In the article I will talk about the disease coranovirus infection in cats. I will list the causes of development, I will describe the main symptoms. I will tell you how coronavirus infection and gastroenteritis are diagnosed and treated. I will give the rules of prevention and vaccines.
Risk group, ways of transmission and causes of coronovirus infection
Throughout the world there are several different strains of coronaviruses, but in cats and cats there are only two of them:
- KKVK or intestinal coronavirus (FECV) - does not cause significant harm to the body of the animal.
- VIPK or coronary viral peritonitis (FIPV) - can lead to the death of a pet and causes severe pain.
The reasons and factors for the development of the disease include reduced animal immunity, stressful situations, age (kittens and old cats are most susceptible), heredity.
One of the causes of animal disease is stress
Symptoms of a Coronavirus in a Cat
Symptoms of the disease are directly dependent on what strain was ingested by the cat and how long the disease lasts.
KVKK or enteritis is manifested by severe diarrhea, which does not stop until 4 days. Cat vomits, she refuses to eat. Pets suffering from this form of the disease recover 4-5 days after the first symptoms.
FIPV or infectious peritonitis caused by a strain of the WIPC group can occur in two forms: dry and wet.
They are manifested by the following symptoms:
- loss of appetite and weight loss,
- fever up to 41-41.2 degrees,
- severe diarrhea and vomiting,
- conjunctivitis and nasal discharge
- anemia (anemia).
Diagnostic methods and treatment of a dangerous disease
The most effective method for detecting coronavirus infection is the latest and most recent test called VetExpert. With it, you can identify not only sick animals, but also latent carriers.
The second method - PCR, stands for polymerase chain reaction. For this method, as for the VetExpert test, fresh pet feces are needed.
Coronavirus infection, caused by the strain of the WIPO group, cannot be treated and always ends in death. All actions are aimed at alleviating the condition of the pet. In the wet form, accumulated liquid is pumped out of the abdominal cavity. Antibiotics and corticosteroids are also used to suppress symptoms.
Not all coronary virus strains can be cured.
How to care for sick animals
The sick pet must be isolated from other animals. Care is to provide the animal with comfortable conditions of detention. Since the digestive organs suffer from coronavirus infection, it is better to transfer the cat to a highly digestible diet. It is preferable to feed the pet with wet food Hills A / D.
Prevention and Vaccine
The only effective measure for the prevention of coronavirus infection is the vaccination with a drug called Primucell FIP according to the regimen. It is buried in the nose of the animal.
Here are other preventive measures that will reduce the risk of a pet being infected with a coronavirus:
- If cats live crowded (this applies to kennels or shelters), all premises and objects of use are regularly treated with a solution of ammonia (the ratio of the drug and water is 1 to 32).
- All adult manufacturers are periodically checked for virus carrier using the VetExpert test.
- The diet of the animal must be completely balanced.
- It is necessary to exclude pet walks on the street, especially for residents of big cities (in the courtyards of residential houses there are many infected animals that spread the virus of coronavirus).
Pets with strong immunity are able to cope with the virus on their own. If the cat is weakened by another disease, the probability of active reproduction of the pathogen in its body increases significantly.
So that the pet does not get sick, you need to vaccinate it in time.
Can the disease be transmitted to humans
This disease is dangerous exclusively for cats. Therefore, if your pet is sick, you can safely communicate with him and carry out all the necessary manipulations.
Coronavirus infection is a deadly disease. It can be asymptomatic, but the cat is still a source of infection. Keeping a pet in clean rooms and avoiding contact with stray animals will slightly reduce the risk of infection, but remember that the virus is dangerous even for those cats who do not go outside.
About coronoviral gastroenteritis in cats
In general, coronoviral gastroenteritis in cats has several names, which mean the same thing. So, coronovirus cats gastroenteritis otherwise called viral peritonitis cats or coronovirus infection. Disease affects all felines: pets of any breed, as well as wild cats. It is generally accepted to designate the disease with the letters FIP, an English abbreviation that abbreviates the long and complex English spelling of the infection - Feline Infectious Peritonitis.
