It isn’t very comforting to discover that your cat just played or came in contact with a Parvovirus-infected dog. Given how contagious parvovirus (parvo) in dogs is, you could be asking, “can cats get parvo from dogs?”
While dogs can’t get parvo from cats, a cat can get infected with parvo from a dog. Canine Parvovirus – which occurs in dogs – has mutated over the years, developing new strains with the capacity to infect a cat’s cells. However, this happens in infrequent scenarios and only in unvaccinated cats.
Being a recent scientific finding, there is an exciting lot to learn about the transmissibility of parvo from dogs to cats. How long can a cat survive with parvo? Can your cat get sick from a dog with parvo? Also, can your dog get parvo from eating cat poop? Read on to learn about all these and many other exciting findings.
How Cats Get Parvo From Dogs?
Essentially, your cat gets parvo when it comes in contact with the fecal matter of a dog that has been infected with Parvovirus. It is definitely no good news that the Parvovirus ranks as one of the most contagious pet diseases (although it cannot infect humans).
Once infected by your dog, the virus penetrates your cat’s cells, attacking the cells in the eyes, gut, and even bone marrow, destroying them.
A dog infected with Parvovirus may not even show systems for up to 14 days, making it harder to identify it and keep it away from your cat.
Canine Parvovirus in Cats Statistics Analysis
Before now, scientific findings purported that cats can’t get Parvovirus from dogs (called canine Parvovirus). This was believed because cats had their distinct strain of Parvovirus called feline Parvovirus.
This changed with recent research strongly establishing the transmissibility of canine parvo to asymptomatic feline carriers. The canine parvo has significantly mutated across time, acquiring the feline host range.
This means this new canine parvo strain (the disease variant found in dogs) can now penetrate a cat’s cell, infecting it.
Simon Clegg and his researchers established this with a study conducted analyzing 180 fecal samples collected from 74 cats housed in an animal shelter and dogs. The analysis revealed that 34% of the fetal matter accumulated from the 74 cats contained Parvovirus.
Can Cats Get Sick From a Dog With Parvo?
While the cat has its distinct parvovirus type called the feline panleukopenia virus (FPV), the canine parvo from dogs can infect and significantly harm the cat’s health.
Upon acquiring the feline host range, parvo spread from dogs can disease in your cat, and in some cases, end up being fatal.
Is Cat and Dog Parvo the Same?
There are commonly two types of parvoviruses. There is the feline panleukopenia, which occurs in felids like cats, and there is the canine Parvovirus common in dogs.
They are different, although the feline panleukopenia shares a very similar DNA sequence with the canine Parvovirus.
According to the Journal of Dairy, Veterinary & Animal Research, the canine Parvovirus (CPV) DNA sequence differs from the feline Parvovirus (FPV) by just 0.5%. Furthermore, the dog parvo (CPV) can be split into two strains CPV-1 and CPV-2.
The similarity between the canine and feline parvo extends to their high contagiousness, as both spread fast. The symptoms are also quite identical across both pairs of the virus. Both the canine and feline parvo have symptoms like diarrhea, fever, digestive issues, and attacks on the animal’s immune system.
The feline parvo is highly aggressive, attacking the blood cells concentrated in the intestinal tract, bone marrow, and skin, as these cells divide more rapidly. In this way, the virus neutralizes the cat’s immune system.
The dog parvo spreads when a dog contacts the contaminated fecal waste of another parvo-infected dog. The dog parvo can survive on the dog’s fur, paws, kennel surfaces, and even human hands.
When treating parvo, the animal’s immune system is enhanced until it can independently defeat the virus by developing the right antibodies. Treatment will also involve electrolyte balance and appropriate hydration via oral or IV fluids.
What are the Symptoms of Cat Parvo?
The Feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) is commonly known as the cat parvo, cat typhoid, or feline distemper. Cat parvo symptoms are more prevalent in young kittens or cats within the 2-6 months age spectrum that are unvaccinated.
Unvaccinated adults cats can also catch the FPV, only that they don’t readily display the symptoms despite not being contagious. A cat infected with the feline parvo can vomit persistently. A parvo-infected cat can also show persistent wetness around the lip as if emitting froth.
In other cases, you can tell parvo in cats from an inability to drink or eat despite the cat being hungry or thirsty, or even watery diarrhea, which could be accompanied by blood.
There are also scenarios where a cat infected with parvo doesn’t show any symptom at all and can die without giving you any ominous heads-up or sign of ill health.
Should a pregnant cat be infected with Parvovirus, its unborn kittens’ brains can be harmed. When those kittens are eventually born, you will notice they have balance predicaments typified with wobbling movement. These kittens would also experience weaning difficulty as their heads would bob vertically.
Can a Cat Survive Parvo?
Parvo in cats can be highly fatal, especially in young kittens whose immune system struggles to produce the necessary antibodies to fight the virus. Particularly, if your cat is not up to 2 months of age, its chance of surviving the parvo is meager.
More mature cats have far better chances of beating the virus, provided they are treated at the early stages of the virus. Currently, there is no definitive medication that can eliminate the Parvovirus in cats.
