Calicivirus in kitten

nikonos

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My newly adopted baby started to limp today so I took her to the vet thinking the worst (e.g. broken leg) but it turns out to be classic symptoms of a strain of calicivirus that can cause lameness in cats. I was given an antibiotic since she is runnning a fever and has a limp in one leg and was told to give it 3-4 days to clear up.

My question is have any of your babies came up with this virus? How long does it take to pass and are they alright socially afterwards? I'm really worried about this one b/c of the leg involvement.
 

semiferal

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I have heard of this, and your vet is very savvy to have figured this out. It is something that vets don't see much of because only really little kittens are prone to it and calicivirus is part of the routine kitten vaccinations.

From what I know, they do just fine once they are past the period of illness. The important thing is to make sure she eats and stays hydrated, especially since calicivirus often causes mouth ulcers that can make it painful to eat.

You did the right thing by taking her to the vet and she should be completely fine thanks to your care!
 
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nikonos

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Thanks for the optimism. She was raised by one fo the vet techs at the vet's office and this is where I adopted her and her brother from. She was a totally different kitten from lastnight to this morning and wouldn't eat her dry food and would only lick at the wet. The vet gave me Hills AD Rx soft food for her to eat since it is of a very thin consistancy and she's eating about a teaspoon at a time off of my finger. She is urinating and drinking adequately from what I can tell but still has a fever with chills. A littermate of my own kitten came down with this in the office last week with the exact presentation and in 4 days it cleared with antibiotics and hydration so I hope this takes the same course. I had only known this particular microorganism to cause acute gastritis in humans but it is a disease of the respiratory tract in kittens which apparently has a multitude of complications. Thus, her brother is being watched by an associate of mine until this passes. Thanks for the timely response.

~Adam
 
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nikonos

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Originally Posted by semiferal

That is interesting. I never knew that humans could get a kind of calicivirus.
In humans they cause acute viral gastroenteritis infections that are rapidly becoming one of the more common foodborne illnesses and are often refered to as a 24 or 48-hour stomach virus. 12-48 days after exposure to the virus vomiting and diarrhea occur and symptoms usually pass within 48 hours but I have never seen of a case involving the musculoskeletal system which is what worried me so much with my new baby. I mean I haven't had her more than 24 hours and then this pops up.
 
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nikonos

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I finally got her to eat some dry from my hand. She seems to have less chills and her fever has gone down so hopefully the worst is behind us.
 

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One of our boys had a calici flare up when he was around 4 months old...same symptoms - limping (that travelled from leg to leg), fever, and lethargy. The vet didn't know what it was...I actually had to tell him it was calici. Anywho, the thing that helped him the most was the SubQ fluids the vet gave him; he was almost completely back to himself once he absorbed those fluids. Once he was treated, he was pretty much better overnight, but had to follow the standard 2 weeks of Clavamox. None of our other 4 cats came down with it, and he's been fine ever since (this was over 2 years ago. I also remember reading somewhere that once they have this form of calici, they become immune to it....
 
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