General Info and Warnings
ALL exotics must be vaccinated with a KILLED virus, not with a "modified live" virus!!!
Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 23:35:03 -0500 Subject: Re: FEL-L: Animal records software
All cats should be vaccinnated for distemper. (I lost a tiger to distemper & a couple of others) Use only killed virus, vaccinate frequently, 2x annually. It's my understanding wild (bobcats, lynx, etc) can't get Rhino or calici, so why vaccinate for it. However, I haven't heard of any problems if the cats were vacc'd for them. I don't have any info on Felv. Since you're raising pixies I recommend using the 4 way, just like a domestic. Better safe than sorry.
I've also been using a product called Equi-stim. It's an immune system stimulant. No adverse effects. I haven't been using it long enough to say it's working. I've heard good things about it, though.
I can't stress strongly enough to worm your animals. Make sure you use a wormer that gets everything. You will probably have to alternate products. Panacure gets most, Strongent-T gets the rest. Check with your vet, hopefully one that knows about exotics or at least cares enough about them to find out.
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 11:26:19, -0500 Subject: FEL-L: worming
> I can't stress strongly enough to worm your animals.
We do fecal tests twice a year when we vaccinate. We only use wormer if they're positive. Tapeworms won't show up in a fecal test, but volunteers watch for those when cleaning cages.
Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 11:37:55 -0500 Subject: FEL-L: Feline Diseases & Vaccinations
I have heard or read somewhere that exotic cats don't get some of the diseases that domestic cats are susceptible to. Can anyone provide info, preferably with documentation? I know (the hard way) they can contract Feline Distemper, but what about FeLv, Calici, Rhino, Chlamydia, etc? Chris & Donia McDonald
Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 12:07:15 -0500 Subject: FEL-L: Feline Diseases & Vaccinations -Reply
From experience, Geoffroys can get FUS, or at least kidney stones and can develop mammary cancer. Birth defects (single cases) include undeveloped valve at the end of the esophagus leading to hiatal (sp?) hernia, and undescended testicle. John P
Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 11:00:09 -0700 Subject: Re: FEL-L: Feline Diseases & Vaccinations -Reply
Any information on Viral diseases? The concern is the "wild" cats being around domestic cats and vice versa. Thanks for the Info on the Geoffroys!
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 12:48:04 -0700 Subject: FEL-L: FW: FIV, etc.
This is for the person who asked about feline diseases. I posted it awhile back, so this is a re-post. Annie The Cheetah's Workshop http://www.bigcats.com/
>I have a question for the people who keep exotic and domestic cats together. I read an article, I think about a year ago, called The Killer Cat Virus That Doesn't Kill Cats. The virus in question was FIV, and the article said that some populations of wild cats carry the virus, but that these cats don't die from it. (I'm no longer certain which species carried the virus, but I think that cheetahs and lions were mentioned.) First, is FIV known to be present in the captive exotic cat population? And if it is, does is spread to the domestic cats that live with the exotic cats? (I'm not trying to say that exotics are spreading disease. I realize that domestic cats don't have any difficulty in spreading this virus all by themselves.)
There is about a 14% infectivity rate of FIV among domestic cats. FIV has been found in lions, Florida Panthers and a few cheetahs. The non-domestic felids do not appear to suffer any immunological affects from this virus and it seems as though this virus may have evolved in non-domestics. The bottom line being that wild cats do not die from FIV but domestic cats do. There has never been a successful experimental transmission of FIV from doemstic to non-doemstic or vice versa. Now after saying all that, I have seen a leopard that died from a classic FIV infection! Non-domestics are however susceptible to FeLV.
>This question comes up because, in my experience, many domestics that are found to have FIV are euthanized even before they show signs of illness. If the wild cat population did somehow become immune to the virus, I'm thinking that by euthanizing the domestic cats that carry it, we are preventing any natural immunity from forming.
