THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 13, 1996 TAG: 9602130243
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
Controlling the spread of upper respiratory infections among cats at animal shelters is perhaps harder than preventing a cold from running through your household.
So the Virginia Beach SPCA stopped accepting cats late last week to thin its population and will close today to scour the walls, floors and cages with a disinfectant.
The unadopted cats, six as of Monday afternoon, will be euthanized so the shelter can start fresh and germ-free Wednesday.
``We're going to shut down, thoroughly clean and start over,'' said Sharon Adams, executive director of the Virginia Beach Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
It's the second time the shelter has tried this approach to fighting the common feline virus, which is highly contagious. It was done last fall with great success.
``We went two months without seeing any serious respiratory issues,'' Adams said. ``We hope we can buy that much time this time.''
Upper respiratory viruses in cats are similar to colds in humans and kennel cough in dogs. The symptoms include watery eyes, sneezing, nasal discharge and loss of appetite.
While most cases are mild to moderate and require treatment with antihistamines and antibiotics, sometimes it can develop into something more serious and life-threatening.
Respiratory infections generally can be avoided with annual vaccinations, said Dr. Paul Rowan, of Owl Creek Veterinary Hospital.
Shelters typically vaccinate all cats that come through their doors. But because immunity develops over a period of days, the animal can still catch the virus.
Local animal shelters clean cages daily, but intense cleaning is generally done less frequently.
Virginia Beach is taking the unusual step of shutting down one day, three times a year, to disinfect because it has little opportunity to deep scrub when the shelter is open seven days a week.
``It's like spring cleaning,'' Adams said. ``We'd love to do it all the time, but we can't and still be open to the public every day.''
Other shelters in the region are closed Sundays and do much of their heavy-duty cleaning then. For example, the Norfolk SPCA power washes the animal quarters on Sundays.
``In a kennel situation, you do the best you can with disinfectants,'' said Karen Pinneo, Norfolk SPCA executive director. ``There is no way to totally eliminate the possibility you will get upper respiratory (infections) because new animals come in all the time.''
Lewis Tefft, executive director of the Portsmouth Humane Society, sees Virginia Beach's action as ``an exercise in futility.''
``We're only a month away from the influx of baby kittens,'' he said. ``If their mother didn't have shots and you put them in a confined space like this and one cat with upper respiratory sneezes, some of the kittens will get it.
``They're just frustrated, that's all.''
While Adams acknowledges the closure will not eliminate the virus, she knows that it does help.
``We are taking the position, as opposed to limping along, we will close to do a real scrubbing,'' she said.
The resident cats that are not adopted will be euthanized since it's likely they've been exposed. ``It does no good to re-introduce infected cats into a sterilized condition,'' Adams said.
To reduce the number of cats that need to be killed, the shelter last week started discouraging pet owners and finders from leaving their cats. They asked them to wait until after the sterilization process ended.
The animal shelter normally has 20 to 25 cats this time of year. Only six remained Monday afternoon.
``We want to make sure we put out the healthiest animals we can out of a boarding situation,'' Adams said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/The Virginian-Pilot
Penny, right, will be heading to a new home soon but Benny, left, is
scheduled to be euthanized today along with other cats as the Beach
SPCA disinfects its holding area.
by CNB