Cat flu
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Feline Leukaemia •
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus •
Feline infectious anaemia
Although cats seem to have a somewhat lower profile in Trinidad and Tobago than dogs, they are just as likely to suffer a variety of injuries and diseases, some of which they share with the canine population.
As with dogs, the most common emergency in which the cat, and in particular the un-neutered male, is involved, is the road traffic accident.
Injured cats may suffer the painful effects of maggot infestation. Cats can also get heartworm and occasionally tick fever. They are also vulnerable to poisoning. They can suffer from flea allergy dermatitis and ear mites and a variety of viral and bacterial infections and nematode and cestode worms.
Cat flu is one of the best understood of the many infectious diseases to affect cats in Trinidad and Tobago and vaccines are widely available. It is caused by one or two viruses working singly or occasionally together. These viruses are quite fragile but may survive for up to a week in the environment. Affected cats suffer from a variety of symptoms including: high fever; loss of appetite; runny nose; mouth ulcers which are extremely painful for the cat, and eye ulceration which may proceed to eyeball rupture. The majority of cats will recover after a week or so, but very young, elderly or immunosuppressed animals may well die of pneumonia. Some animals which have recovered may develop a chronic sinusitis or rhinitis or eye disease Vaccinate annually!
Feline Leukaemia virus is another serious disease of the cat population. It is a fragile virus which does not survive well in the environment and is mainly spread by direct cat to cat contact. Infected animals may be anaemic, show a poor immune response and are predisposed to malignant disease (cancers). A vaccine, recently available in Trinidad and Tobago is fairly effective in preventing this disease which causes an 85% death rate within 3.5 years of infection. However, some cats may recover and become immune.
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV or Feline Aids) This is another fragile virus spread directly from cat to cat for example during fights. It is NOT the same as the human AIDS virus and CANNOT be transmitted from cat to man. The virus may take years to affect the cat seriously and the main effect is to reduce the body’s ability to fight infections. Currently, no vaccine is available.
Feline infectious anaemia. In this disease one gets destruction of the red blood cells by an organism called Haemobartonella felis. The disease is presumed to be spread by biting insects such as fleas. Many cats may be silent carriers. The disease causes episodes of severe anaemia, which may be accompanied by fever and jaundice and animals may well die if untreated. Effective flea control will prevent your cat contracting this debilitating disease.