Not true. The wild cat population have very high rates of infectivity already (example, 84% of Kruger National Park lions are positive). This is a relatively new virus to domestic cats hence the pathogenesis. Cheers, Jenni Jennifer A. Spencer, Ph.D Department of Pathobiology College of Veterinary Medicine Auburn University Auburn, AL 36849 Ph: (334) 844 2701 Fax: (334) 844 2652
Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 14:53:22 -0500 Subject: Re: FEL-L: Feline Diseases & Vaccinations -Reply -Reply
I've had to deal with distemper in kittens that didn't get vaccinated early enough (24 hrs after separation from mother), and tend, probably to err on over vaccinating. When you can vaccinate, it's got to be easier than treating the disease!
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 20:44:04 EDT Subject: Re: FEL-L: Feline Diseases & Vaccinations
We have found Servals to be pretty resistant to disease. We raise all our babies with Bengal babies. Of course we keep our cat population healthy and do not take any chances. We vaccinate baby Servals with Ft. Dodge Fel-O-Vax PCT. I visited with the Ft. Dodge vets and they recomended using a vaccine with out the Chlamidia antigen. I heard somewhere (but don't remember where) that Servals do not get Chlamidia and vaccinating them for it can make them sick. We have never had a Serval baby get a respiratory disease. The worst any of our babies has gotten is a couple days of eye boogers, but no sneezing or coughing. This has just been our experience, please ask your own vet.
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 23:11:54 -0700 Subject: Re: FEL-L: Feline Diseases & Vaccinations
>From what I've always heard a cat is a cat and is susceptible to anything a domestic cat can get. Glenda
Date: Sat, 04 Jul 1998 00:44:37 -0500 Subject: Re: FEL-L: Feline Diseases & Vaccinations
I brought this up because in 6 years of raising exotics around housecats, I've never had an exotic with a URI or an eye infection. I've had a lot of problems with my housecats, so I know the exotics have been exposed.
As I said before, I know from experience, that exotics are susceptible to feline distemper. Apparently, there is evidence that lions at least can get FeLv.
Has anyone ever had an exotic cat contract Rhinotracheaitis, Chlamydia, or Calici viruses? What about Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP)?
Date: Sat, 04 Jul 1998 09:33:42 -0400 Subject: Re: FEL-L: Feline Diseases & Vaccinations
I know someone who lost their pet caracal to a confirmed case of FIP. The caracal was in the house with domestics. I believe some of his domestics also had the disease.
Date: Sat, 03 Oct 1998 08:51:20 -0400 Subject: FEL-L: New book out, comments requested
I just bought my wife the new Fowler & Miller "Zoo & Wild Animal Medicine". There was a section in there about emerging viral infections in large cats which includes FeLv, FIV, CDV. The vet that wrote it is from North Carolina Zoo (Suzanne Kennedy-Stoskopf).
The jist of the article is some research has been done on the route of transmission of all three of these diseases and its interesting that the wild cats in the genus felis (smaller wild cats) are less likely to be infected than the genus panthera. They feel that the larger cats are more susceptible to CDV infections and that the virii (CDV especially) has mutated to become more pathogenic to large felids.
What are your thoughts out there.....
Date: Sat, 03 Oct 1998 15:00:18 -0400 Subject: Re: FEL-L: New book out, comments requested
>I don't have any comments, but I do have a question. What does CDV stand for?
Canine Distemper Virus.....this is my wife's field of expertise and she is sleeping otherwise i'd ask her. If I am wrong, I will correct my post ASAP. This was her question (I was taking dictation from her and didn't ask). She has been reading this new book from cover to cover and has been talking to me non-stop about this and that since she got it. I am pretty sure that CDV is canine distemper and she was talking in imcomplete sentences as she read the article, she was engrossed in the reading and had little time for my questions :-)
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 08:58:18 EST Subject: Re: FEL-L: Vaccinations
I am not a Veterinarian, but would not consider using the intra-nasal vaccines on any non-domestic. I believe those are all modified live, and you must not use modified live in non-domestic felines. If you do, you risk the animal getting the disease. We give Baby Servals Fel-O-Vax PCT (Ft. Dodge) their first shot at 6 weeks. Katzpat