Cat Virus Outbreak at Animal Shelter

The Prince William County Animal Shelter will be limiting the intake of cats and kittens, at least through September, after a confirmation of an outbreak of the felinepanleukopenia virus, or FPV.

The virus is not contagious to humans, but highly contagious among cats and can be fatal, requiring aggressive treatment for the cat to survive, according to a animal shelter release.

Cats at the shelter have been vaccinated, but the situation has forced a change in cat admissions. From the animal shelter release:

• If anyone brings a cat to the shelter to surrender it, shelter staff will vaccinate the cat and ask the person to keep the cat for seven days to develop immunity.
• If anyone is thinking about surrendering a cat or kitten to the shelter, the shelter asks the public consider keeping it through at least September until we know the disease is no longer a threat to cats in the shelter and the volume of cats and kittens entering the shelter slows down.
• If people see a healthy stray cat, please leave it in place so it can potentially find its way home. Since there is no Prince William County ordinance against free-roaming cats, the shelter asks the public to leave healthy stray cats where found. The majority of healthy, free-roaming cats do have a nearby owner. Do not attempt to trap or capture cats to bring to the shelter. If cats are a nuisance, there are a number of harmless cat repellants sold at pet stores and home goods stores.
• Unless there is an immediate threat, please leave kittens in place where their mother can find them, especially if they are too young to eat on their own. If people need to move kittens, please place them nearby where the mother can find them.
• If people must intervene with kittens, offer to help the shelter by providing foster care until the kittens are at least eight weeks of age.
• If people have a cat that is pregnant, keep the mother and babies until the kittens are at least eight weeks of age to help the shelter conserve space for kittens who have no place to go. Keep the mother cat at home until after all the kittens are adopted and consider spaying the mother cat.