Like any other infections, the disease is not able to manifest itself for a long time. Thus, the cat is a carrier of the virus until the infection feels weak in the body and breaks in immunity. This is the so-called incubation period, He sometimes accompanied by periodic diarrhea and diarrhea. If diarrhea becomes more permanentthen you should pay attention to this and consult your veterinarian. If the disease is not treated and allowed to motivate, then a fatal outcome is also likely.
- In total, the disease has two main forms, which coincide in their component with most other diseases:
Coronovirus gastroenteritis in cats: the standard mode of transmission
By itself this infectious diseasewhich is caused by a particular virus. is he enters the pet's body through the respiratory functions of a cat, for example, when sniffing an infected object, or through the mouth during, for example, food or licking. In another way it is called oral and nasal. Thus, the virus enters the body and begins to develop, gain momentum. If it enters the body immediately through the gastrointestinal tract, then at the onset of the disease the infection will seize the intestine and its epithelium, if through the nasal pathway, the epithelium of the respiratory tissues in the upper part will be infected.
The disease varies and is divided into different strains., which we mention later, but in any case, most often the disease is contagious enough. As the doctors say, the disease has a high degree of virulence. Especially if the animal lives in a nursery, shelter or in a hotel for animals. Infection is transmitted from one animal to another.
Infection with kittens coronavirus
Worth saying that pregnant cat cannot infect its baby in the wombBecause her antibody helps the cat's immunity, which means that it will not get sick. but after birth, the immune system only develops the first 6-8 weeksthat's why at this age it is worth especially to patronize the animal and isolate from other animals, just in case.
Coronovirus gastroenteritis in cats: transmission by other means
The risk of transmitting the disease after, for example, stroking another pet, is quite low. The disease is transmitted only through direct contact with another animal or through contact with the feces of these animals.. Therefore, it is worth limiting your pets from communicating with suspicious cats, especially if they are yard and homeless.
It is also worth remembering that for humans, the coronavirus is not dangerous. Also, the disease is not susceptible to dogs or other pets, only the cat family of all sexes and breeds.
Coronovirus gastroenteritis in cats: intestinal strain
Intestinal strain or otherwise intestinal coronavirusIf we talk about the abbreviation used throughout the world, it is FECV, which translates as Feline Enteric Coronavirus. All cats of any breed, gender and size are susceptible to the disease throughout the world, however, specifically, the infection has a low pathogen, which means that it is not so easy to provoke the disease. If the virus is ingested with the help of breathing or through the mouth, then it can either linger in it, or just asymptomatically leave it after some time.
Influences on the behavior of the virus, of course, pet immunity. After all if the immunity and health of the cat is in good conditionit means that the virus and the infection are recognized by the cells of the immune system and are removed by them. If the body is weak, the pet is restless and is haunted by stress, or is simply sick, then the body does not have the strength to fight, which means the infection starts to act and gain momentum. The disease manifests itself in the form of diarrhea and diarrhea, which has different degrees of severity, in particular, you should pay attention to a common phenomenon - blood in the pet's feces. It can be either large impurities or just mucus. Although seemingly cat is completely healthy.
- Further symptoms and clinical signs will be presented, but specifically for Feline Enteric Coronavirus, the symptoms are as follows:
All these symptoms are out of controltherefore, in such a state it is extremely difficult to transport the animal to the clinic and back even when using your own car. That is why we provide the service to call the vet at home. Possessing a multitude of reference points in Moscow and the Moscow region, we confidently declare that the veterinarian will arrive in an hour, 24 hours a day. The course of treatment and prophylaxis will be determined immediately.
