We have just lost an 8 month old cat to distemper that we just picked up from an animal shelter. We have another cat who was staying elsewhere and had no physical contact with the infected cat when we brought him home. What measures (as we have had varying advice) should we take in terms of cleaning before we reintroduce our cat? The infected cat had dribbled on a sofa before he was admitted to the vet.
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Feline distemper
- Thread starter lvsaint
- Start Date
I think the most important thing is for the cat to be vaccinated before coming into the house. The distemper virus is hardy and if the cat is not vaccinated, he can very well be infected no matter how well you disinfect the house. Remember that the vaccination takes some time to become active. Do not bring a kitten younger then 4 months into the house, even if he's already had his shots. Make sure the cat will be getting his annual booster shots on time as well.
I would try to get new dishes for food, water and a new litter box, just to be on the safe side.
I would try to get new dishes for food, water and a new litter box, just to be on the safe side.
Just a bit of trivia:
My father-in-law, who is 79, grew up with cats.
The way they dealed with distemper in "the old days" was to cut off the very tip of the tail...just a smigden, so it would bleed. This was supposed to be a deterant to distemper, and protect them.
I asked him, "what good does that do?" He said he had no idea, but that is what they did many, many years ago.
YUCK!
My father-in-law, who is 79, grew up with cats.
The way they dealed with distemper in "the old days" was to cut off the very tip of the tail...just a smigden, so it would bleed. This was supposed to be a deterant to distemper, and protect them.
I asked him, "what good does that do?" He said he had no idea, but that is what they did many, many years ago.
YUCK!
