What are the symptoms of distemper in cats?

Although the number of cases of distemper in cats has decreased considerably since there are specific vaccines and the humans who live with these animals have begun to become aware of how important it is to take our furry animals to the vet to protect their health, the truth is that it can still happen that a cat contracts this disease.

For this reason, we are going to explain what are the symptoms of distemper in cats, and what you must do to recover as soon as possible from this terrible disease.

What is distemper?

Distemper, known as feline panleukopenia, is a disease transmitted by a virus found in the environment, so all cats have been exposed at some point in their lives. However, not everyone will develop the disease: depending on whether they have received the vaccines or not, and even the capacity of the immune system of each one of them, it can be the difference between ending up sick or not.

The virus It can enter the animal's body if it has had contact with blood, feces or nasal secretions from another sick feline. Once inside, it attacks and kills rapidly dividing cells, such as those in the intestine.

What are the symptoms and their treatment?

The most common symptoms are the following:

• Lack of appetite
• Vomiting
• Dehydration
• Nasal secretions
• Apathy
• Fever
• Acute or bloody diarrhea
• Seizures

If your cat has several of these symptoms, you must quickly take him to the vet to be treated with antibiotics to provide relief, as there is no specific treatment against distemper. But in addition, it will be very important that you give your cat a lot of love, as this will give your furry strength to fight against the disease.