Each owner knows how hard it is when pets get sick. And the first thing to do in this case is to consult a veterinarian. Only a qualified specialist can make the correct diagnosis and conduct effective treatment on time. Today we want to talk about coronavirus in cats. This serious illness annually kills dozens of domestic animals. Unvaccinated murks are especially susceptible to it. However, vaccination is not always a 100% guarantee that your pet will not get sick. Therefore, it is extremely important to know what this disease is in order not to miss the first symptoms when the animal can still be saved.
What is this disease?
Coronavirus in a cat is an infectious disease caused by Feline Coronavirus (FCoV). This is a very insidious and infectious virus that infects almost all cats that encounter it. That is why vaccination is the best helper for each owner, especially if your animal freely goes outside and can contact other cats. Below we will talk more about the features of the course of the disease and first aid so that you are fully equipped.
Coronavirus in a cat is primarily characterized by serious damage to the abdominal organs, which in some cases is fraught with complications and can lead to death. And the disease got its name because of the typical form of the pathogen, which can be seen through a microscope. Its shell is covered with protrusions that create a halo or crown. Moreover, coronaviruses cause not one but several diseases. Among them is feline infectious peritonitis, which is incurable, as well as coronavirus enteritis. These are related strains of the same viruses, which are completely harmless to humans.
Features of the disease
As usual, most often the coronavirus in a cat manifests itself at a very young age, that is, small kittens are primarily affected by it. Of course, the fatal outcome in this case is also accelerated by the fact that dehydration of a small body can occur in a matter of hours. The virus infects the mucous membrane of the small intestine, resulting in diarrhea and diarrhea. However, the first sign is vomiting, and only then it goes into diarrhea, which lasts 2-4 days. After this comes either the death of the animal, or recovery. However, even after complete recovery, it remains a carrier of the virus, which means it is potentially dangerous for its relatives.
Various options for the course of the disease
We have already touched a little on the fact that pets tolerate even such a serious illness in different ways. It depends on many factors: age, vaccinations, the state of the body (weakening against the background of another disease, exhaustion), and so on. In general, experts identify four scenarios.
1) In most cases (up to 50%), an infected cat is ill with severe symptoms of diarrhea. Then comes the clinical recovery. However, the virus is excreted along with feces for a rather long time. Normally, this is 1-2 months, then the body's immune response is formed. However, if the body is weakened, the process can drag on for up to nine months.
2) In about ten percent of cases, domestic animals that have become infected with this virus are doomed to death. That is, in one of ten cats, infectious coronavirus enteritis develops into an incurable form due to a mutation of a relatively harmless virus. A mutated virus exits the intestines into the tissues of the body and irreversible pathological processes begin. In almost 100% of cases of such a turn of events, the animal is waiting for death. Therefore, it is necessary to think in advance about the prevention of the disease, especially since veterinary services in terms of vaccination are more affordable than treatment.
3) Chronic course of the disease. It happens this way: a coronavirus infection enters the body and meets the resistance of the immune system. In this case, the animal does not have enough forces to completely defeat the virus. In this case, it remains healthy, with the exception of chronic diarrhea (in rare cases), which the owners will treat with all available means with varying degrees of success. That is, throughout life, these cats will be the spread of infection.
4) Coronavirus infection does not affect all animals, there are separate individuals that do not suffer from this disease at all, it is resistant to the carrier. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to identify this resistance gene and learn how to transfer it to others.
Sources of disease
Feline enteritis, as it is also called, is transmitted from individual to individual. Sources of infection are feces from sick cats or carriers. At the same time, the danger is not only the trays themselves. These are scoops and care items, as well as toys. We must not forget that exclusively home content does not exclude the possibility of a disease. Caring people can bring home fragments of wool or tiny particles of secretions on their clothes and shoes. If you have several cats, you should always be on your guard. In the first days after infection, the virus is contained in saliva, so feeding from the same bowl, as well as the love of these animals to lick each other, can lead to sad consequences.
