Sad NOVA Cat Foster Update

Four new kittens came to NOVA Cat Fosters on December 12th. They were very skinny and covered with diarrhea. They were bathed and then treated for parasites and vaccinated. One of the kittens was weaker than the other ones so he received an infusion of plasma from Emme. The kittens have been doing well and the team is working to socialize the kittens.

Today one of the boys started head pressing the water bowl. Dr Wootton and the team worked very hard to save him, but unfortunately he expired. It appears that he may have had distemper. This virus is a parvo virus similar to the one that attacks dogs. The virus attacks rapidly dividing cells in the gastrointestinal tract. This causes vomiting and diarrhea. Kittens then get very dehydrated and this usually results in death.

Even though these kittens were vaccinated, this one did not mount an immune response. The recommendation is for kittens to be inoculated every 3-4 weeks until they are over 16 weeks of age. These vaccines are very important since parvo is a very resilient virus and challenging to eliminate in the environment.

We will continue working with these orphans. You donations to the Chris Griffey Feline Memorial Fund help us to care for these kittens.  Your donations are tax deductible. Thank you for all of you help and support.