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Against the background of the information frenzy on the topic of the Chinese coronavirus transmitted from animals, I would like to finally bring a little clarity and tell you what the coronavirus is in cats and how it manifests itself. And it will help you figure it out. veterinarian of Ace Ventura Zoocenter Marina Mikheenko.
This topic is special for me, as I had to deal with the coronavirus and its companions in full.
Reading how people in China go crazy with fear and throw perfectly healthy animals into the trash, only one thought comes to my mind – this is how you should be afraid for your own life. If cats are not thrown away, then they are packed in polyethylene and masks so that the poor animal puffs its eyes out of stress. Thanks to the Chinese epidemic, the whole world learned the word coronavirus and got hold of a hundred horror stories, dragging dogs, cows, cats and even hamsters here. And now, let’s breathe out. Coronavirus in cats and cats is a completely different story and symptoms. It is not transmitted even to dogs from cats, let alone people. And yes, he is not so deadly scary (although there are some unpleasant moments).
Meet Hardyusha. And he had a coronavirus infection for a whole year, with high titers. But the body outgrew and won, although it took effort and money to treat this kotovasia.
Once again, I am not saying that coronavirus in cats is a trifling matter. But in most cases this is not fatal (depending on the type of virus) and is not transmitted to people, even if you kiss the cat on the nose. In snotty and coronavirus.
Coronavirus is an RNA-containing virus of all mammals. Has several types. He got his name for the similarity in structure with the crown (in Latin – corona), – explains veterinarian Marina Mikheenko.
That is, in fact, viruses are generally different, only the structure is the same.
This is how Hardyusha looked when he came to us. Runny nose, skinny build, and diarrhea on top of everything else. But excellent appetite. At first they wrote off all this for adaptation in a new house, but a month passed, and problems with the stomach were not solved. And the second cat of the house also became lethargic and depressed. It was then that we decided to take tests and check if we had brought some kind of infection into the house (well, except for a small, white, chewing one).
According to the symptoms, the coronavirus itself does not manifest itself in any way if the titers of the virus are low (it is small), if the titers are medium, it manifests itself as enteritis (lethargy, gastrointestinal upset). The most unpleasant thing about this is that the virus weakens the immune system, and here the concomitant infections enter the battle with the body – Giardia and coccidia, which live in the intestines of the cat. They, like a cherry on a cake, add the most terrible symptomatology – diarrhea with blood, leading the owners of their beloved cats to a heart attack.
But what data on symptoms does Rosselkhokhnadzor cite
“In particular, the animal recorded fever, coughing, sneezing, discharge from the nasal cavity and eyes. Some animals showed signs of acute intestinal infection accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea” (1).
The most terrible option, which, thank God, has passed us, is a mutation of the coronavirus called Fip – FCoV – when coronavirus enteritis turns into coronavirus peritonitis. It is this variant of the disease that is considered fatal (2). Fluid accumulates in the abdominal cavity, the cat lies on his stomach and does not get up, pressing his paws. Breathing is disturbed, there is no appetite, the cat has a fever. Unfortunately, in terms of mortality in cats, coronavirus peritonitis is in the top three – along with panleukopenia and immunodeficiency (feline AIDS). But! Even this dangerous variant of the disease is not transmitted to people.
Common coronavirus symptoms in cats:
- lethargy, poor appetite;
- gastrointestinal disorder;
- blood in the stool (in the presence of concomitant infections).
Symptoms of coronavirus peritonitis (FIP, a mutated form of the virus):
- lack of appetite;
- fever;
- fluid in the abdominal cavity;
- respiratory failure;
- renal insufficiency.
There is also a dry form of coronavirus peritonitis. Part of the symptoms is the same as described above, but without fluid in the abdominal cavity. But there are spasms, urinary incontinence and an enlarged liver.
Of all cats infected with coronavirus, no more than 10% develop peritonitis. That is, 90% that the disease will not turn into this critical stage.
“In most cases, coronavirus is asymptomatic, but it can also show symptoms of enteritis (and often they are mild), says veterinarian Marina Mikheenko. – Very often, the detected coronavirus is blamed for the causes of chronic diarrhea, but often the doctor needs to look for other causes or carry out symptomatic treatment, the fault of the coronavirus in the development of symptoms of enteritis has not yet been proven, and it is a concomitant factor to other causes of enteritis.
No reliable factors have been found why coronavirus can mutate into FIP (factors by which a person could influence the mutation and prevent it).
