WARNING to all pet owners !
At present, there are 3 main nasties affecting cats throughout Brisbane and The Gold Coast areas. These are:
1. Ticks
2. A Respiratory illness
3. Cat Flu
TICKS
We are hearing reports of extreme tick infestations in most of Brisbane and Gold Coast areas. Owners of cats, who have
never had ticks before, are finding them as readily as flies or mosquitoes! And those cats who are unlucky enough to
have the nasty critters get onto their bodies, are having attacks occur by multiple ticks. This season is being classed as
the worst tick season ever. Ticks inject a toxin that results in slow developing symptoms, sometimes taking days to show.
These symptoms include:
* loss of appetite * vomiting * change to meow * difficulty breathing
* coughing * panting * wobbly legs * limb weakness/paralysis
If you are unlucky enough to find a tick on your pet, use tweezers to grasp the tick and turn it in a clockwise direction.
Try to avoid squeezing the tick or it may inject more poison. Some say that as long as you remove it in its early stages,
your pet should recover fine. Our recommendation is, if you are unsure, take it to a vet for a check up – just to be safe!
Recommended treatment and preventions: Frontline Spray and Proban tablets are really the only available treatments
with a good history of fighting off ticks.
RESPIRATORY ILLNESS
There is currently a respiratory illness that is affecting a huge amount of cats all over SE Qld. If left untreated, it runs the
risk of developing into Cat Flu, or further problems.
Symptoms include: Frequent sneezing, and occasionally they may have a very raspy cough but this is not always the
case, or show signs of a sore throat (eg: they may be hungry, but not want to eat rough biscuits).
Upon taking the cat to the vet, they will usually have a sore and inflamed throat.
Vets are saying that this illness is everywhere! Both indoor and outdoor cats are getting it equally, and a change of
environment is not the trigger. It is just something that is literally going around in the air.
Please Turn Over
CAT FLU
Cat flu can come on very suddenly – one minute your cat can be sneezing, and within 12hrs, the flu symptoms will have fully
developed and your cat will need medical attention.
The most common Cat flu symptoms include:
*Very frequent Sneezing * Watery eyes * Coughing * Loss of appetite
The worst part about cat flu, is that it lies within the cat for a good 10 days before it begins to show symptoms. But during this time,
it can possibly infect other surrounding cats as it develops undetected, particularly if your cat is stressed in its’ first couple of days, or
it has a low immune system.
MYTH: My cat won’t get sick because it is vaccinated. Any cat, whether vaccinated or not, can still get sick, and it is actually
very common! A vaccination means that your cat should not get sick enough to die. But it can still catch colds and flu, just as humans
who get their flu vaccine still can catch colds and flu, because there are so many different strains of the virus.
MYTH: Cat flu only occurs in Catteries. More and more vets are saying that cat flu is so common now, that there are multiple
strains of it appearing with all different symptoms, and it can affect any cat! Those cats that have been to a Cattery, have a higher
chance of catching cat flu, simply because they are in an environment with so many other cats – much like a child catching viruses
from a childcare establishment or school.
FACT: Almost every cat is a carrier for cat flu – no matter what breed, or where the cat came from. All cats can
potentially be carriers of cat flu, but most may never show symptoms themselves. The most prominent carriers are actually
purebred cats! A carrier cat can “shed” the virus when they are stressed due to changes such as environmental changes, a new
family member, moving house etc. This shedding is what can infect other cats around them, who will then show cat flu symptoms
after about 10 days.
Treatment: Cats who have caught cat flu should be taken to a vet for medical treatment. Some will show signs of improvement
within 1-2 days, but for most it can get worse before it gets better as the virus leaves the body. If you do not see much of an
improvement after 5 full days, return to the vet, particularly if your cat is over the age of 12. Often, older cats can get cat flu because
of an underlying problem that you may not know about, such as organ problems.
We have been told that both the Respiratory illness and Cat Flu are being seen by vets throughout Brisbane and The Gold Coast, in
more cats who have not even visited Catteries, or had big changes in their environments – so it is happening everywhere!
However, we are pleased to say that as we are aware of so many cat illnesses going around at this time of the year, we have had a
vet come to Carmichaels and run through our practices with us, and we have been given the tick of approval for doing everything we
possibly can to eliminate any signs of this in our Cattery.
We use safe, but high strength disinfectant that is used by vets and vet hospitals.
We disinfect the floors, walls, windows, litter trays, brushes, food and water bowls more than they actually recommend.
We take immediate action on any cats that show signs of illness.
We adapt the Cattery to suit all weather conditions to ensure the best comfort of our guests.
We do not mix families cats, even if we are asked to!
Please remember, that we can only do what we can at our end – if you suspect your cat may be coming down with anything, or it
has been in an environment that may result in any of these nasties, please let us know so we can monitor your cat as closely as
possible. As all possible hygiene, health and safety procedures are carried out here at Carmichaels Cattery, and have been vet
approved, it is unreasonable to expect that the costs of treating any case of illness of a cat boarding with us, be paid by this facility.