But the coronavirus in kittens with adult disease is not so strongly associated. The fact is that he does not cross the placenta from the mother to the kittens, he is not in milk. Up to 5-7 weeks of age, maternal antibodies are enough in the blood of babies, so they are not afraid of such an ailment. However, after a month and a half, the level of antibodies in the body begins to drop sharply, and now routine vaccination is necessary, otherwise the likelihood of getting sick in crumbs increases sharply.
Causes of infection
We will dwell a little more on this moment in order to better reveal the features of this ailment. By the way, sometimes the clinical picture is not clear, as we described above, but blurry. For several days, the animal may be lethargic, eat poorly or completely refuse to feed, but diarrhea and vomiting in the cat are not observed, which means that the suspicion of coronavirus does not fall. As a result, when the symptoms clear up, it may be too late. Therefore, it is very important to get veterinary services in a good clinic where experienced doctors work.
Specialists in the field of veterinary medicine have been researching this disease for a very long time. In the course of them, it was found that quite often in the intestines of feline representatives the coronavirus is found in a sleeping state. If conditions suitable for the virus arise, it assumes an aggressive form and causes intestinal inflammation, or mutates altogether. Moreover, in most cases, risk groups are young animals and cats that have reached 11-12 years. Veterinarians are trying to figure out what exactly is the trigger for starting the development of the disease, but the number one task is to identify the genetic or other characteristics of the body that allow the individual to remain completely immune to the virus. This would open a new round in the history of veterinary medicine.
Coronavirus in cats: symptoms
We have already touched on the manifestation of the disease, but now we will consider this issue in more detail. Of course, the appearance of various symptoms directly depends on the severity of the infection. Let us separately consider the manifestation of the enteritis virus and infectious peritonitis, which some veterinarians consider a complication of the underlying disease. This is actually just a related strain of the same disease.
So, coronavirus enteritis. By the way, it is not transmitted to other domestic animals, in particular dogs. In dogs, there is another form of enteritis, which proceeds with its own characteristics. It is characterized primarily by symptoms of an intestinal upset. This is diarrhea, sometimes vomiting, possibly an appetite disorder, but all these symptoms can go away on their own. Sometimes they are accompanied by lacrimation or runny nose. Nevertheless, the condition of the cat needs to be closely monitored. Long-term diarrhea leads to the fact that the body weakens, which means that there is every chance that the intestinal infection will turn into a chronic disease with a protracted course and a possible fatal outcome.
Infectious Peritonitis
The picture looks much more serious if a mutation of the virus is observed. It is not completely clear why this is happening, but feline infectious peritonitis is very familiar to veterinarians. By the way, it is this severe, often incurable form of the disease that is not transmitted from animal to animal, but develops in a specific organism. The virus itself can be transmitted to another cat, but in most cases it will be a milder, enteric form of the disease.
Peritonitis develops at first without vivid symptoms. This may be fatigue or mild apathy, decreased appetite, or mild vomiting. However, symptoms gradually increase, depression intensifies, weight decreases, mucous membranes turn pale, anemia appears, ascites may occur. Vital activity of the virus poisons the body, so the more it accumulates in the tissues, the more pronounced is the violation of the kidneys and liver. The next symptom is damage to the nervous system, convulsions and muscle atony develop.
Two forms of infectious peritonitis
This is another feature of this disease. The acute form is wet peritonitis. In this case, blood vessels are seriously affected. This causes leakage of protein in the form of effusion in the body cavity. This usually leads to fluid accumulation in the abdominal or pleural cavity. People call it dropsy. The ascites form is most often manifested in young animals and kittens, in which the immune system reacts violently to the virus and is equally quickly depleted. As a result, fluid accumulates in the cavities, the stomach begins to resemble a pear. The disease develops quickly enough.
