Can a vaccinated cat visiting an infected place carry the infection back home to other cats?

Renne

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My cat had panleukopenia half a year ago. Now she's fine, vaccinated, but afaik the infection is supposed to be impossible to fully eliminate from the apartment and is retained for 1.5 years afterwards on some of the surfaces.

My cat is so mine-blowingly hyperactive that I want to take in another cat so that she'd have a playmate. And I want to be able to return it if the cats fail to get along. The new cat would be vaccinated.

But it has dawned on me: what if the new cat can carry the infection back home on her coat or paws, in case I have to return it? She still has her mother and littermates back at home, and all of them could potentially die. They aren't vaccinated. E.g. the new cat lies down on some surface, and the infection gets into her coat, then she travels back home with it.

Does anyone know how panleukopenia works and can it be passed to other cats this way? I'm afraid to cause illness or even death to other cats due to my ignorance on this matter.
 
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Renne

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Yeah I talked to her today and she said that the answer to my question is positive :(
 

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Hi. Although I think the odds are slim, I wouldn't chance it. Why are the mama and littermates not being vaccinated too? Anyway, can you check into finding a back up foster for this cat should you have to return her? I don't know the age of your cat and the one you want to adopt, but if they are not real old and you do introductions slowly and deliberately there stands a good chance you won't have to return her.

Not sure of how long you are being given to find out if this cat will fit into your home, but from all the information I have ever heard about, it is never long enough of a time to truly do proper introductions. You could take her, do the introductions, and consider looking for a foster down the road if things would not work out.
 

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Yes, remember cat introductions must be done slowly and properly to work. Two females will bond and become a family unit but will swat, hiss and growl at each other for a long time, females seem a lot more unwilling to share. But over time they will bond and play together. the longest I ever had to work at getting everyone to get along was a year, and they bonded even after trying to kill each other in the beginning. Come here if you have any troubles at all, we will help you. Females hissing, swatting, and growling are all NORMAL.
We had distemper run through all the stray cats a while back, only the cats that were vaccinated were OK. As you know it is heartbreaking.....
 
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Renne

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I honestly have no idea why her littermates and parents aren't vaccinated. But my guess is that b\c the kitten is very beautiful, the owner thought that she could sell it better if it was vaccinated. She asks money for it.

My cat is 1 year 4 months, her kitten is 4 months old. Are those normal ages for cats to get along? At any rate, 4 months is already an age that people consider too old for a kitten and it'd be difficult to find her a new home. I think it's better that I don't buy her. At least she can stay home with her parents if noone buys her, which is better than having to live with a cat who might potentially hate her.

I previously had another cat who absolutely hated a small stray kitten (2 month old tops) that I brought home in winter. She hissed at it and tried to attack it with a murderous rage, and I was broken-hearted but had to let the kitten go. (Back then I had no internet to try to find it a foster home). And I was seriously worried that she'd kill it, so I decided it had better chances to survive if someone else picks it up in the streets. Not proud of myself, but back then I was much younger and didn't know what else to do. I still think someone else took it in, it was small and very cute and friendly to people.

Next time my mother brought a small kitten home out cat experienced love at first sight. It was odd, like there's no rhyme or reason to a cat's reaction to another cat. The first kitten was female, the other was male, that's the only thing that was different about them. All those cats are long gone, but I still don't trust my chances with two cats getting along.
 
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Renne

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P.S. Oh and I just realized. You've advised me to find the kitten a new home if they fail to get along, but if I were to do that, she could still carry the infection over to that new home. I guess it's fine if they have no other cats or dogs, but I doubt they'd want to adopt her if I tell them that the kitten might be an infection carrier and that they need to wait for a year to be sure their house is clear of it. And I'd have to tell them, otherwise they might take in another cat, unvaccinated, without knowing.
 

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P.S. Oh and I just realized. You've advised me to find the kitten a new home if they fail to get along, but if I were to do that, she could still carry the infection over to that new home. I guess it's fine if they have no other cats or dogs, but I doubt they'd want to adopt her if I tell them that the kitten might be an infection carrier and that they need to wait for a year to be sure their house is clear of it. And I'd have to tell them, otherwise they might take in another cat, unvaccinated, without knowing.
I said you could look for a foster. Those in fostering programs usually know how to handle situations that your 'new' cat might have posed. They also generally work to get the 'adoptees' vaccinated. And, all the fosters I know work with rescue groups who vet potential adopters and their households. Maybe that doesn't go on everywhere, but it certainly does in my area.
 

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Vaccinations are not like disinfectant. They don't kill viruses or bacteria, etc. They only "teach" the body how to fight off pathogens.

Regardless of the way a person or animal gets exposed to a pathogen... it doesn't matter whether the exposure happens from day-to-day activities in a particular environment or whether the pathogen is brought back to the home by another person or animal... if there is exposure to a pathogen and the individual is NOT vaccinated against that pathogen, the chances of becoming infected are much greater.

Yes, one cat can bring an illness into the home and infect another cat but don't think that one cat is making another cat sick.

Think more along the lines of "If a cat is not vaccinated, it can get sick no matter HOW if exposure to disease occurs.

The simple answer: Get the "other cat" vaccinated and this won't be a problem.

This is the reason why, when you go to a groomer, a kennel, or a vet's office, that they have signs saying, "All animals must be vaccinated."
 
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Renne

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I said you could look for a foster. Those in fostering programs usually know how to handle situations that your 'new' cat might have posed. They also generally work to get the 'adoptees' vaccinated. And, all the fosters I know work with rescue groups who vet potential adopters and their households. Maybe that doesn't go on everywhere, but it certainly does in my area.
Sorry, I misinterpreted your words. I thought that you were talking about placing an ad online in order to find a new owner for the kitten.

We have such foster homes, indeed. I've looked into one of them before, while looking for a vaccinated kitten, and it turned out that they don't accept kittens or pregnant cats. They cited something like 'We don't have proper conditions for them'. Also they told me that animals from homes usually have to wait in queue for about half a year or more before they take them in. I'm not sure I can judge all foster homes by just one, of course.

Anyway I suspect that it's better for that particular kitten to stay at home, it will probably be sold to someone else who will take great care of it. Foster homes aren't particularly great: they either live in cages or in one room with a lot of cats.

That said, I'll definitely take your words into consideration. This was merely an instant reaction, but maybe I'll change my mind after thinking more about it. I should probably choose a very beautiful kitten or cat, in this case it will have an easy time being adopted from a foster home.
 
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Renne

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Get the "other cat" vaccinated and this won't be a problem.
She's vaccinated. The problem is that if it has to go back home, she will infect a few unvaccinated cats. Unfortunately, I cannot tell the owners to vaccinate them if they don't want to. Besides, as I understand their cats regularly have kittens, which means that in future their new kittens, even if they get vaccinated, could carry the infection from their home to someone else's.
 
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Renne

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I'm really tempted to take in a kitten for good, with no return condition, and then rely on you guys to help me teach them to get along. :)

And in fact today I've given in to temptation and visited a potential kitten at her home. She's an extremely playful Bengal of 3.5 months and I liked her a lot, she's fully vaccinated and will be spayed in a few days. I still have time of about 2 weeks to decide whether I want to adopt her or not.
 
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