In other words, if your cat has a coronavirus, she can live with it all her life and die not from it at all, without giving any symptoms, and you may not even suspect that she is infected with it.
And only in the case when the virus affects not only intestinal cells, but mutated into FIP, affects immune cells, and poses a threat and danger.
Coronavirus infection, in addition to enteropathy (change, disorder of the stool, vomiting), can also manifest itself as lethargy, apathy, loss of appetite. FIP: fever, jaundice, lack of coordination, ascites, shortness of breath, heart failure (if there is effusion in the chest cavity), etc. With the dry form of FIP, not only the internal organs, but also the eyes can be affected.
Infectious viral peritonitis comes in 2 forms: dry and wet. When wet, the virus infects immune cells, small vessels and causes effusion into the abdominal or chest cavity. When dry, changes occur in the internal organs (granulomas appear, etc.) without effusion.
It is easier to suspect a wet form than a dry one, as a rule, the first sign is an increase in the volume of the abdomen, frequent breathing, ascitic fluid is detected during ultrasound. Where further it is necessary for the doctor to understand whether ascites is associated with FIP or there is another reason for that (and there are many of them).
I must say right away that the treatment of coronavirus in cats is an expensive and troublesome business, and most importantly, it is very beneficial for all kinds of veterinary charlatans. When the owner sees an inscription on the form with the test results – a high titer, the possibility of developing FIP – he is ready to sell his own kidney, only to save his own fluffy child.
Naturally, in veterinarians they treat who, how and with what much. At least they don’t give cats silver water or herbal decoctions to drink – although, I think, maybe this is practiced.
On the very first day of admission, we left more than 30 thousand rubles in the clinic – having received absolutely unnecessary dietary food, immunomodulators and, in addition to everything, a canine vaccine against coronavirus, as they say, we bought all the best at once.
Looking back, I would like to punch myself in the face and scream: hey, wake up, the cats are alive and even eat with appetite! So all is not lost!
We sobbed. We applied all the best at once. As a result, especially after the canine coronavirus vaccine, one of the cats became very worse. The cat vomited so much that she thought she would turn her fur inside. Then at night he lay like a rag. In the morning, having set up a call center at home and a consultation with a dozen other veterinarians, we rushed to another clinic for an ultrasound scan. And then something terrible happened…
The cat turned out to be poisoned with drugs that he did not need at all. Ultrasound showed that there was no fluid in the abdominal cavity, no peritonitis. There are no changes in the liver, that is, this medicinal food was not even needed. Yes, there are infections against the background of immunity weakened by the coronavirus in both. And they need to be treated.
In general, the first thing, as they say, is all the tests. And then weep – die – heal – survive – rejoice.
– FIP is not curable (no treatment has been developed at the moment) and in 99% causes the death of the animal. There are no drugs that could prevent the mutation of the virus either, explains veterinarian Marina Mikheenko. – Immunomodulators in this case can make things worse, since the virus, affecting immune cells and the body, fights against its own cells, increasing their number, we can cause an aggravation of the disease. Therefore, at the moment, doctors, faced with FIP, use, on the contrary, immunosuppression in the form of hormone therapy – prednisolone.
In any case, you need to look at the cat’s symptoms and not take the word of every piece of paper that comes. Analyzes can be wrong, but life is never.
Therefore, no matter what the vets tell you, retake it again.
What tests are needed
- blood for the presence of virus titers;
- mud of infections;
- Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity and internal organs.
Only in the aggregate of these three studies will the doctor be able to tell you exactly whether you have a disease, at what stage it is and what exactly you will need to treat.
In our case, it turned out that although there were high viral titers, no changes were found in the liver and fluid in the abdomen, too.
As a result, we were prescribed antimicrobial drugs to treat giardia and coccidia raging in the intestines and advised us to pierce a course of cat vitamins to calm the nerves (more like a hostess than a cat).
All these vaccines and immunomodulators for 1500 rubles per ampoule turned out to be like a mask for a Chinese cat against their infection. That is, even a little hurt.
– Diagnosis of coronavirus infection is not difficult – donate feces or scrapings from the rectum by PCR or take an ELISA, detecting antibodies in the blood. But the diagnosis of infectious peritonitis is difficult, because even a high titer of antibodies to coronavirus does not say with 100% accuracy that it is FIP, says veterinarian Marina Mikheenko.