The second form (dry) is the chronic course of a viral illness. At the same time, nodules (granulomas) appear in a number of organs, and the severity of the development of the disease depends on which organs and to what extent were affected. This form is typical of adult animals with strong immunity. A longer course is characteristic of it. The animal loses much weight, but retains interest in life. It also happens that both forms of the disease are present at the same time, but one can pass into the other.
Disease prevention
Any trouble is easier to prevent, so from the first day a kitten appears in your house, be sure to choose a practicing veterinarian for it. Of course, it is very convenient for the reception point to be as close to your home as possible. The work schedule is also important, because help may be required at any time of the day or night. Today, almost every clinic has a service "veterinarian home". This is also very convenient in the sense that your animal will not come into contact with carriers of other infections that are being admitted to the clinic. This is extremely important at the time of vaccination, which is the first and most important means of preventing this viral disease.
They searched for a vaccine against coronavirus for a long time, this is an unusual infection, so there is nothing surprising in this. As a result of many studies, scientists were able to change the virus so that it became afraid of high temperatures. That is, the natural temperature of the cat's body (38.5 - 39) became fatal for him. At the same time, the temperature in the nose of the animal is lower, about 36 degrees. Therefore, the medicine is instilled into the nose, then the altered virus spreads through the mucous membranes, but cannot enter the intestines, since the high temperature kills it. And the body learns to make antibodies. That is, the best prevention of coronavirus is vaccination. However, this method is not 100% reliable. Even a vaccinated animal can become sick with close and prolonged contact. But at the same time, the course of the disease will most likely be mild. So the coronavirus vaccine does not completely exclude it, but in most cases it guarantees that your pet will survive it normally and develop its own immunity.
Clinical researches
Most veterinary clinics in Moscow are equipped with modern laboratories, whose specialists have a fairly wide range of methods for research and detection of coronavirus infection. First of all, it is a blood or plasma sampling to determine the presence of antibodies to this virus. If it is present in the body, the analysis will give a positive result. However, this does not answer the question of where exactly to look for it, in the intestines or soft tissues.
The second most popular is the analysis of feces. The analysis may be positive for excretion of the virus with feces. However, a negative result does not guarantee that the virus is not present in the body. Therefore, veterinary clinics in Moscow use this method as an additional.
Finally, in modern laboratories, serum titer of antibodies and feline coronavirus can be determined. This analysis will help to make a conclusion about the development of infection and its presence. In this case, the doctor can make predictions regarding the outcome of the disease by the number of antibodies.
Coronavirus Treatment
In fact, the main thing is not to start the disease. The first symptoms should be immediately addressed to the clinic, and the veterinarian who has called home can also provide the necessary assistance. The first drugs that are used to combat this ailment are antiviral drugs. These are sources of interferon, ribaverine, and immunomodulators. What do they give? Their mission is to slow down the reproduction of the virus in the cells and give the body a chance to cope with it. That is, they do not have a therapeutic effect, but only give you a little time. Additionally, antibiotics and corticosteroids are connected, they allow you to neutralize inflammatory processes and relieve symptoms, but this, again, is not a full-fledged treatment.
The rest of the treatment is symptomatic. Doctors monitor body temperature and pressure, and, if necessary, adjust indicators using drugs. If vomiting and diarrhea are observed, then these symptoms are relieved by intramuscular injection of levomycetin and no-shpa or other drugs. Loss of fluid during vomiting and lack of appetite should be a signal for connecting systems with saline and glucose. In addition, it is recommended to maintain the strength of the body with the help of vitamin-mineral complexes. Proper care and care, symptomatic treatment - all this together gives good chances of recovery. Even with infectious peritonitis, it is possible for months to maintain the life of your cat by periodically pumping out the accumulating fluid. So coronavirus is not a sentence, just do not delay with a call to a veterinarian. Remember that the health of your pet is only in your hands. And proper feeding and timely vaccination will reduce the risk of morbidity many times over.