TNR And Distemper

[BlazenlyObvious]

I don’t know if this is the right place in the forum to post this but I have a question.

So two months ago we had a nursing mom and 4 kittens, 9 weeks old. 1 passed away, and then two more started declining in health. They were diagnosed with distemper and thankfully one survived after staying at the ER for 3 days in fluids and constantly being checked on.
The vet at the ER told us we cannot bring any unvaccinated cats or kittens into the house for up to a year because it’ll still be in the house.
We have an family member’s house we TNR at. My question is, if we happen to catch any kittens this year, if we first take them to get spayed/neutered (we go to the SPCA near us and they do it for cheap) and also have them give them a distemper vaccine along with their rabies, would it be safe to bring them into the house or not? All of our cats have their vaccines so thankfully no one else got it, just the kittens, and to this day we have no idea how they got distemper to begin with (the mom tested negative and it was all of a sudden).

 

[sabian]

Weird, this is the second question I've seen on distemper tonight. I didn't know distemper is actually the same thing as parvo which I thought only dogs got. Learn something everyday. I posted this link on the other thread. seems to have a lot of good info: Can Cats Get Parvo Virus? - Cat Kingpin However it doesn't address you main question. It does say that it can last up to a year. I definitely wouldn't bring them in before getting all their vaccines. It does address that in the thread as far as kittens and vaccines. Just from a common sense point of view and my personal opinion. I don't think I would take the chance. I think I would call the ER vet and ask him. I don't even know if you kind find an answer to that question the way you asked it by a google search.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I suppose you could pose your question to your vet, but I think the entire series of boosters should be administered before exposure.
The vaccination is usually done as a combination called FVRCP - feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and panleukopenia (aka distemper).

AAFP’s (American Association of Feline Practitioners) recommendation is to begin vaccinating a kitten for distemper as early as six weeks of age, boostering or repeating the vaccine every three to four weeks until the kitten is sixteen weeks of age, then boostering again one year from the last booster. After that, an adult cat should be boostered for distemper every one to three years. If the kitten series of boosters is missed, the cat needs two distemper vaccines, three to four weeks apart, then another booster one year later. Continue boostering every one to three years for the rest of the cat’s life.

Be careful too about spreading the virus yourself, as it can be easily carried from one place to another such as on your shoes or clothing.

 

[Willowy]

It takes a couple of weeks for vaccines to confer full immunity so it would be best not to expose the kittens right after they're vaccinated.

BUT panleuk/parvo is spread by bodily fluids; it's not airborne. So if the kittens stay in their trap, and the area the trap is in has been fully disinfected, risk should be minimal. Up to you whether you think it's an acceptable risk or not.

 

[BlazenlyObvious]

Thank you everyone for the insight, hopefully we won’t trap any younger kittens but if we do I’ll try and find a rescue to take them to avoid the risk of them catching distemper. I would hate to see more kittens to pass away on my watch it’s absolutely heartbreaking

 

[fionasmom]

Distemper is a heartbreaking disease and I have seen it in dog rescue enough times to be afraid of it. I am sorry that this happened to you. In the dog world, the vet will usually say that you cannot bring a young dog into the house and that any dog you adopt after the incident has to have the full set of immunizations and you have to wait for the immunity to take effect. One year quarantine of premises is usually also included.

I do agree that it comes down to how well you can manage the risk if you find kittens this year.