Coronovirus gastroenteritis in cats: infectious peritonitis virus
Next comes the strain that causes infectious peritonitis pets or otherwise infectious peritonitis virus. Doctors around the world are known to call Feline Infectious Peritonitis Virus, or FIPV for short. If we talk about differences from FECV, then it has a high degree of pathogenicity and in almost all cases the fatal outcome is most likely, but the contagiousness is rather low. This means that although the pet is very sick and without proper treatment and the slightest delay, it is likely that it will die, but other pets will not be infected even with close proximity and contact with their relative.
Feline Infectious Peritonitis Virus and Feline Enteric Coronavirus are inextricably linked with each other, because the first is mutation of intestinal coronavirus strain. However, if the intestinal coronovirus lives and exists only in the tissues of the epithelium, then the feline peritonitis infection behind the mutation infects the immune system and its cells (their function and duty is to protect the body and absorb the cells and particles that should not be present there), and then it spreads to the whole body, affecting organs and various systems. It is capable of striking both partially and completely.
- Also isolated two clinical types of diseasethat depend on the voltage of immunity:
Because the disease is capable of infecting a large number of organsSymptoms also vary. To determine with the greatest probability why an organ hurts, only an experienced veterinarian is able to use special equipment.
In the greatest number of cases, the disease develops in the presence of anxiety and stress in the life of the pet, into a state of oppression and fear. Therefore, in moments of relocation or the arrival of guests must try to talk to the animals affectionately. You can not shout at a pet, because it can also trigger a chain reaction and cause a disease, which is difficult to treat and whose effects are not the most favorable if it is missed and detected only in the final stages of development.
Do not pull with the treatment, at the first symptoms, which we will discuss further, immediately contact your veterinarian. He will certainly help and prescribe an individual treatment for a cat. We will also talk further about the treatment of the disease, but there is still no one hundred percent guarantee that gastroenteritis will be cured, especially when it comes to the last stages.
Clinical signs of coronovirus gastroenteritis in cats
The danger of the disease is that it does not cause severe discomfort to pets, especially at the beginning. Bouts of diarrhea or vomiting with mucus or blood is often reduced to simple poisoning or indigestion, because throughout the next week, for example, the disease does not recur, and the pet does not give any signals that it has something to hurt. Blood and mucus in feces formed due to the fact that the infection destroys the epithelial tissue in the intestine and inflames it.
Also the danger of the disease lies in its long incubation period. After all, when infected, the cat is capable of carrying the disease in itself for almost the entire life, and the infection waits for a moment of weakness of the immune system and the body, striking a blow at the most unexpected moment, even in old age. Therefore, the cat most often feels good, if only the intestinal form of the infection into the feline peritonitis virus has not weakened and does not occur.
From the disease suffer completely different organs of the animal, therefore, the overall picture of the disease is all different and individual. In this feature and the fact that you cannot treat a pet yourself, because without diagnostics and research it is impossible to say what exactly hurts and what should be emphasized. However, in any case, if the pet has viral peritonitis, then it will have fever, low fever, apathy, lack of appetite, lethargy, and just general weakness. Kittens also suffer from problems with growth and condition of wool. Due to diarrhea and vomiting, which sometimes repeats often, the cat may be dehydrated.
Dry form of peritonitis - coronovirus gastroenteritis in cats
Exists dry form of peritonitis, which only a doctor is able to detect using a pet belly ultrasound. As symptoms, there is an increase in lymph and damage to the nervous system. The dry form is able to last a cat for several months, and mortality here, unfortunately, reaches almost one hundred percent..
- Worth mentioning major signs of a dry infection:
Wet form of peritonitis - coronoviral gastroenteritis in cats
There are also wet disease, when the chest and belly of the animal are inflamed, fluid accumulates in these areas, and they, in turn, develop respiratory failure.
- It also has certain the symptomswhich differ from the dry form:
Diagnosis of Diseases and Infections of Coronovirus Gastroenteritis in Cats
Sure to true diagnose a disease With such complex symptoms, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive and detailed examination of the body, studying the abnormalities in each of the organs. Ultrasound and X-rays of individual parts and organs are produced. If the animal has died, an autopsy is performed.
