calicivirus- sharing my story & hoping it may help another cat/owner

i wanted to share my experience with calicivirus.

last thursday (3/11/05) my cat ashley completely stopped bearing weight on her right front paw. i took her to the vet, who could find absolutely nothing else wrong. she had a very slightly elevated temperature, and she was given a pain patch (fentanyl, i believe) and antibiotics in case she had a hidden injury. in addition they x-rayed the paw and arm.

the next morning i noticed she had been hiding for a long time. i figured she was dopey from the patch, but i actively went looking for her. i found her sleeping under my desk. this was about 7am. i decided to leave her alone.

at 11:30am, she hadn't woken me up asking for breakfast. i found she was still under the desk. when i picked her up and placed her in front of her food dish, she collapsed and howled loudly, in an "angry" meow. i attempted to set her up again and she collapsed again.

i called the vet immediately. they agreed that she might be having a reaction to the pain patch. i took it off.

at 6pm that night, she was still incredibly lethargic. the vet insisted on seeing her again at no charge. she again could find nothing wrong except lethargy; also at this point ashley had stopped eating. she concluded again that it was a severe reaction to the pain patch since nothing else could be found. (ashley did walk around and pass a neurological test with flying colors that night at the vet).

on saturday, she still was not eating and was sleeping all the time. i took her to the litter box myself when i figured out she was not going by her own. i could arouse her fine and she purred, but i was extremely concerned about the lethargy and lack of eating. her vet said that if she was not better by sunday to bring her in monday morning. i started feeding her as much baby food as she would let me; i had her licking it off my finger.

on sunday she was still very lethargic. i took her to the emergency vet. again, she was given a clean bill of health- she looked absolutely fine, but had virtually no interest in food and was "depressed". she walked around and jumped on a chair at the vet, but both her vet and the er vet agreed that cats will put on a show for vets to appear that they are not sick.

on monday morning, i drove her to her regular vet at 7am. a third vet called from the clinic that afternoon and said she couldn't find anything wrong. she said she thought ashley would be more comfortable at home. luckily, i insisted they keep her overnight for observation.

the next morning she had developed ulcers on her tongue, and that's when they figured out that it was not a drug reaction, but calicivirus.

as i understand, ashley had an unusual set of symptoms, being that she appeared to have an injured paw, and then experienced only lethargy and lack of interest in food- no fever, runny eyes, respiratory problems, etc.

i can see this same situation playing out again with another cat. it looked like a paw injury; then looked like a drug reaction; and only a few days later did it become obvious it was calicivirus.

i hope that this information will be beneficial to other cat owners out there.

Thank you so much for sharing Ashley's story with us, how very wonderful and unselfish of you! This will prove valuable to many people in search of help with their own baby!

Originally Posted by dawnofsierra

Thank you so much for sharing Ashley's story with us, how very wonderful and unselfish of you! This will prove valuable to many people in search of help with their own baby!

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you're welcome! i hope it may help someone else needing help for their kitty.

(not that I mean its awesome that your baby has calici, but that Calici is getting some more *press*) I have a mom cat and all her kittens right now suffering from Calici virus. They are doing the swollen paw thing, I mean swollen to double the normal size, and having a hard time using them. My vet gave me a combination topical steroid/antiviral solution to put on them that gets absorbed right into their skin to help with the swelling. One of the babies died from it. I had never heard of calici virus until just a few days ago. My mom cat had just stopped eating, and then I noticed the ulcers around her mouth. I'm still bottle feeding the tiniest one while Chloe works on getting her milk back but I think my guys are turning around. It's something I'd never heard of, so thank you for sharing it's important that others know symptoms to look for.

Thanks for sharing your story. I hope your baby is feeling better.

thank you! she is doing much better.

i thought i'd add that there was also no swelling at all in her paw, making diagnosis all the more difficult. apparently calicivirus sometimes causes lameness like arthritis in the extremities; sometimes moving from one to another (one day it's the left front leg, next day it could be the right back leg). this was the only symptom she had initially.

i've since read that some cats can die quickly after sudden onset and not many symptoms. i feel so lucky that she is still with me.

on monday night, when i awaited hearing the results of bloodwork, etc. and we didn't know what was wrong, i slept on my mom's couch and barely slept, i was so sick with worry.

Wow, I am so glad to hear you figured out what was wrong with your cat and that she is doing better now. I have always known the it existed but never knew anything about it at all. We had a seminar at work a few weeks ago where a vet came in and informed us all about the different diseases and virusus and EVERYTHING about them, including how to treat them and how long they last and if they can still be carriers of it even after it is gone.

Here are somethings you might want to know if you haven't researched it already or if your vet didn't say anything;

Calicivirus is spread through direct contact with the saliva, eye and nose discharges, and sometimes the feces, of an infected cat.

FCV is resistant to many disinfectants and can survive outside the catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s body for as long as 8 to 10 days, so it may be present in dishes, litter trays, and clothing, even after a thorough cleaning.

Many cats remain contagious for years, even though they may not show signs of disease. Healthy (i.e., asymptomatic), contagious cats are known as latent carriers. Calicivirus is very common in kittens, multicat households, and pet adoption shelters. Outbreaks can occur in overcrowded, poorly ventilated, or unsanitary conditions; and where the cats are poorly fed, or stressed, either physically (e.g., extreme temperatures) or psychologically (e.g., introduction of a new cat).

Not to scare you but it sounds like a pretty scary virus.

That's why I was grateful when one of our members Stephen wrote an article about shelter cats and their illnesses. Calici is a common virus for overcrowded kitties and although it is treatable it needs to be caught right away.

The article is here:

Shelter Cats

Hissy,
Thanks for posting the link.

