Vaccinations for Cats

At Heritage Veterinary Clinic we provide F3 vaccination (feline panleukopenia, calicivirus, herpesvirus) and FIV (Feline Aids) vaccination.

Feline Panleukopenia

Feline Panleukopenia is caused by a parvovirus which is related to Canine parvovirus. Like canine parvovirus, it is very resistant to disinfectants and environmentally tough. The virus is transmitted mostly by direct contact with infected cats or their secretions. The virus likes to invade rapidly dividing cells such as the intestines, bone marrow and lymphoid tissue which will cause diarrhoea and a weak immune system (panleukopenia). If infection occurs in the late stages of pregnancy or very soon after birth, the virus can attach to the brain and eyes causing poor brain development leading to severe tremoring, incoordination and blindness.

Feline Respiratory Disease

Cat Flu is a very common, highly contagious disease among kittens and cats. The majority of cases are due to feline herpesvirus or feline calicivirus. An additional cause of cat flu is Chlamydophila psittaci (Chlamydia).

Feline herpesvirus is relatively fragile in the environment. However, they can establish life-long latency inside a cat by hiding in nerve cells. This is usually why when a cat becomes stressed, the virus may replicate and cause cat flu later in life. Feline herpesvirus generally causes depression, sneezing, reduced appetite and fever. Ulcers may also develop on the eyes. The virus can damage the turbinate bones of the nasal passages leading to "Chronic Snuffles". With a damaged nose, secondary infections can occur leading to pneumonia.

Feline calicivirus is slightly more resistant than feline herpesvirus and can mutate rapidly. Unfortunately in the US, a very lethal mutant form of Calicivirus is present. So far there has not been a major outbreak of this lethal form in Australia. Calicivirus is known to cause large ulcers on the tongues, fever and and less severe conjunctivitis.

Chlamydia mainly causes conjunctivitis and very inflammed eyes (chemosis) leading to secondary eye infections. The bacteria survives very poorly outside of the cat. As well as transmission through the air, Chlamydia can be transmitted at mating. It can also cause abortions and arthritis.

FIV (Feline AIDS)

FIV stands for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. It belongs to the virus Family Lentivirus which is the same family as HIV. People cannot catch FIV from a cat. FIV was first discovered in a Californian cattery in 1986. The main method of infection is through cat bites when fighting. Therefore, male non-desexed cats are more likfely to become infected.

Like HIV, FIV infects white blood cells, replicating to produce more FIV. When the cell is full, it bursts releasing more FIV to infect more white blood cells. Eventually there will be not enough white blood cells to fight off infections and cancers. This can take several years to occur so most cats do not show signs of problems until their senior years. There is no cure for the disease, but a cat may still live a comfortable normal life.