For those of you who have a RudyKitten, there are continuing questions around what to do next.
It’s vital to test your cat for the illnesses known to be at the Rudycats/Wildblue cattery as most are highly infectious and risk being passed on to other cats in the home. These tests are not in-house tests, they must be sent off to an external lab. If your vet has run in-house tests, these must be redone and sent off.
Symptoms you need to look out for are:
- weepy eyes and/or inflamed conjunctiva (often looks like an eye infection)
- sneezing
- coughing
- eye/mouth ulcers
- red/sore gums (stomatitis)
- lethargy
- reduced diet/disinterest in food
- loose/runny/incredibly smelly/grey/yellow/explosive stools
Any one of these symptoms alone is indicative that your cat may be infected. If your cat presents with a single symptom, please get them tested immediately.
Note: e-coli is often symptom-less so should be tested for as a precaution.
Below is a list of tests to instruct your vet to carry out.
PCR:
This is a swab test in which your vet will swab all of the mucous membranes – eyes, nose & mouth. The test is not in-house, it must be sent off to Idexx Labs. The viruses you should check for are:
- Feline calicivirus – this will come back with an immediate positive or negative, you only need to test for this once
- Feline herpesvirus – this test can be difficult as it often gives false negatives when the cat is not actively shedding the virus. This test will need to be repeated at least once, ideally twice, at 3-6 months intervals and should be repeated when the cat is both symptomatic and asymptomatic
Fecal panel:
This is a test that examines your cats poo to determine if bacterial infections are present. The test is not in-house, it must be sent off to Idexx Labs. The bacteria you should check for are:
- Tritrichomonas – this poo is often explosive and can be yellow in colour. The smell is extremely strong
- Giardia – this poo is often grey in colour and also smells extremely strong
- E-coli – this infection often has no symptoms but there is a strongly resistant e-coli strain known to be present at the Rudycats/Wildblue cattery. This test is vital to undertake, even without symptoms.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to email the site.