Oh… a while ago I was starting to write an article about being rescued and I was going to use the story of a Siamese cat given up by its owner. I started that story and never got to finish it. As the days have passed since that cat was euthanized, life took a strange turn for this cat adopter. You see, that little Siamese cat was turned over to be admitted to a local clinic. Since he was going to be boarded, he needed to be vaccinated. The owner’s health did not improve and the Siamese cat was released to the shelter. Shortly thereafter, he fell ill while sheltered and then went to be treated at a leading clinic in our area, where he remained hospitalized for 2 weeks. After several weeks of treatment for nosebleeds, sneezing and not eating, they thought he was well enough to go to foster care to finish his recovery. Unfortunately a few days later he died of unknown causes.
His story was going to be about a broken heart as it was clear the owner gifted this little guy. He was comfortable, friendly, outgoing and curious, and with recovery he should have been a wonderful companion. The clinic never had a firm diagnosis of what was wrong with her, but it ranged from an upper respiratory infection with nosebleeds to a yeast infection. Two days later, the foster cat basically collapsed and became lethargic, not eating, and was taken back to the clinic. A vet tech saw him there and they sent him back to me to syringe feed him in the hope that he would come back. The next morning he was vomiting what was injected into him and they took him back to the clinic. This time he was euthanized, the shelter simply wasn’t willing to pay for further testing or treatment. The vet said “there must be another disease process and he just evaded all care and testing of him.”
About 10 days later, my sugar cat Atlas showed up one morning with a bloody nose and not eating. Recognizing a possible connection, I took Atlas to the vet that day. As the exam progressed, the need for sedation and x-rays to determine what was causing the nosebleeds became apparent. I told Dr. Nappier, DVM at Westlake Animal Hospital about the foster Siamese cat and that the other clinic had never found the diagnosis. Dr. Nappier acknowledged the information but said it was probably unrelated. Atlas received an antibiotic injection and was sent home.
The next morning Atlas appeared much worse and we did a follow-up which then led to the suspicion of acute pancreatitis. The vet did some blood tests to confirm the diagnosis. Atlas also had an EKG as he had developed a cardiac arrhythmia and potassium supplementation was also started. So more fluids and directions on how to treat this new diagnosis.
On the third day, Atlas was seriously ill. Dr. Nappier called me that morning and started asking me about that little foster Siamese cat. The reason is that the Atlas white blood cell count should have been high for pancreatitis. He wasn’t tall, he was almost non-existent. Pancreatitis was not the correct diagnosis. Was the Siamese fully vaccinated against Panleukopenia? With a few phone calls to the shelter, the vet learned that he had been vaccinated upon admission at the boarding center before being transferred to the shelter. But this particular vaccine needs a booster 3-4 weeks later and it is unknown if the Siamese cat ever received that booster. It should also be given before an animal is boarded. It takes several weeks for the animal’s immune response to develop, otherwise the pet is at risk of panleukopenia.
I canceled some client appointments and rushed home for Atlas to see Dr. Nappier again. When I found Atlas, he was lying in a pool of liquid stench. A liquid puddle of diarrhea like water like he had never seen before. Using a rapid canine test for Parvo confirmed Dr. Nappier’s suspicion. The diagnosis: panleukopenia, also known as feline distemper. All the symptoms finally fell into place: a very unusual case.
With a confirmed diagnosis, I contacted Venita at Diabetic Cats in Need, to let her know and tell her that I was going to put Atlas to sleep. I just don’t have the money to cover the thousands of dollars needed for a 24/7 treatment center that a deadly disease like this requires. And given what an unlikely recovery would be, it would be an unwise use of DCIN funds. As far as I knew, and even Venita thought, this diagnosis was a death sentence. After what seemed like a four-way conversation between Dr. Nappier, the local internal medicine specialist, Venita, and myself, we decided to give Atlas one more try. Dr. Nappier believed we caught this just as the clinical signs were starting to appear and he strongly advocated not euthanizing but trying the Tamiflu protocol instead. We would know in a few days if it would work. While there are some downsides to not going to a 24/7 center, Venita approved of the treatment plan.
