through contact of a healthy cat with infected objects or contact directly with a cat, which is a carrier of this disease. The intrauterine method of infection with the virus or insect bites is questionable, blood drinkers.
Young cats and small kittens are most susceptible to infection, and in case of re-infection, the virus affects an animal regardless of age. For humans, chumka in cats is not dangerous.
Chumka in cats: symptoms
The symptoms of this disease do not appear in animals immediately, and about through 3 -10 days after infection. Among the most common symptoms are the following:
- depressed behavior and general weakness;
- body temperature rises to 40 degrees;
- vomiting and loose stools;
- dehydration, which can be determined by dry skin, inflamed eyes and dirty cat hair;
- lymph nodes are enlarged, this can be determined by palpation of the abdomen in the presence of thickening, which causes pain in the animal;
- signs of exhaustion intensify over time.
One of the first symptoms of feline plague is a loss of interest in everything, almost complete refusal of water and food, the animal tears yellow, green or watery masses. As the disease progresses, traces of blood begin to appear in the vomit.
When diarrhea feces have a liquid consistency with impurities of blood, the smell is unbearably smelly. The animal wants to drink, but a spasm in the larynx and abdominal pain cannot allow him to drink even a little fluid.
If the plague spreads to the cat's heart, dry cough is added to the symptoms, the mucosa turns blue, and she finds it increasingly difficult to breathe.
Sometimes in a few days, accompanied by such symptoms, the cat is recovering, in other cases, the animal dies.
Among the secondary symptoms of plague in cats are the following:
- lesions of the brain and cerebellum;
- anemia;
- lesions in the retina.
Methods of disease diagnosis
If you notice strange changes in the behavior of your pet, first measure his temperature. If it is very high, then take the animal to a veterinarian immediately, otherwise it may not survive the disease.
The diagnosis is made on a comprehensive basis as follows:
-
consider all clinical manifestations of plague;
- take into account the presence or absence of vaccinations;
- clarify contacts with other animals;
- take cat's blood for analysis for virological examination.
If the animal has chumki, leukocytes in the blood will be greatly increased.
Disease prevention
Most veterinarians believe, what is the best preventive means of combating this disease - timely vaccination of the animal. Usually, such vaccines are mono- and polyvalent, while drugs can be used differently:
- Felovaks;
- Nobivak;
- Multifel;
- Square.
The first time cats are vaccinated against plague is at the age of one and a half months, and the second time - about a month later. In the future, this vaccination should be given to your cat annually throughout his life.
Methods of treatment of feline plague
Because of that, that feline plague is too persistent, there are almost no effective drugs against it, and treatment is carried out by a complex method, the treatment regimen is prescribed individually each time.
Etiotropic drugs are used to treat the disease, which must destroy the virus itself and carry out therapy, which is designed to relieve the animal from the symptoms of plague.
In order to destroy the virus, such a drug is used, as Vitafel globulin, which kills viruses not only plague, but also calicivirosis and rhinotracheitis.
Also in the treatment of this disease is used such an antiviral agent, as Fosprenil. It should be given to the animal according to this regimen:
- the first two days - on 4 injections during the day;
- until the tenth day - three injections;
- from the eleventh to the thirteenth day - two;
- until the fifteenth day - one injection, respectively.
For animals weighing less than a kilogram, the optimal dose is 0,2 mg of Fosprenil, and for larger cats - 0,5 ml, respectively.
You can also prescribe Enterostat for a week 20 mg per kilogram once a day.
Removal of symptoms of the disease
Symptomatic therapy is to reduce the manifestations of key symptoms of the disease. It is the correction of the acid-base balance and water-electrolyte balance of the cat. It relieves intoxication and reduces dehydration. Sodium chloride is sometimes used to reduce symptoms.
When the animal stops nauseating, he can be given a solution of Rieger or Rehydron, mixing each of them with glucose on 5 % and add a quarter teaspoon of baking soda to the mixture. This solution should be taken in any dose at the rate of, what the daily dose should be 50 mg per kilogram of body weight.
It is very important in the treatment of plague, to get rid of toxic substances in time. To this end, you should increase the outflow of urine with the use of various renal fees and decoctions based on horsetail, cranberry or bearberry leaves.
During the disease, the animal's body especially needs folic acid, vitamins of groups A., B and C, as well as in the gland to prevent the development of anemia. For this purpose, the animal is prescribed:
- Ferrodextran (102 ml);
- Ursoferran (0,3 ml).
In order to establish a normal metabolism in the animal and stimulate all the functions of his body daily, give him Catazole, and at spasms and stomach pains give to a cat Dibazol or No-shpu.
Tips for treating the disease
So that your pet recovers faster and does not suffer from pain during the disease, consider the following tips:
-
if the cat is very vomiting and has diarrhea, don't scold her, and treat it, what happens with understanding. Take away stools and vomit in time, so that the cat does not have contact with them;
- in conjunctivitis of the eyes, you may need to clean them of manure, as well as to remove infectious secretions from the nose and snout;
- ventilate the room, where is the cat;
- do not lower the temperature in the room;
- limit the animal's contact with sunlight and constantly do wet cleaning;
- take care of that, so that there are no drafts in the room;
- do not force feed the animal. When she recovers, her appetite will return.
As for animal nutrition after recovery, then you should follow a certain diet: food should be light, you need to feed the cat more often, but in smaller portions. Wait with such products until complete recovery, as:
- greenery;
- cereals;
- vegetables;
- fruits.
This diet should be followed for about three months, then you can enter in the diet of animals accustomed to the disease dishes.
And remember, no matter how well you understand the treatment of animals from certain diseases, do not prescribe any drugs yourself. You should consult a veterinarian about everything, so as not to endanger the life of your pet.