Only immunohistochemical testing can be called reliable in the detection of FIP in organs. Due to the impossibility of doing such an analysis in Our Country, the doctor diagnoses FIP based on the examination, history and other related tests.
The most important biochemical indicator in FIP is the increase in total serum protein concentration. It is found in approximately 50% of cats with the “wet” form and 70% of cats with the “dry” form of the disease. Changes in the profile of serum proteins lead to a decrease in the ratio of albumin to globulin.
For the diagnosis of FIP, it is important to collect ascitic fluid, since its study is of greater diagnostic value than blood tests. The presence of this fluid in the body is not in itself diagnostic. The exudate seen in FIP is classified as a modified transudate or an exudate with a very high protein content (>3,5 g/dl) and a moderate cell content.
There is no vaccine for feline coronavirus. And if there is, then it’s just fiction. For example, they sell such a vaccine and it costs 60 thousand rubles. What wouldn’t you do for your beloved cat, right? Yes, but it didn’t help.
There are vaccines, as I wrote above, for dogs, but they do not work for cats. Even the excessive use of immunomodulators can harm the body and completely plant your immune system in a cat. What can we say about introducing a viral load to a cat from above, adding problems to a sick fluffy ass.
Let’s understand what a vaccine is. Quoting the WHO website:
“A vaccine is a drug designed to provide immunity against a disease by stimulating the production of antibodies. Vaccines may include suspensions of killed or attenuated viruses.”
That is, sorry, the vaccine is not a panacea. This is not a cure. That is, if your cat is already sick, then this vaccine will be like a drum for a hare. The vaccine is used during periods of epidemics (to stop the spread thanks to antibodies). The vaccine (if there was one) could be used at the very beginning, when you realize that you have or may experience an infection, but your cat is still definitely healthy.
In all other cases, the vaccine will only help lighten your wallet. If you do not need your money so much, donate it to a cat shelter, it will be more useful.
Once again, there is no vaccine. There are medications recommended by veterinarians according to your tests.
Don’t believe me – listen to what the doctor says:
– Vaccination against coronavirus according to WSVA is not recommended, the vaccine has not yet been recognized as effective. And, if in the case of vaccinating a kitten that has never met with a virus, vaccination can work, then if there has already been an infection or an animal is currently infected (the course may be asymptomatic) it can aggravate the course of the disease, explains veterinarian Marina Mikheenko.
Prevention from coronavirus is very simple, here you need to understand the very ways of infection with this virus.
Coronavirus is transmitted:
- through cat feces (common toilet);
- when knitting with a carrier;
- from mother to kitten during feeding and licking.
That is, you, firstly, do not need to drag kittens from the street into the house if you are not sure of their good health. If you brought home this source of distress, then:
- we lock the cat in a separate room until the tests come;
- we put separate appliances for him (bowls and a toilet), in no case do we let him near another cat;
- I wash my hands after touching the likely source of infection, we carefully look at the toilet behavior.
Well, and, of course, no mating between animals before receiving a certificate. And then your cat is guaranteed to live to a ripe old age without any unnecessary diagnoses and complications.
“Prevention of infection is hygiene,” says veterinarian Marina Mikheenko. – Infection often occurs in nurseries, with crowded animals, constant re-infection can occur. If you take a new kitten to an existing cat, it is worth checking both (considering that the virus may not be excreted in the feces at the moment) and take the kitten to the doctor.
Of course, complete disinfection cannot be achieved, and it is possible to bring the virus from the street even if the cat is exclusively domestic. When infected with a virus, one of the important factors is the creation of good immunity – proper nutrition, avoidance of stressful situations (moving, guests and other moments that your cat endures with stress).
Control and treatment of comorbidities, flea treatment, the use of deworming drugs, the least contact with other cats, keeping it clean and tidy is not only the prevention of coronavirus, but also the possible formation of FIP.
If you take PCR every month for coronavirus (feces) from a cat, and the result is positive, it just means that the cat is excreting the virus (if there are no symptoms) and, most likely, will excrete it for life – this is not a fact of the disease.
Popular questions and answers
We spoke with veterinarian Maria Mikheenko and other aspects of coronavirus in cats.
Sources of
- Rosselkhoznadzor called the symptoms of COVID-19 in pets // Stopcoronavirus.rf
- The genetic material of feline infectious peritonitis has been isolated // Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Rosselkhoznadzor
https://fsvps.gov.ru/fsvps/news/ld/143873.html