Instead, vets make do with combined therapy of treatment and intensive care (integrating a supply of fluids and drugs) to enhance the cat’s immune system’s efficacy. This is done until the cat’s immunity develops its own antibodies for the virus.
This treatment (especially with oral or IV fluids) is crucial to preventing dehydration (a signature impact of parvo), supporting the cat with the adequate nourishment it needs (as it often can not eat on its own) to fight the virus.
In the absence of this supportive therapy, a cat left on its own with Parvovirus will die 9 out of 10 times. This can also be attributed to the invasion of bacterial infections, given that the cat’s immune system has been suppressed by the virus, with a large chunk of the white blood cell destroyed.
If your cat can last up to five days after being diagnosed with Parvovirus, its chances of beating the virus dramatically hikes. Nonetheless, when infected, it is crucial to quarantine the cat from other cats to prevent transmission.
Cats that were previously in contact with the infected one before diagnosis should be monitored for some days if they display any symptoms.
When the infected cat successfully and fully recovers from Parvovirus, it becomes non-contagious via direct contact. Notwithstanding, there are cases where a recovered cat can still shed the virus for up to 6 weeks in its urine or feces.
How Quickly Can a Cat with Parvo Die?
Parvovirus can trigger severe gastroenteritis in adult cats and kittens over a month old. This comes after the virus incubates, with the incubation period spanning 5-9 days.
After this, the cat begins displaying more severe symptoms like hemorrhagic vomiting, acute depression, and in some cases, the cat dies quickly. Parvovirus-infected cats tend to die as quickly as the virus overwhelms the cat’s immune system.
This is usually associated with the virus damaging the intestinal lining and attacking the lymph glands and bone marrow. If the virus successfully multiplies, it begins eliminating the white blood cells. The Parvovirus is resilient on its own and can live in a specific environment for months.
Can Dogs Get Parvo from Cats?
While cats can get infected with parvo from dogs, the reverse is impossible. The feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) is not transmissible to the canine family.
A dog can only get parvo from another dog – either by direct contact with the infected dog or with a surface or fecal waste contaminated with the virus. Commonly, a dog gets Parvovirus when it eats the feces of another dog that is infected with parvo.
Alternatively, when your dog walks about – say in the park or on hiking with you – its paws can contact the waste of an infected dog.
Upon grooming itself, your dog can yet ingest reasonable amounts of such contaminated content, ultimately becoming infected.
If infected with parvo, your dog can experience severe vomiting, blood-stained diarrhea, and loss of appetite. The generality of dogs dies within the 3 days after showing parvovirus systems. For puppies, they are very slim chances of surviving Parvovirus, with a mortality rate as high as 91%.
Can Dogs Get Parvo from Eating Cat Poop?
No, your dog can’t get parvo from eating cat poop. It is firmly understood from scientific research that the feline parvo is not transmissible to a dog through fecal matter or any means.
While your dog will necessarily not get parvo from eating cat poop, it can get sick from eating cat’s waste. Cat feces are usually loaded with parasites and bacteria that can get your dog critically ill upon ingesting such poop.
Toxoplasmosis is one of the most prevalent bacterial infections your dog can get from eating cat poop. This can get your dog really ill, experiencing severe dehydration, appetite loss, and diarrhea.
When your dog eats a cat’s fecal matter containing micro bugs, the dog can develop an illness. This is despite the cat (whose poop was ingested) looking perfectly healthy and showing no illness symptoms. Also, miniature rock particles in a cat’s poop can cause your dog digestive issues.
Here are Some of My Favorite Pets Products
Thank you for reading this post. I hope you found it helpful as you raise your pet. Here are some products i use as a pet owner that I hope you’ll also find helpful.
Flea & Tick Control: I recommend www.canadapetcare.com, they offer flea and tick treatments, collars, flea shampoos, oral capsules. For dogs, flea and tick infestation is deadly and may cause severe diseases if not treated regularly.
Skin & Coat Chews provide a variety of ingredients, vitamins, and minerals that will help a dog with their skin and coat, many breeds have chronic skin conditions that can create stress and frustration in their life when it has not been treated properly. Free Shipping on all orders at discounted prices.
America’s Veterinary Discount: With pet plans starting at $6.58/month, saving on your pet’s veterinary care has never been easier. Click here to join risk-free. Showing your America’s Veterinary Discount card and the participating veterinary staff will reduce your entire medical services bill, no questions asked! Low cost plans, risk free guarantee.
You Might Also Like:
- What Are Dog Dander Allergies? Symptoms and 26 Quick Answers
- When to Euthanize a Dog with Diabetes? (Quick Facts)
- When to Euthanize a Dog with Liver Failure? (Explained)
- Should I Be Worried if My Dog Killed a Possum? (Quick Facts)
- What Are White Specks in Dog Poop? (13 Helpful Answers)
- Can Piriton Be Used for Dogs? (14 Helpful Answers)
- When to Euthanize A Dog With Kidney Failure? (Explained)
- When to Euthanize A Dog With Degenerative Myelopathy?