Also held and laboratory researchfor which you want to study the blood, feces, smear and washout from the rectum. Also, the wash is taken from the abdominal cavity and chest cavity. After examining the washout and feces using PCR, the presence of an intestinal coronavirus is determined. Blood and effusion are also examined for pet peritonitis using PCR or ELISA assays. It is necessary to understand that it also happens that the peritonitis virus and intestinal disease often occur at the same time and if this type of disease is not recognized in time, the treatment becomes even more difficult and sometimes even fatal.
In determining the disease with ultrasound, it is often the intestines and its inflammation that are often noted, the presence of fluids, some organs change their structure, most often it is the liver, kidney, spleen, and also deposits in the sternum and belly. Enlarged lymph.
Treatment of the disease coronoviral gastroenteritis in cats, as well as its prevention
If the pet has a strong immunity, as well as a healthy and well-prepared physical form, the veterinarians are able to identify the disease with the help of the means described above. If the infection was determined during the incubation period, this does not mean that it should not be treated. Indeed, at any time the body is able to give up slack, which means that the infection will start its work immediately, which often leads to death. In this case, experienced veterinarians prescribe natural virus removal surgery, which is called elimination.
Total the operation lasts about two to three weeksIn some cases it lasts longer and reaches several months. Myself coronovirus уже не опасен для питомца после проведения процедур, однако в кале он все равно будет сохраняться, а значит есть риск заражения других кошек, поэтому стоит быть осторожным и если в доме живет несколько питомцев, надо чаще убирать лоток и следить за его стерильностью. Стоит также соблюдать общую гигиену и дезинфицировать местаthat the virus carrier interacts with.
There are no drugs that can cure the disease completely, one hundred percent. Doctors can only guarantee the overall quality of life of the cat, as well as prevent the development of the disease to the stages from which there is no way out. If a pet is struck by an intestinal coronavirus of gastroenteritis, then they are able to live until old age without any complications, moreover, an examination of the veterinarian throughout all these years is not even necessary, because the disease is asymptomatic.
If this infectious peritonitisthen life after the defeat of the body, can end after several months. It all depends on the experience of the veterinarian and the stage at which the disease was detected. However, most often, veterinarians only promise to alleviate the condition for some time and the overall life expectancy is reduced several times. In general, the treatment depends on, as already mentioned, the stage of the disease and the general individual characteristics of the cat. After all, various organs are affected and carry different consequences.
Coronovirus gastroenteritis in cats - prevention
- There are methods to save the animal before infection:
Coronovirus gastroenteritis in cats - conclusion
To avoid infection or to start treating coronovirus gastroenteritis in cats in time, as has been said more than once, it is worth following the pet more closely. Pay attention to all the deviations that you notice, especially if these are the deviations and symptoms presented in this article. Watch the behavior of the cat is also after the move or any other stressful situation for her, because at these moments she is most susceptible to the disease of any virus.
One thing is for sure: you can not deal with the diagnosis and even more so treatment yourself. After all, in this way the owner will only harm the pet, aggravate the situation and then, perhaps, the pet can no longer be saved.
In order not to be in a similar situation, call the doctor to the house from our veterinary center “I-VET”! This is convenient from the point of view of planning time and day, because the doctor arrives within an hour, and it is also useful for a cat to at least bring him stress and inconvenience. We work on European technologies only with the best specialists and veterinarians in the business, and this means that the pets are in knowledgeable and loving hands!
Ways of infection
Coronavirus FCoV is introduced orally or nasally into the cat's body if a particle of the feces of a sick animal has entered her mouth or nose. The virus can remain viable in the external environment for up to 7 days, and in the body of an animal-virus carrier it can survive in “sleep mode” for up to a year, until it receives favorable conditions for reproduction.
