How Worried Should I Be About Calicivirus?

[prairiepanda]

I went to check out a local cat hotel today, and decided to visit the cat shelter next door while I was there. In one of the free roam rooms, there were cages along one walls. The highest cages had a couple cats who were crying for attention, so I went to pet them through the bars. While I was petting them, I noticed a tiny sticker next to their cage that said "Do not touch us! We have Calici!" I promptly went to wash my hands with soap, and hand sanitizer, and some diluted bleach solution that was there (I was pretty freaked out)...but both me and my roommate had been holding and petting all the other cats; they climbed all over us. While the Calici cats weren't able to physically contact any of the others, they were still in the same room and sharing the same air. The Calici cats could have easily sneezed on nearby furniture/toys, and there was a toy dangling out of the Calici cage that a free roaming kitten was trying to pull out. All of the cats looked perfectly healthy on the outside (including the calici cats), but isn't that a super dangerous situation??? Or have I just been misled about how dangerous and contagious feline calicivirus is?

As soon as I got home I changed my clothes and took a shower, but now I'm terrified of my cat getting sick! Am I overreacting, or is the shelter being incredibly reckless?

 

[denice]

I think your cats will be okay. Calici is contagious but not to the point of something like Panleukopenia. Most shelters don't deal with trying to save a cat that comes down with Panleuk and it is still a battle not to have it show up in other cats. In a perfect world they should have been in a separate room but they were probably doing the best they could to isolate the virus.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I think that you have done due diligence and that your cats will almost certainly be fine. And I agree with denice , most shelters are doing the best they can with very limited space and resources. It's a shame that they couldn't totally isolate the infected cats, but they may not have had the physical ability to do so.

 

[neely]

I completely understand how you feel but as the previous members said, you followed the proper hygiene, e.g. shower and change of clothes. I still remember a feline only specialty vet we went to many years ago telling us the first thing we should do when we come into the house is to remove our shoes because we can track in a host of contagions.

 

[prairiepanda]

Thanks, everyone, for the reassuring words. I do worry about the other cats at the shelter, but it's true that they didn't have any other space suitable for quarantine.