How To Treat Calcivirus In Cats? Causes Symptoms And Treatment

1 The calciviruses in cats It is a disease that can last from 1 week to 1 month and the smallest cats are the most affected. Many cats recover early but may remain carriers, shedding the virus for weeks or sometimes years.

The FCV-VS or systemic virulent feline calcivirus It is a variant of the common calcivirus and has more serious symptoms such as subcutaneous edema, chronic arthritis, jaundice, alopecia, gingivitis, ulcers on the lips, ears, pads and nose, and even chronic gingivostomatitis. In extremely serious cases, multi-organ failure, ulcerative dermatosis, cerebral edema and even death can occur.

2. There is usually one complete recovery in the first 3 weeks after the first symptoms in cases of acute FCV but if the cat’s immune system does not react as it should, it will go into a carrier state. In this case, you will eliminate the virus over time, maybe even for your whole life.

Cats with an acute infection often arrive at the vet with a high dehydration as a consequence of lack of nutrition and this, in turn, is due to fever, nasal secretions, nasal ulcers and general malaise.

3. The initial treatment is based on fluid therapy. to prevent further complications; the fluid your doctor chooses will depend on your potassium levels. If the cat has oral ulcers, which are very annoying and painful, they will have to be treated so that your pet can eat. It is best to combat the pain with analgesics and corticosteroids that you will have to maintain for an indefinite time until your veterinarian tells you otherwise.

In cases of a severe calcivirus infectionas a consequence of an immune system that is not capable of dealing with the virus, it is advisable to use of immunosuppressants to control the disease. If you have arthritis, the use of corticosteroids or even gold salts is also recommended.

Immunosuppressive treatment for calcivirus is often chronic and produces side effects. For example, if your pet suffers from gingivostomatitis, it is recommended to carry out oral cleaning and extraction of pieces to improve the response to treatment.

4. The best treatment, as we always tend to emphasize, is prevention as it is the key to control outbreaks. It is recommended the vaccination against FCV to all the felines; The frequency of booster vaccinations will vary depending on the risk of contagion. Cats that live in colonies or live in semi-free range should be vaccinated every year and the first dose is usually given between 8 and 12 weeks of age.

5. Calcivirus is a highly contagious disease. It is transmitted by transgressing hygiene rules, so it is essential to differentiate infected cats from those that are not and separate them. It is important to make diagnoses to detect carriers and patients.

You must try to carry out all the care of healthy cats first: all the tasks of food, games, water, cleaning… It is recommended to make a good disinfection of all the objects that interact with the felines, always with effective and safe products. After 75 days after the first test, you have to do a second and separate them again.

You also have to take care of the ventilation and the separation between the cat flaps, if that is the case. The test must be repeated up to 3 times to detect carriers and normally after 3 positive results, a cat is a chronic carrier. In that case, it is recommended that you stay away from the rest or together with other positives.

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