Does anyone have any questions about my experience with my cats catching bird flu?
Let's do a little AMA while I try and remember what it feels like to just have a slow morning without a hospital call.
Let's do a little AMA while I try and remember what it feels like to just have a slow morning without a hospital call.
Comments
The worst that can happen is pretty bad.
If you continue to feed raw know the symptoms and be ready to run to the vet.
Asking as a former BSL-2/3 research professional - What PPE or behavioral precautions did you take to prevent zoonotic transmission to yourself? 🙏
PPE = Personal Protective Equipment. Example: Respirator Masks (N95, KN95), Nitrile Gloves, Disposable Gowns/Aprons, Shoecovers, etc.
Behavioral precautions could be handwashing, isolation of sick household members, order of entry into isolation spaces, etc.
But I know this has to be a lot, so sending so much love & hope you're able to have some moments of rest & recoop.
That said, my fiance and myself were tested by the department of health.
First the test will let us know if we have A flu, and if that's positive they will sequence it to figure out if we have the bird flu.
The incredible fast progression of symptoms from fever to no appetite to neuro issues or pneumonia means that this virus blindsided us and my veterinarian team who had seen Gandalf TWICE.
I had been entertaining the idea of a catio for some time. That idea has been completely nixed; they'll have to settle for our screened in porch that's walled in halfway up.
Bebop was negative at her first test and positive when she was at the icu.
She started symptoms about 5 days after last eating raw.
10 days is safest in case you have subtle symptoms like some of my others had.
I'm the next couple weeks you'll probably see news treating Oregon as an epidemic state because my household alone is going to add 9 positive cases.
But I'm just the person who had enough cats for it to be caught + wild coast did not voluntary recall.
I highly suspect cases are everywhere right now and not reported.
I bet there are more cases out there, and you were just one of the first to connect your dots to bird flu.
Outdoor cats can catch it from contaminated carcasses or infected animals or surfaces.
Fever to lethargy were early signs for me.
Monitor his breath rate and make sure he's steady on his feet (neuro).
There are a lot of unknowns on how virulent surfaces are, or how likely spread from clothing or shoes is.
If it helps, my indoor boy who does not eat raw and did interact with me after I handled sick cats has remained negative.
Food or carcasses are more risky.
I posted videos of my symptoms which I'll repost if you want to see them.
Out of precaution I'd clean anything he's using and attempt to quarantine.
Honestly even the URIs going through have been kinda nasty this year.
I only breed if the queen is in perfect health.
I am in contact with a man who lost multiple cats to confirmed bird flu in December. His survivors have all had continuous health issues. They were very sick and had the neuro signs, so a bit different from my pneumonia girls.
It triggered heart failure for his cats.
I've been likely feeding the contaminated meat for 2 weeks.
For no reason at all because i never do this, I had been mixing canned food into the raw the last couple weeks so that possibly saved some of my clowder.
She's believed to have caught it last. So likely the last meals mattered.
Sounds like it can take awhile to show symptoms. We are a week out now since last feeding WCR.
My area has you featured in the news. All the way in little old KY. I'm glad this is starting to be spread more so people are aware. Thank you for sharing through out this difficult time.
This is why I suggest checking in with your vets and asking them what their plans are, because it's much easier to plan in advance than to scramble during.
I believe all kits are sent out to an FDA facility for testing, and then once confirmed sent to another facility to double confirm.
For testing my cats at home they swabbed the back of their throats.
60% of cases progress towards death, but that doesn't mean you couldn't have been very lucky.
Also, is there anyway of knowing if the virus came strictly from the meat, or a cross contamination from the butchering process, where, for instance, fecal matter could have contaminated the meat?
"We don't know." It's thought that saliva and body fluids are the most risky and likely sources of virus. The cats are tested via a throat swab.
Otherwise deep bites would be most risky for an infection.
Food or potentially contaminated prey animals are the most likely sources.
It's possible we can bring the virus in on shoes or clothing so I'm also being careful with shoes.
Call your vet and ask if they have a plan in place for a suspected bird flu cat.
If you use one, spray down all surfaces with a bleach based cleaner, and do NOT leave any food out. Consider putting a camera and if you see any wildlife access it, decontaminate again.
If you have waterfowl that frequent your yard space I'd nope out on catio sessions this year until more is learned about transmission.
The unknowns have had this on my mind cause he loves his catio time... safety first, he can pout
The two who were in the icu are much slower and I expect will take time to have their energy levels back to normalish.
I've recommended an ear one for folk as it's much easier than rectal.
Viral load DOES matter, so anyone who does occasional treats is safer than someone who feeds it daily.
Certain brands cook before freeze drying (orijen does this for their kibble I hear?)
Probably going to toss any chicken/poultry bags.
Anyone who knows more than me have thoughts?
I ask because I was JUST about to start the egg topper to help with allergies, but I don't want to if that will be putting him at risk... rather just take benadryl a lot instead (especially with the new kitten)
For breath rates you set a timer for 1 minute and count each breath. I highly recommend taking a video of your animals at HEALTHY rest so you have a comparison video.
This is all extremely helpful. You're so strong and brave for educating people right now despite your grief
I live in Canada, but just