Feline Parvo

Monday, April 5th, 2010 at 2:26 am

Home Remedies For Puppy Parvo And Other Parvo Treatment Options

Parvovirus is a virus first identified in 1978 that spread worldwide in just two years. Over the years, the virus has mutated into two distinct strains and there is evidence of a third strain in Spain, Italy and Vietnam.

All cases of canine parvovirus or CPV come from the first two strains. It was originally thought that the virus would mutate into the feline panleukopenia, a feline parvovirus but this was found to be untrue. All species have their own parvovirus but it is not spread outside the species.

It is evident that parvovirus cannot be spread from a cat to a dog or from a bird to a cat. However, it can be spread by contact. For instance, if your cat would wander through your neighbor's yard and would pick up the virus on her feet, she can track it inside of your house and infect your dog.

My neighbour's puppy contracted parvo virus. The puppy had all of the classic dog parvo symptoms, yet my neighbour really did not know what was wrong until he thankfully took the puppy to the vet. Once he did that, treatment began immediately. Had he attempted a home remedy for puppy parvo, the puppy is not likely to have survived. After several days of intensive treatment, the puppy was free to come home.

The parvo virus works in two ways either through the intestines or through the heart. When a dog gets an intestinal infection, it is picked up by the animal through oral contact with contaminated feces. Simply put, your dog would have to come into contaminated feces from another dog.

The intestinal dog parvo symptoms occur when the virus attacks the bone marrow, rapidly dividing cells in the intestinal crypts and the lymph nodes. This allows normally occurring bacteria from the intestines to enter the blood stream to make the animal septic.

The virus can be shed in the stool for up to three weeks thus making this a very contagious disease for pets that have not been inoculated.

The cardio form of this infection is often seen in puppies that are infected from the womb or shortly after birth. It is well worth noting that the cardiac form of CPV is not as common since the mother passes immunity on to her puppies from birth. The parvo virus then attacks the heart in the infected pup and death results shortly thereafter.

Dog parvo symptoms usually present themselves within 3 to 10 days of contact. They include the following: lethargy, vomiting, fever and diarrhea. The diarrhea can cause severe dehydration and secondary infections. The dog will not usually die from the virus but from a secondary infection.

The survival rate depends upon how swiftly parvo virus is diagnosed and treatment is begun. If the virus is not caught early on, the usual treatment is given through an IV line in which fluids are pushed to re-hydrate the puppy or dog more quickly.

In addition to giving fluids, anti-nausea and antibiotic shots may be given intramuscularly as an effective parvo treatment. Given the proper care, the prognosis is good, but if care is withheld your dog will die prematurely. Most vets will strongly suggest that your pet be vaccinated against parvo about eight weeks after a puppy is weaned.
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For more information on parvo virus and ideas on treatments for parvo without needles and potentially harmful chemicals, think about a completely natural parvo treatment for your dog.

My friend's cat just died. She had feline Parvo. How long until he can get another cat?

She was a kitten, amd did have diarrhea in the house.

If you'll read up on "feline parvo virus", you'll find that the parvovirus is related to "feline distemper" and can be vaccinated to prevent getting it.

Was the kitten ever vaccinated? Was it's mother current on her shots? You didn't say how old the kitten was, but if she was old enough to be away from her mom, she should have been immunized against this and other diseases.........so that she would be safe.

As for the length of time before getting another kitten........ASK THE VET.

The area where the kitten lived needs to be cleaned THOROUGHLY with CLOROX, and all toys destroyed. ANYTHING that the kitten used, or played with, needs a thorough cleaning......or PERMANENT REMOVAL.

When I had a dog with Parvo, my vet said......ABSOLUTELY NO UN-VACCINATED ANIMALS on the premises for at least ONE YEAR.......but that could have changed....I don't know.

The IMPORTANT part of that is..........ALWAYS GET THE ANIMAL VACCINATED BEFORE bringing it into the home..............for the sake of the animal........

Hope this helps........Good luck.

The Bobcat Who Died Before my Eyes