Cat coronavirus epidemic.

[Gettingbysomehow]

Horrifying news coming out of Cyprus (see sky news) 300,000 cyprian cats have died in a cat coronavirus epidemic. They think it may already be over here. Im ringing my vet on Monday for advice.

Just read this! Mine are outdoor cats during the day. They'll be staying in if it becomes apparent it's over here. They can scream at me all they like! Awful that so many cats have been lost to this 💔

It's FIP. So not technically the coronavirus we all associate it with.

Do t forget that our cats are more likely to be vaccinated, in general, don't know if there is a vaccine for FIP. And we don't have the hide stray cat problem they have. I would t worth to much about it. As ours are pets we are more likely to pick up on illness and have them seen earlier.

FIP is an awful awful disease, we lost a moggy at a year old to it. There's not a vaccination against it

I'm very careful with our indoor cats, as while they are vaccinated I tend to avoid stroking other cats I see around the house, because I don't know what their health status is/ if they are carrying anything. If I do touch anyone that isn't mine I wash my hands before touching ours

It sounds even more devastating in Cyprus in that house cats are being affected, I think because of it being picked up in people's shoes. If there's signs of it coming over here I'll be insisting we do what happened when I used to be involved with horses and having either a disinfectant foot bath or Dettol wiping our shoes on coming home

I really hope a vaccine is created soon. We were in Cyprus last summer in holiday and they do have a lot of street cats which is probably not helping

It's a disease that's spread by cats fighting and infecting each other, the same way as FIV. I lost a kitten to it six years ago but he got attacked by a feral.

It's not picked up on people's shoes.

The cat problem in Cyprus is horrendous I agree. The charities here work tirelessly to try to control the population by trapping and neutering but they're fighting a losing battle with idiot Cypriots who let their cats breed as a form of vermin control.

My understanding is that many cats are exposed to it but some cannot clear the virus & these are the ones who become sick.

We are off to Northern Cyprus this week on holiday. We have a 13 year old cat and a 8 week old rescued kitten due to be vaccinated the day after we return. Should i be worried about bringing the virus back with us?

I'd be coming home and putting all holiday washing straight into the washing machine, which you'd probably be doing anyway.

FIP is not contagious, so you can't bring it back with you (anyway the vaccines don't cover it) There is some information here:
www.marvistavet.com/feline-infectious-peritonitis.pml

I am still not sure if we could bring it back on our clothing. Reading more is not really helping with this.

No you can't. Viruses cannot survive outside the body for any length of time, they need a host. As you can't contract the coronavirus that very occasionally leads to FIP, you can't bring it home from to your cats. The virus is transmitted from cat to cat.

Ok. Thanks for the reassurance.