The disease is most often recorded in cats under the age of two years, as well as in individuals older than 10-12 years. Cats in large groups are most at risk: the inhabitants of kennels and cat shelters. Domestic cats that have little contact with their relatives, according to statistics, give less than 10% of cases from the total number of coronavirus gastroenteritis. The risk of transmitting infection to a domestic cat by a person is small, but still exists. This is possible in the case of feces of a cat suffering from coronavirus gastroenteritis on the clothes or hands of the cat owner.
Important! A cat suffering from coronavirus gastroenteritis cannot infect a kitten through the placenta during its prenatal development. But after the birth of kittens they are recommended to isolate from the sick mother.
The FCoV virus, once ingested by a cat, nests in the intestinal mucosa. In the presence of favorable conditions (a fall in animal immunity, transferred stress, unhealthy diet), the infectious agent begins to multiply rapidly, causing inflammation of the intestinal mucosa, and then the stomach. The secretory and motor functions of the gastrointestinal tract are impaired, and catarrh of the stomach and intestines develops.
The symptoms of gastroenteritis in cats are usually quite vivid, and it is difficult not to notice them. It:
- diarrhea,
- vomiting
- poor appetite
- blood and mucus in the stool,
- in severe cases - fever.
The animal becomes apathetic, ceases to care for itself, the look dull. When trying to drink water or something to eat - "dry" emetic urge.
Attention! Often, the owner of the cat takes the above symptoms for a common intestinal disorder, and tries to cure the pet on her own. This can not be done: coronavirus gastroenteritis can be fraught with serious consequences. If not properly treated, the relatively safe FCoV virus can mutate to a highly virulent FIPV strain that causes peritonitis, often resulting in death.
Strains and symptoms of coronoviral gastroenteritis in cats
The coronavirus gastroenteritis itself differs by groups of virus strains:
• Intestinal strains or intestinal coronavirus of cats, in the English-language literature, this strain is designated Feline Enteric Coronavirus or FECV. This strain has a high degree of contagion for all members of the feline family (highly contagious), but the probability of provoking viral peritonitis of cats is very small (low pathogenic). After penetration into the body in one way or another, the virus can begin its reproduction or be completely removed from the body. It depends entirely on the immunological status of the animal. With a favorable outcome, all viral particles are recognized and removed by cells of the immune system, with a not favorable outcome, the animal is the carrier of cats' coronavirus gastroenteritis. If the carrier of the infection is in a state of constant stress or suffers concomitant diseases, then the coronavirus infection can manifest itself with diarrhea of varying severity or blood and mucus in the stool in a healthy cat.
inflammation of the digestive tract,
blood and mucus in the stool,
• Strains that cause infectious peritonitis of cats or the virus of infectious peritonitis of cats, in the English-language literature - Feline Infectious Peritonitis Virus (FIPV). FIPV, in contrast to FECV, has a high degree of pathogenicity (a sick animal has almost 100% mortality), but at the same time extremely low contagiousness. This means that an animal infected with a cat's peritonitis virus will die with a high degree of probability, but other members of the feline family can hardly become infected when they come in contact with it. Intestinal coronavirus and feline infectious peritonitis virus are two strains of the same virus closely related to each other.
FIPV is a product of a mutation of the intestinal coronavirus strain, but if the intestinal coronavirus is tropen to the intestinal epithelium (it multiplies and feeds only in the intestinal epithelium cells), after mutation, cats peritonitis virus affects macrophages (immune cells, the function of which is the absorption of foreign cells and particles) and spreads throughout the body, so infectious peritonitis affects all organs and systems to one degree or another.
Depending on the intensity of cellular immunity in a sick animal, viral peritonitis of cats has two clinical forms of flow: dry and effluent. The dry form develops rather slowly, and the exudate is more transient. Symptoms of infectious peritonitis are of little specific and at the initial stages can have very diverse manifestations, depending on the degree of damage of a particular system of organs and tissues.
