Panleukopenia

One week ago today I had to say goodbye to sweet Arthur due to Panleukopenia. When explaining to friends and family a lot of people asked "what is that?" so I figured I would use today's post to explain. 

Panleukopenia is a virus that is very contagious in kitties. It basically destroys rapidly dividing cells particularly in the bone marrow which is where blood is made (leukopenia means decreased in white blood cells) and in cells in the intestine. So signs typically seen include vomiting, anorexia (not eating), diarrhea, extreme dehydration, depression, and lethargy-- basically the kittens don't act like kittens. 
It generally effects kittens the most simply because they have a weaker immune system, but adults can get it, too.

Arthur just sat like this the whole time Gwaine was running around playing, I knew something was not right

So what can be done? Well, the plus side is that there is a vaccine for it, so it is preventable! This makes it fairly uncommon in most veterinary practices but unfortunately, shelters are a different story. With so many stray and orphaned kitties with unknown vaccine histories, panleukopenia is not uncommon. What especially sucks is that there is no cure for it. The only thing you can do to treat the disease is try supportive care which includes things like giving fluids, blood transfusions, and anti-nausea medications. Unfortunately the disease tends to progress quickly and once it is caught it's hard to reverse. In fact, when a kitten is infected there is a 75% chance they won't make it--which is really high! :( 

Overnight, Arthur started showing signs of anorexia, dehydration, and vomiting. At that point I (with help from my awesome friends who are also vet tech majors) immediately started supportive care. I provided him with subcutaneous fluids (injected under the skin) and I syringe fed him (only do this if you are comfortable and know how, they are at risk for aspiration pneumonia-- inhaling the food into their lungs). Unfortunately he continued to progress rapidly (only over the course of 2 days) so we tested him and he was positive for panleuk. His condition was far too severe and euthanizing was his best option. 

Arthur was incredibly spoiled with cuddles his last day with us 

Luckily Gwaine is doing really well and not showing any signs *knock on wood*. It's likely that his maternal antibodies (as I discussed in the post about vaccines) are kicking butt and keeping him healthy. Also, Merlin is all up to date on vaccines so he is safe. 

Another nasty thing about Panleuk is that it is very hardy. It can live in an environment for up to a year. But it can be killed with bleach. So when I got home I cleaned everything with bleach! 

I know I say it a lot, but please, please, please vaccinate your pets! There are so many horrible diseases that can be prevented with vaccines. And there are plenty of places that offer vaccines for a low cost. 

This post in in honor of Arthur-- RIP little man. 

The following day I got Gwaine and stuffed orange kitty, it is now his favorite toy-- he snuggles it and even tries to carry it around everything with him