I previously posted a knowledge post about cat plague, which said that cat plague is also caused by a parvovirus. Many owners have questions:

Can dog parvovirus be transmitted to cats?

Can cat distemper be transmitted to dogs and cause them to become infected with parvovirus?

If this is the case, do cats need to be vaccinated against dog parvovirus?

The virus that causes feline distemper is feline parvovirus (FPLV), which belongs to the same family of parvovirus as canine parvovirus (CPV). These two parvoviruses initially had strict hosts, that is, FPLV only infects cats, while CPV only infects canines. After the virus continued to mutate, a parvovirus subtype of CPV-2a that could infect both dogs and cats was isolated after 1980.

In other words, dog parvovirus can be transmitted to cats, but feline distemper cannot be transmitted to dogs. Parents worried about their dogs can rest easy. Cat owners should note that it is possible that "the cat is infected, but cannot be detected using the FPV (feline parvovirus) test board, but can be detected using the CPV (canine parvovirus) test board". This is just The probability is relatively small, no more than 20%.

If this kind of cat is infected with dog parvovirus, the symptoms shown by the cat are generally not as severe as those infected with feline distemper. In addition, there is no specific treatment for feline distemper, so it is entangled with which serotype of virus infection it is. It is not necessary at all. Generally, supportive therapy can be used according to the symptoms.

Cat owners do not need to panic too much, because the serological relationship between CPV and FPLV is very small and can cause cross-protection. Therefore, cats are safe after being injected with an effective feline distemper vaccine.

But it is worth mentioning that mutant canine parvovirus (CPV) infects cats under certain circumstances. Many healthy cats have no clinical symptoms, but can be transmitted to other unimmunized cats, so it is best for everyone Do not go to the flower and bird market where dogs and cats are concentrated to buy kittens. If there are unimmunized cats at home, do not bring the purchased unimmunized dogs and cats home to raise.