Some additional comments: FCV can occur in cats who have been vaccinated, although usually its a milder case than if the cat isn't vaccinated.

It's rarely fatal in adult cats, but serious cases can require a feeding tube implanted in the cat if it can't be hand fed due to severe pain from the oral sores.

The virus is hardy in the environment and can be passed from person to cat as well as in the usual way from cat to cat.

Treatment is mostly supportive care, and antibiotics to prevent secondary bacterial infections.

If you rescued or adopted a cat, or if you or your current cat come in contact with a cat who might be infected with calici and your cat stops eating with few other symptoms, Calici should be suspected. Loss of appetite with a limp is almost certainly calici, but sores (which may take days to develop) is the definitive symptom.

Cats can be latent carriers so if you bring home a "healthy cat" and your cat develops symptoms, calici must be suspected.

Stephen

THANKS for the info! and belly rubs to the sick furrys! and big hugs to the non furrys for lovin thier babys!

thanks everyone for adding info to this post!

after the diagnosis, i read everything i could about it. both ashley (the one with calicivirus) and emily (who has had more than her share of health problems; i wrote about her here about a month ago) were adopted from shelters as kittens (8 weeks old each; two different shleters).

i got ashley a year after emily, and they'd both had the vaccination for calicivirus when i got them, since kittens are vaccinated right away for it.

ashley is now 2.5 years old, emily is 3.5 years old. i have no idea how ashley got it; they are both indoor cats (i don't know if emily has ever been outside; ashley was left in a box outside PAWS with her two brothers).

i called the emergency vet where ashley had stayed once i saw how easily it is passed (on clothing, etc.) and how serious it is. i wanted to let them know an infected kitty had been there.

i'm watching emily for signs; she had the booster in late january, so i think that may be what's keeping her healthy.

thanks again!

I just want to commend you for being observant and persistent in pursuing an answer (and kudos to your vet for offering to see her at no charge at one point, it just shows genuine concern for your cat).

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

I just want to commend you for being observant and persistent in pursuing an answer (and kudos to your vet for offering to see her at no charge at one point, it just shows genuine concern for your cat).

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I have to second that! And thank you very much for sharing your experience - it may very well save another cat's life down the line.

hello,

i agree- it was great for the one vet to see her a second time at no charge, and also to strongly recommend i bring her in. this is my favorite vet at the clinic; unfortunately, they prefer that the vet who has done the bulk of the work on the kitty to take over the case, so emily and ashley have both ended up with other vets there. i think i may request that vet from now on.

i posted a pic of ashley to the pictures forum- i thought i'd post it here too so you can see what a doll she is (that's emily behind her- they are inseparable):

Originally Posted by YaYas_Mom

(not that I mean its awesome that your baby has calici, but that Calici is getting some more *press*) I have a mom cat and all her kittens right now suffering from Calici virus. They are doing the swollen paw thing, I mean swollen to double the normal size, and having a hard time using them. My vet gave me a combination topical steroid/antiviral solution to put on them that gets absorbed right into their skin to help with the swelling. One of the babies died from it. I had never heard of calici virus until just a few days ago. My mom cat had just stopped eating, and then I noticed the ulcers around her mouth. I'm still bottle feeding the tiniest one while Chloe works on getting her milk back but I think my guys are turning around. It's something I'd never heard of, so thank you for sharing it's important that others know symptoms to look for.

Click to expand...

i'm so sorry about those poor kitties. i hope they are feeling better soon. it makes me worried sick when my babies aren't well.

Sorry to dig this thread up...

But I just spoke to my Honey's mom who said that it sounds like Roxy, the kitten has FCV.



I am feeding her water with a dropper, she ate a bunch of food a couple hours ago. I will give her more water throughout the night and take her to the vet first thing in the morning.

I hope she is okay.

I hope Polly didn't catch it too!!!

Thank you for raising the profile on this terrible virus. I went through 2 bouts of the virus with my foster momma and her kittens. The momma never showed the paw lifting symptom, instead she just started drooling and her tongue would protrud from her mouth. She was still trying desparately to eat, and since she was feral the only thing i could do was try and sneak some pain medicine into meat baby food and tuna liquid to try and give her some relief. I lost one of her kittens to the disease, and a second had 2 bouts of the virus, one prior to her vaccination and one after. Only on the second bout did she show the limping, paw lift symptom. I ended up having to force feed her and just keep her alive until she fought the virus off.

I hope to never have to see another cat suffer like that again. It just shows the importance of vaccinations on all cats!

Well, we just got back from the vet and he has put her on Antibiotics to stave off any secondary infections.

He said it is hard to tell the three viruses apart. And they all just need to run their course. Since Polly has been vaccinated against everything, he is not worried about her.

It took a stool sample in and everything came back negative, which he was surprised about.

So, we are doing antibiotics and I am giving her water through a dropper every once in a while. She IS drinking on her own, but just to make sure she is getting ENOUGH, I am suplementing.

We have an appointment again in 2 weeks for check up and immunizations. Hope all goes well. she is so tiny. But the vet said she looked good for having a virus.

Thank you so much for telling us about this horrible virus. Since joining this forum I have learned so many new things regarding illness in cats, and some are quite scary. But now you kittie has been diagnosed and is having the correct treatment I hope he/she has a speedy recovery. Sending some healing vibes. And thanks again. x

Glad I dug up this thread. Isaac, our kitten who we got a month ago from the shelter developed a terrible cold 3 weeks ago and 2 days ago became lame, not wanting to bear weight on any of his legs. He will hobble if he has to and looks like he's 100 years old. It is heartbreaking to watch. His eating and drinking are good though. It's scary to see him this way but from what I've read on various animal websites, he should recover from the lameness. The vet has him on antibiotics and all we can do is keep him comfortable and wait.