Clinical signs
Intestinal coronavirus infection, as a rule, does not cause cats great anxiety and is manifested by periodic bouts of diarrhea of varying severity or impurities in the stool of mucus and / or blood (a sign of destruction of the intestinal mucosa and inflammation of the intestine). After a single infection, animals become lifelong carriers of the infection. In general, cats infected with coronavirus gastroenteritis, feel normal, if there is no mutation of the intestinal form of the virus in the peritonitis virus of cats.
Animals infected with viral peritonitis of cats have a very diverse clinical picture, which depends both on the form of the clinical course and on which organ system has suffered the most from a viral invasion. Most often, if the cat is sick with viral peritonitis, we can observe a fever or, on the contrary, a pronounced decrease in body temperature, general exhaustion, refusal of food, lethargy. If we talk about kittens, then sick animals lag far behind in growth and have a generally not very well-groomed appearance. Severe dehydration is observed against the background of persistent vomiting and diarrhea.
For the dry form of infectious peritonitis in cats, it is characteristic of detecting granulomatous formations in the abdominal cavity during ultrasound, an increase in lymph nodes, and symptoms of central nervous system lesions are often present. The dry form of infectious peritonitis in cats can last up to several months. Mortality rate is 100%.
Symptoms of dry form of peritonitis:
- high temperature
- loss of appetite,
- weight loss,
- dehydration due to frequent vomiting,
- diarrhea,
- low pet hardness
With effusive form of viral peritonitis, exudative inflammation in the thoracic and abdominal cavities is observed in sick cats, and as a result, fluid accumulation in the thoracic and / or abdominal cavities, which provokes the development of symptoms of respiratory failure.
Symptoms of wet peritonitis:
low pet activity.
increase in the volume of the abdomen (for ascites)
heart and respiratory failure (with hydrothorax),
the animal cannot lie down due to accumulations of fluid in the abdominal or chest cavity.
Diagnosis of coronoviral gastroenteritis in cats
Diagnosis of coronavirus infection is carried out comprehensively, on the basis of laboratory tests, ultrasound, x-rays and autopsy (in case of death of the animal).
For laboratory testing, animals take blood, feces, washings from the rectum and free fluid from the abdominal or chest cavity (if any). Through the study of swabs from the rectum and feces by PCR, we determine the presence of the intestinal form of the coronavirus. Blood and free fluid (effusion) from serous cavities of the body are examined for the detection of feline peritonitis virus by PCR or antibodies to it by means of an ELISA assay. It must be remembered that both an intestinal form of the infection and the peritonitis virus can be simultaneously detected in one animal.
Typical ultrasound signs of the disease are inflammation of the intestines, detection of free fluid, altered structure of the kidneys, liver and spleen, with a dry form of fibrinous deposits on the serous membranes of the chest and abdomen, an increase in all mesenteric lymph nodes.
Prevention and treatment of coronavirus gastroenteritis
If coronary gastroenteritis is diagnosed in cats, treatment can support the quality of life, but will not bring a complete cure. The life of the animal depends on what kind of infection struck the body, with the intestinal form of coronavirus gastroenteritis can live a good life, even without the assistance of a veterinary specialist. But if an animal is infected with a virus of infectious peritonitis, then the life expectancy (since the onset of infection), as a rule, does not exceed several months. Veterinary care for sick animals is aimed at alleviating the general condition and is symptomatic. The course of treatment is prescribed strictly individually and depends on which organ systems are affected to a greater degree.
How to protect the animal from the disease?
• Try to avoid contact with large groups of animals. Do not let out on the street, do not leave in the nursery for a while.
• Keep your pet clean.
• Do not overcool or overheat the pet.
• Ensure that the partner chosen for mating is healthy.
• Do not give contact to the pet with other animals during transportation and at exhibitions.
• Isolate kittens up to 4 months. When infected with coronavirus gastroenteritis, the treatment of young animals (up to 4 months) in most cases does not bring results. And even if the disease is detected at an early stage, the animal will most likely die. The main sign of infection with even the safest strain is stunting. The kitten should be isolated, and all pets should be checked for infection.
