Can Kittens Get Canine Parvo

The virus that causes distemper in cats.

Can kittens get canine parvo. Cats and dogs have their own separate species specific parvovirus strains. Places where young puppies and kittens mix together such as pet shops can be a breeding ground for this transmission. Both viruses attack cells within the pet s bone marrow. Puppies aged six weeks to six months are most at risk.

Dogs can not get parvo from cats. While dogs cannot catch feline parvovirus the virus can mutate and be spread to cats. Cats are most susceptible as kittens from 4 to 12 weeks of age or even as unvaccinated adults. There is some debate over whether cats can get parvo from dogs but the majority opinion seems to be no.

Parvo attacks a dog s cells in their intestine meaning they become dehydrated and weak there is no cure but vaccinating a dog or puppy against parvo will protect them. Parvovirus is highly contagious and a mutated strain of canine parvovirus has been suspected of infecting felines. Cats can get parvo directly from contact with another cat who has it. While not the same as canine parvovirus it is referred to as parvo due to the similar symptoms.

Most cats catch the virus through infected areas rather than from other infected cats as the virus can survive up to a year in the environment. However there are some studies that have shown that a mutated strain of the canine parvovirus cpv can in fact infect cats. People who handle an infected cat or an infected cat s bedding food or water dish can carry the virus to the next cat they handle. Although it has be proven that humans can pass the parvo virus on to cats if they handled feces bedding or food dishes of an infected cat without washing their hands before handling healthy cats.

The most widely accepted theory about how canine parvovirus suddenly erupted on the scene with such disastrous results in the 1970s is that it originated mutated from the feline panleukopenia virus or another type of closely related parvovirus. Neither can mouse parvo spread to elephants or even humans. The cat strain called feline panleukopenia. As cats can catch certain strains of canine parvovirus any cats in this dog s household should be isolated and brought to the veterinarian for parvo testing.

For example if a parvo outbreak in an animal shelter takes place there is the possibility of cross contamination. So while it is uncommon yes cats can get parvovirus from dogs. The parvo virus in dogs is very closely related to the virus panleukopenia. The parvo virus is tough.

In other words canine parvo cannot spread to cats.