Vaccination against distemper for cats - protecting your beloved pet from a dangerous viral disease

Every owner wants his beloved cat to feel good and live a happy life in comfortable conditions. To do this, pets are carefully looked after - regularly fed, provided with a place to play, rest, relieve themselves, and undergo hygiene procedures. But one of the most important stages of owner care is health care, in particular, timely preventive vaccination. Distemper is one of the most dangerous viral diseases for cats, so a vaccine against it must be administered to the animal regularly.

• 2 Types of plague vaccines
• 3 Popular distemper vaccines for cats
• 4 When and how to get vaccinated against distemper
• 5 Preparation and contraindications
• 6 Post-vaccination period

The danger of distemper for cats

Panleukopenia, or plague, is a viral disease, the causative agent of which has a high degree of resistance in the environment. Thus, when exposed to a temperature of 60 degrees, it retains its activity for more than an hour, and disinfectants in a concentration of up to 3% (this is where they are most often used in residential premises) are unable to destroy it at all. A cat can become infected through saliva, feces and urine, or through items caring for a sick or already ill animal.

Once in the body, the panleukopenia virus aggressively affects all systems, from the brain to the heart and digestive tract. Within a few days after the incubation period (which can last from 2 to 12 days), the affected and unvaccinated cat will begin to experience suffering due to fluid loss, general intoxication, vomiting, diarrhea and fever. The disease is most dangerous for kittens, elderly animals and individuals with weakened immune systems - often, even with timely treatment, pets die . The main thing for an adult and strong animal is to survive the first 3-4 days of illness; if he succeeds, then with a high probability the cat will survive. Considering the high risks that the disease carries, it is more advisable to vaccinate your cat on time and not expose your pet to unnecessary danger.

A cat with distemper suffers from all organs, and symptoms of dehydration increase due to high body temperature and vomiting.

Some cat owners deliberately refuse vaccination, arguing that their pets are kept exclusively at home and do not go outside. But it is worth understanding that there is a risk of infection even for domestic cats. The owner can bring particles of contaminated feces into the house on shoes, and any trip, including to a veterinary clinic, can result in unplanned contact with another animal.

How to treat distemper in cats?

Unfortunately, at the moment there is no single universal drug, injection or tablet, which would save the life of a mustachioed animal. Therefore, in medical practice, veterinary specialists use complex methods that are aimed at:

• Destroying the virus
• Elimination of intoxication,
• Treatment or prevention of secondary infection,
• Boosting immunity.

To combat the virus, antiviral drugs are used, which are used according to the treatment regimen prescribed by the doctor.

For symptomatic treatment, drugs are mainly used that restore the water-electronic balance and acid balance of the body. The distemper virus always causes severe dehydration and intoxication. To restore the balance of water, salts and minerals, a sodium chloride solution is used, which is administered intravenously. Diuretics are often prescribed to help remove toxins from the animal’s body faster. To relieve pain in the gastrointestinal tract, antispasmodic drugs, for example No-shpa, are prescribed.

To eliminate the secondary infection, the doctor at the veterinary clinic will prescribe an antibacterial agent for your pet.

To restore and strengthen the immune system, the animal will be prescribed immunomodulating drugs, as well as vitamin complexes.

Typically, the entire course of treatment is 2 weeks (from 7 to 14 days).

After the doctor prescribes the entire course of treatment for you and prescribes all the medications, you will need to treat the animal at home and, periodically, bring the pet to the veterinary clinic for examination. Treatment of distemper in cats at home requires constant time and attention of the animal owner, as well as strict adherence to all instructions prescribed by the attending physician. Remember that cats suffer from distemper very seriously; they often have severe photophobia and a complete lack of appetite. Therefore, the animal needs to create a comfortable environment at home - the cat should be in a dark and warm place. It is necessary to wet clean the room 3 times a day and ventilate it (make sure that the animal is not in a draft). It is advisable to quartz the room twice a day. Remove all feces immediately, as they contain a huge amount of virus, and thoroughly disinfect the bowl and toilet (it is good to pour boiling water over them - the virus dies at a temperature of 75C). Perhaps the attending physician will prescribe enemas for your cat with certain antiseptic drugs. Bathing an animal while sick is not recommended. But you need to change and wash the bedding on which your pet lies daily. The kitten's eyes need to be wiped every day with a gauze swab dipped in warm boiled water. Do not allow contact with other animals under any circumstances - in 99% of cases they will be infected. Remember, for 4-5 months after recovery, a cat is a carrier of this terrible virus, which means it can infect other felines. To nurse an animal, you need to feed your pet either plain (boiled) water, you can add ascorbic acid, or give it herbal decoctions, which you must first agree with your veterinarian. A sick animal is required to drink fluids at a rate of 50 ml/kg per day. The animal’s nutrition also needs to be monitored as closely as possible - from the onset of the disease to complete recovery. Initially, the animal should be given only chicken broth, then you can add porridge (rice, buckwheat) with boiled vegetables, yogurt, kefir and cottage cheese, and only then well-chopped meat (completely excluding fatty meats from the cat’s diet). Complementary feeding should be started with only 1 teaspoon. Then you need to feed your furry pet in small portions, but 5-6 times a day. You can also give special ready-made food that is intended for cats with digestive disorders. The list of prohibited foods includes any raw food, including vegetables, herbs and fruits. After recovery, these products should also not appear in the cat’s diet for at least two months.

It is believed that if a cat survives 3-4 days of illness, it will recover. Chronic panleukopenia is also very rare. After suffering from the disease, the cat acquires immunity to panleukopenia for a fairly long period, sometimes until the end of its life.

