[quote=Lizita;2776866]
There are two ways to tell for sure if it is panleuk that you have and not something else. One way is to do a necropsy on one of the diseased cats. My vet does this for $60 so it's not as expensive as one might think.
The other way to tell, which I have found out is not widely known among vets, is to do a Snap Parvo test for dogs on a stool sample from a sick cat. The antibodies that develop against panleukopenia in cats are very, very similar as the antibodies that develop against parvo in dogs and it's these antibodies that the snap parvo test tests for. My infected kittens that were tested with this test all had a strong positive.
I learned about this use of the snap parvo test from a vet at the e-vet but when I brought a kitten into my vet to have the test done he had never heard of using it that way. I had to push a bit to get the test done. I told them that since I'm paying for the test and want it done it shouldn't matter if they think it will work or not. Well, my vet learned something new that day.
If I were you I would go to your vet and insist on having this test done. It's not that expensive and it does work. It's important that you know for sure what you are dealing with.
Just be careful as the snap test (for dogs applied to cats) can be wrong. Cats can test a false positive with this test- so just wanted to let you know that.
I had distemper here a year ago Christmas and lost so many kittens.
Recently, I had another display strong symptoms of distemper, but it has turned out to be a sort of weird flu and not distemper- thank You God! But with this new flu, the cat also dehydrates quickly and hangs over the water bowl unwilling and unable to drink. My kitten has recovered slowly and I am grateful.