I am on the rescue and I know how vital vaccinations are for my cats, but this situation left a serious question. If Atlas was vaccinated, how did he get this? A detailed review of his case file revealed that the initial dosing was done incorrectly at the shelter and the damn second booster was skipped. Atlas has seen 3 different vets in the last 2 years and none caught this bug. And the chance of him coming into contact with this deadly virus as a house cat is pretty slim. Dr. Nappier said that he “would have to come into contact with a stray dog.” Atlas never had direct contact with any stray cats and even the foster Siamese kitten was in an isolated foster room. I disinfected the foster room with a 10:1 bleach solution after the cat died. But, panleukopenia is transmissible if it comes into contact with the handler’s shoes, clothes or hands. No one knew what disease process that little foster cat had. So, for several days, I didn’t know that I should follow the protocol for a highly contagious disease. Clinics and shelters are not supposed to release animals like this without disclosing them to the keepers or owners. This also opened the door to not only Atlas getting sick, but also any feline clients he was caring for.
There are varying degrees of anxiety about vaccinating cats. Vaccines that can cause cancer (sarcoma vaccine) are one of them. But as I watched Atlas struggle to overcome a virus that he kills in less than 12 hours after clinical symptoms, I have to wonder why an owner would choose not to use some of the new vaccines. FVRC (covers Rhinotracheitis and Calici) is available as a new nasally administered vaccine. There is also a nasal version that includes Panleukopenia, but the injectable vaccine is more effective.
As I have discussed with Venita, it took a perfect storm of missteps for Atlas to catch this horrible virus. And I realize, as I discussed at length with Dr. Nappier, that the odds of this exact situation happening were almost impossible. I feel like I need to create a timeline to show how the almost impossible happened. So this article is a bit long. Note that the internal medicine specialist said that she has not seen an adult case of feline distemper in 20 years of practice. The vet insists that thanks to the incredible efficacy of the vaccine, panleukopenia has almost been eradicated in adult cats. It’s pretty much relegated these days to feral colonies, hatcheries, housing facilities, and shelters.
As for breaking the news to my pet-sitting clients, it went surprisingly well, except for one client. The news for her was devastating as she has refused to vaccinate an older cat in her home. She thought he was too old to handle her yearbooks. While my vet insists that even a series of puppies from feline distemper would protect him and if he got annuals up to 5 years ago he’ll be fine. Of course, I can’t say those things to my client. All I can tell her is to check with her own vet. It is up to her and her vet if they want to take any preventive action.
So Attie’s life was at risk due to a series of unimaginable missteps, not as an intentional choice not to vaccinate, as I strongly advocate that pets be vaccinated according to the new feline protocols every two years or every three years. And with the advent of the ultranasal vaccine series for FVRCP, I see little to no reason not to. I know my business brings me into contact with a lot of pets that may or may not be properly vaccinated and in the world of pet sitting we are often called upon to care for pets because owners don’t want to subject pets to the additional vaccinations required by the accommodation or the possible diseases that may come with the shipment.
Just because your pets are kept at home, they don’t live in an isolation room and anyone can potentially bring a deadly disease into your home. It could be a friend, a neighbor, his children who contacted the stray cat outside, or even his pet sitter from another animal on his route.
So if you decided not to keep your pets’ basic vaccinations up to date a few years ago, maybe check with your vet again about new advances and changes in protocol. Think about that little foster Siamese cat that died and my Atlas, how unlikely the scenario is. A week ago, Atlas lay in a cage in an isolation unit at Westlake Animal Hospital fighting for his life. Diabetic Cats in Need is very kindly raising funds to help pay for his care.
Concerns about sarcoma vaccination, the fact that a cat is elderly, or this scenario, you have a choice and there are newer options available.