Questions about FIP and panleukopenia exposure

I want to bring one of my outside only cat's into my house permanently
but I'm afraid of exposing my indoor cats to diseases. I'm mostly
worried about FIP and Panleukopenia as I'm told there is no accurate
tests for these two diseases.

I'd like to know what precautions I should take before bringing this
cat into the house and exposing it to my other cats. Some of them are
up-to-date on their distemper (Panleukopenia) vaccination but some are
not since they are unhealthy (herpes and calici virus).

The cat I want to bring in had blood tests done which came back normal
and there's nothing else wrong with her except that she has bad teeth
(tartar buildup) and her eyes are very slightly watery (I suspect
herpes). If I quarantine this cat for 1 week and she displays no
symptoms will that be enough to tell me that she doesn't have FIP and
Panleukopenia?

I'll certainly ask the vet about this but I do like to hear the
experiences and opinions of other cat owners.

"Mikey" wrote in message
ps.com...
I want to bring one of my outside only cat's into my house permanently
but I'm afraid of exposing my indoor cats to diseases. I'm mostly
worried about FIP and Panleukopenia as I'm told there is no accurate
tests for these two diseases.

I'd like to know what precautions I should take before bringing this
cat into the house and exposing it to my other cats. Some of them are
up-to-date on their distemper (Panleukopenia) vaccination but some are
not since they are unhealthy (herpes and calici virus).

The cat I want to bring in had blood tests done which came back normal
and there's nothing else wrong with her except that she has bad teeth
(tartar buildup) and her eyes are very slightly watery (I suspect
herpes). If I quarantine this cat for 1 week and she displays no
symptoms will that be enough to tell me that she doesn't have FIP and
Panleukopenia?

I'll certainly ask the vet about this but I do like to hear the
experiences and opinions of other cat owners.


A period of quarantine is always a good idea. If this cat has watery eyes it
wouldn't be surprising to have her develop and URI when she first comes in.
You don't need that spreading through the whole population. It's a good idea
to do a gradual introduction any time you bring in a new cat from any source
as this reduces stress on all the animals. With cats who are know to have
health issues (Herpes etc) I'd be more likely to give it more time. I hope
MaryL doesn't mind me posting this link. It shows in pictures the steps she
took introducing her cats http://tinyurl.com/8y54

You'll have to ask the vet how to best protect your guys from panleuk and
how long it would be prudent to isolate the cat. I would imagine that the
outside cat would no longer present a danger after some time had passed
after she was vaccinated.

Also be aware that the panleukopenia virus can live off the cat in the
environment for up to a year and normal household cleaners and disinfectants
don't kill the virus. A 32:1 bleach solution will clean up panleuk but
obviously that can't be used on all surfaces in a home. The virus can be
spread on caretakers hands and clothing.

If it hasn't been all that long since your cats have been vaccinated for
this they might still be protected. One of my cats has damaged kidneys and
the vet told me this year that he didn't want to give her the distemper
shot. I had her tested instead to make sure she was still protected by the
previous years vaccinations and she was. I don't know what he's going to do
when she no longer is. I foster for a rescue group. I hope I won't have to
stop doing that.

As far as FIP, it's not contagious. FIP is a mutation of the corona virus
and each cat who has FIP has manufactured their own. The corona virus is
quite contagious but your inside cats are just as likely to have it as the
outside ones, in some cases more likely. The corona virus is spread
primarily through sharing litter boxes. The virus is shed in feces. Multiple
cats use same litter box, then clean themselves and ingest the virus. Some
80% - 90% of cats will be exposed at some time in their lives but only a
small percentage of them will ever end up with FIP. In multi-cat homes where
there are three or less cats it's likely that they all will clear the virus
uneventfully within a year or so. Sometimes you have a chronic shedder and
in that case or when there are more than a few cats they can just keep
re-infecting each other. They don't know what makes one cat mutate FCoV into
FIP and another not but they believe stress and genetic predisposition can
play a role. Young cats, under 3, and older cats, over 13, are most
susceptible to this.

They can test for presence of the corona virus but that is not an indicator
of whether the cat will ever develop FIP. Some cats with very high titers
will not ever get FIP and others that have low titers will. The testing is
only useful to monitor whether a particular group of cats is clearing the
virus and to try to detect chronic shedders.

A more useful way to minimize the likelihood of FIP is not to have large
groups of cats sharing litter boxes and to scoop the boxes frequently to
reduce the likelihood of one cat coming in contact with the feces of
another. There should also be at least one box per cat and some recommend an
extra box.

"Mikey" wrote in message
ps.com...
I want to bring one of my outside only cat's into my house permanently
but I'm afraid of exposing my indoor cats to diseases. I'm mostly
worried about FIP and Panleukopenia as I'm told there is no accurate
tests for these two diseases.

First of all, there is an accurate test for panlekopenia- CITE Canine
Parvovirus Test Kit from IDEXX Labs. Although the test kit isn't licensed
for feline panleukopenia it will detect FPV antigen in feline feces. The
test it totally unnecessary for adult cats.

If your resident cat received the FVRCPanleukopenia/parvovirus vaccine as a
kitten or was innoculated by natural exposure, she would be immune for at
least 9 years- and probably for life. Panleukopenia is primarly a disease of
kittens. Adult cats *rarely* if ever develop clinical panleuk.

As far as FIP-- Cats with FIP usually don't shed FIP virus, because the
mutant virus is present only in the lesions within the body. The only virus
that most of them shed is the parent enteric coronavirus. This means no two
cases of FIP are caused by the same virus, and that horizontal transmission,
i.e., cat-to-cat transfer is the exception rather than the rule. The
mutation to FIP virus is very uncommon- so, other cats exposed to a cat with
FIP have the same low risk of developing FIP as any cat infected with the
benign parent feline enteric coronavirus.

Stop worrying and just get your outside cat checked out for the usual
suspects and then bring him in. Just be sure to introduce him to your other
cats s-l-o-wl-y.

http://maxshouse.com/introducing_cats.htm

Best of luck,

Phil