Content
- Diseases that affect kittens
- respiratory infections
- Parasitic diseases
- IVF
- Diseases that kill kittens
- Feline Panleukopenia
- Feline Calicivirus
- FELV
- PIF
When we adopt a kitten, we must pay attention to its health, as baby cats are more susceptible to infectious diseases than adult cats, that is, diseases that are caused by viruses and bacteria and that are highly contagious among felines.
PeritoAnimal has prepared this article so that you can be aware of the most common diseases that can occur in kittens.
Diseases that affect kittens
The diseases that most affect kittens are those of infectious and contagious origin, which can be caused by viruses and bacteria, and which, in general, can lead to the kitten's death if not discovered early on. Because of this, vaccinating the mother of babies and babies is important, but vaccination is not 100% sure that cats will never contract some kind of disease, as adult cats are more resistant to some diseases, and it can happen that being carriers of a virus and being asymptomatic, that is, not showing any clinical symptoms. However, when we insert a baby cat with this asymptomatic adult, it ends up contracting the virus and because it is more sensitive it gets sick.
At most common illnesses that affect kittens are:
respiratory infections
Diseases that affect the upper respiratory tract of felines include those caused by the Feline Rhinotracheitis Virus, Feline Herpervirus, and Calicivirus. The Rhinotracheitis virus is highly contagious and should separate the sick cat from other healthy cats, as it is an agent transmitted by contact, and affects kittens in particular due to the non-immunization of the kitten, as the vaccine reduces the chances of the puppy contracting these diseases. Symptoms include runny nose, runny eyes, fever, sneezing, conjunctivitis and eye swelling.
Parasitic diseases
The most common parasites that infect kittens are kittens. ascaris and the Taenias. You ascaris, in general, can be transmitted through breast milk, so it is not necessary to wait until the cat is 1 month old to deworm it. The boring worms, which are from the family of Taenia, are transmitted by fleas. Both parasites can cause diarrhea, vomiting, intestinal obstruction, abdominal distension and growth retardation. Check out this other PeritoAnimal article on How to tell if my cat has worms.
IVF
FIV is caused by the feline immunodeficiency virus and is similar to the HIV virus in humans. It is transmitted through the secretions of sick cats, usually during fights between cats, or it can be transmitted from mother to kittens. Some puppies can develop the disease, and others can be asymptomatic, developing the disease only when they are older.
If you want to know more about the most common diseases in adult cats, PeritoAnimal has prepared this article for you.
Diseases that kill kittens
The most common diseases in cats and that, in general, are mortals to kittens are:
Feline Panleukopenia
Virus disease Panleuk, from the same group of parvoviruses in dogs, but specific for cats. This virus is responsible for causing the disease popularly known as feline distemper, and infects young cats up to 1 year old, because they are not immunized against the virus through vaccination. This disease is deadly in young cats and highly contagious, and the sick cat must be separated from the healthy ones, as the mode of transmission is through secretions such as saliva, feeders and drinkers.
Feline Calicivirus
It is one of the diseases that affects the respiratory tract of cats, but it has a high mortality rate among young and adult cats. The symptoms are similar to those of Feline Rhinotracheitis, so it is important to take the puppy to the veterinarian as soon as he has the first sneezes and runny nose, so that the veterinarian can diagnose, through specific tests to detect the disease. Calicivirus has a high mortality rate and the cat that survives the virus becomes a carrier of the virus for life, being able to manifest the disease again if there is a drop in its immunity again.
FELV
FELV is feline leukemia, also caused by a virus called Oncovirus, and which is also transmitted through secretions and contact during fights or cats that live together, and from mother to kittens. It is a more aggravating disease than IVF, since the puppy, having lower immunity, can develop a series of aggravating factors due to the disease, with lymphoma, anorexia, depression, tumors and the cat may even need a blood transfusion depending on the disease that is contracted by the FELV virus. In most cases, puppies do not survive.
PIF
FIP is an abbreviation for Feline Infectious Peritonitis, and is caused by a coronavirus. FIP can be diagnosed through specific tests and ultrasound, to check the fluid in the peritoneal cavity, which causes an increase in the abdomen, fluid in the abdominal cavity, anorexia, increased respiratory and heart rate, fever and the puppy is extremely weak. There is no cure, so it is deadly in 100% of kittens and elderly cats.
Although these viral diseases are incurable and have a high mortality rate in kittens, it is extremely important. vaccinate the puppies against these viruses, as vaccination can prevent the cat from contracting the virus and becoming ill. Prevention is the best solution against these diseases, so don't let your cat have access to the street and keep it indoors at all times, as it can come into contact with sick cats during fights, and end up bringing the virus back. home contaminating the puppies in this way.
Also check out our article about cat with Down syndrome exists?
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.