Keep your cats away from Idaho

A serious and fatal disease that affects felines is spreading out from East Idaho. This disease, feline panleukopenia, is contagious and targets younger cats. If it continues to spread and the influx of cases isn’t stopped in East Idaho, it can affect cats in other states. I myself have a young cat and this is a little worrying. The disease causes lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea. It can be spread through bodily fluids, food and water bowls, and clothing. The good thing is that there is a vaccine available to protect pet cats from this disease, and can be easily accessed at a veterinarian office. It is recommended for cat owners to make sure their cats are up to date on their vaccinations and call a veterinarian promptly if your cat shows symptoms of feline panleukopenia before it’s too late. 

This news matters to me as I am interested in veterinary news and have a young cat myself who is still getting their vaccines. Fortunately my cat is an indoor cat and shouldn’t be exposed to the disease, but it is nice to stay up to date on disease fluctuations so you can be prepared. My cat, who was born in July this year, has almost gotten all her vaccines but it can still be worrying to hear about diseases that affect younger cats. So I’m thankful for new sites like the Idaho State Journal and their staff for putting out articles like “Veterinarians, animal shelters sound alarm as deadly feline virus outbreak hits East Idaho”, to let pet owners know these things.

Articles like this are also great for spreading awareness about diseases to hopefully contain and stop the spread. When pet owners become aware they more closely monitor their cats and make sure they have all of their necessary vaccinations. There are many irresponsible pet owners that don’t vaccinate their pets or monitor their activities outside and this causes disease to spread, articles like this one could be a wake up call to those owners to start taking proper care of their pets.

Before reading this article, I wasn’t even aware of feline panleukopenia as I have mainly had dogs my whole life and all this cat stuff is still relatively new to me. It’s good to be well informed on this stuff so I can better take care of my cat and make sure she’s healthy and safe. Hopefully the article informed others as well and they are able to contain the outbreak before it harms any more cats.