Types of plague vaccines

There are different types of vaccines for cats. According to the purpose of the drug, they are distinguished:

• monovaccines are products that are designed to create immunity in an animal to only one disease. To date, no monovaccines are available for the prevention of distemper in cats, as this is considered inappropriate;
• Polyvaccines are complex preparations, the introduction of which allows the animal to be protected from several dangerous diseases at once. Most often, complex cat vaccinations allow you to form an immune response immediately against panleukopenia, viral rhinotracheitis and calicivirosis.

Choosing a single- or multi-component vaccine is solely the decision of the animal owner, because there is no difference in effectiveness between them. The latter option is chosen more often, as it is very convenient - in one trip to the clinic you can complete several tasks according to the vaccination calendar. These types of drugs do not differ in the quality of the results.

Depending on the state of the virus in which it is in the preparation, there are:

• inactivated (dead, killed) vaccines. In such preparations, the causative agent of the disease is killed by temperature or chemical influence, and its entry into the body causes an immune reaction, but is not capable of provoking the disease. The advantage of this option is safety for the animal. But the disadvantages include less effectiveness - immunity is less reliable and short-lived;
• attenuated (weakened, live) vaccines. Viruses are modified, weakened, but retain their ability to reproduce, therefore, when they enter the body, they cause a brighter and more intense immune response. Due to the weakness of the pathogen, the disease does not occur, but the effect of a live vaccine is better - immunity is more stable and long-lasting.

Today, special vaccines for animals are being developed, the creation of which uses genetic engineering methods. The resulting recombinant preparations should contain only individual genes, which, when introduced into the cat’s body, will be able to form the proper level of immune protection.

In theory, mono-vaccines, in which the virus is killed, are considered safe, but they are less effective. Modern drugs, when used correctly, rarely give side effects, so the main attention should be paid to the quality of the chosen drug for panleukopenia and compliance with all the rules for vaccination.

When and how to get vaccinated against distemper

Vaccination must be carried out taking into account a number of strict rules. First of all, you need to respect the age restrictions and follow the recommended regimen, which is described by the International Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA).

Work on creating a unified animal vaccination system is being carried out at the international level, since vaccinations are not only about protecting one specific animal, it is an opportunity to maintain so-called population immunity for a longer time (the more animals are vaccinated against a specific disease, the less chance of getting sick the minority that was left without protection).

At birth, kittens receive antibodies from their mother, which protect their body during the first weeks of life. A high titer of maternal antibodies can interfere with effective vaccination, so the first distemper vaccination is given when passive immunity drops - at 8–9 weeks. The vaccination schedule with drugs against panleukopenia is as follows:

• first vaccination - at 8–9 weeks;
• the second dose is given 3–4 weeks later, usually at 12 weeks of age;
• then revaccination is carried out at the age of 1 year;
• then revaccination against plague is carried out annually.

Theoretically, it is possible to carry out the procedure yourself, but it is better to go to a veterinary clinic or call a doctor at home. The first difficulty lies in the peculiarities of the vaccine itself - live multicomponent preparations must be stored and transported only under certain temperature conditions, that is, when purchasing a vaccine at a veterinary pharmacy, you must follow the cold chain rule and take it home in a special refrigerator. In addition, before vaccination, the animal must be examined by a doctor, because only a professional can objectively judge the pet’s condition. Therefore, vaccinating an animal yourself is a big risk with a high probability of complications.

It is better to contact a veterinarian for vaccination - only a specialist will be able to correctly assess the animal’s condition and vaccinate it.

Preparation and contraindications

In order for vaccination against panleukopenia to take place with minimal risks and maximum benefits for the cat, it is necessary to make proper preparations for the procedure:

• Deworming. 10–12 days before the vaccination date, it is necessary to get rid of parasites, in particular worms. The presence of such a problem significantly increases the load on the immune system, which will create a so-called breakthrough of post-vaccination protection - an animal with critically reduced immunity will be practically defenseless against any infectious danger. Even if it is not definitely established that the cat has worms, it is still necessary to give the drug (Prazid, Drontal, Azinox, etc.) for prevention.
• No stress. The burden on the immune system combined with stress is a difficult test, especially for a kitten. Therefore, if there has been a change of residence and there has been a long trip, it is better to postpone vaccination for 1–2 weeks, giving the animal the opportunity to adapt normally to the changed conditions.

You should not go for a distemper vaccination if:

• the cat is pregnant - the introduction of the virus can provoke developmental disorders of the nervous system in the offspring;
• less than two weeks have passed since the course of antibiotics;
• The kitten is actively teething;
• less than a month has passed since the infectious disease;
• An elevated temperature was detected before vaccination;
• less than three weeks have passed since surgery or less than a month is left before it.

It is worth rescheduling scheduled vaccinations if your pet is pregnant

Remember, before vaccination, the cat must be absolutely healthy; any signs of illness should alert the owner and make him think about the advisability of vaccination at this very moment.

A little about the virus and symptoms of the disease

The activation of virus pathogens occurs at the beginning of spring. With the onset of winter cold, the likelihood of infection decreases significantly. The asymptomatic period of the disease lasts from 2 to 10 days, and the acute form in cats lasts from one to ten days. Infection of a pet occurs through contact with an infected pet or microorganisms brought on outer clothing or objects, through infected blood, through the gastrointestinal tract, or by eating contaminated food.

The disease manifests itself very sharply in cats. The earlier the owner identifies the disease in the pet, the higher the likelihood of saving the kitten’s life. The main manifestations include:

• loss of appetite and refusal to drink;
• diarrhea and vomiting;
• the lethargic state of the cat and its attempt to hide in a dark place;
• twisted body position and convulsions;
• refusal to take care of yourself.

Very quickly, the animal becomes critically severely dehydrated. You can prevent your pet from suffering with timely distemper vaccinations for cats.