5 week old kittens – panleuk positive

Hello again,

I thought I’d update this thread now that it’s almost four weeks old, in case anyone was following it and curious of the outcome. I’ll be thorough so that it can maybe be used for reference for someone in the future.

So, of our seven foster kittens exposed, here was what happened:

Kitten that was 3 weeks old at the time that had minimal-to-no contact with the infected kitten: never contracted the virus. Has been fully healthy.

Kitten that was 7 weeks old at the time that was bedmates with the litter of 5 week old kittens that were panleuk positive: Also never contracted the virus. Once they tested positive, she was immediately removed from them. We bottle raised her, she never nursed from their mom so there was no reason to keep her with them. It’s so strange because EXACTLY the time the others tested positive, she had a high fever of 104.5 and no appetite. Our vet rushed to vaccinate her, and the following day she was throwing up and had diarrhea, and couldn’t walk at all. We thought she was going to fade, but a day later she fully recovered and has been fully healthy since. She just had her booster vaccine a few days ago, and had no reaction this time. It’s possible the vaccine was her saving grace, it’s really hard to know/understand, as I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that she came in contact with the virus.

Litter of 5 kittens that were five weeks old at the time and tested POSITIVE for panleuk: All survived, and none show ANY symptoms anymore – they have all been extremely playful and have gained a significant amount of weight. We credit this to a few things:
1. Their mom doted on them the entire time. Feeding them constantly, cuddling with them, cleaning them, etc.
2. They were given clavamox very early on, helped to fight off secondary infections.
3. MOST DEFINITELY THE SAVIOR: The strain they came in contact with MUST have been weaker. These guys got sick, but never to the extent I’ve read about. Their symptoms were: Some diarrhea (not in all), some lethargy, two had URIS (including one with a SEVERE eye infection – top and bottom lids fused and extremely swollen) and for whatever reason, they had NO weight gain for two weeks, despite us giving them supplemental feedings of very high calorie Hill’s Urgent food and fluids. They never lost their appetite, were still playful (although not as playful as before), and never vomited. They had diarrhea, but it was maybe once a day, and not constant. I almost wonder if we didn’t intervene at all if they could have pulled through, although I doubt it. We did fluids once a day for about a week, and force feedings three times a day for about a week and a half. They continued to nurse during this time as well, so didn’t want to overdo anything and mess with that. Also important to note: The shelter patient zero came from had experienced a small outbreak, which of course they only told us about AFTER we called in a panic to tell them the kitten we pulled had it. I saw just the other day a post of theirs looking to place a kitten (only two months old) that had also survived it from the exact same time period, meaning it was the same strain we experienced, so clearly the survival rate with this strain was higher than typical.

4. Also important: They came in minimal contact with the virus to begin with. Obviously they ALL still contracted it, but likely just encountering very very little of it made a difference. To be clear: They NEVER met patient zero. He was isolated and quarantined. The transmission had to have been from some of his feces or urine getting on the floor, and then getting on our shoes and tracking through the house. They were on opposite ends of the house, which is very large, so it still shocks me that this one litter got it and no one else did, especially when the 7 week old was loose in the house at that time (not anymore until she’s had her full series of vaccinations). The problem with panleuk is that without knowing you’re dealing with it, you likely aren’t naturally cleaning well enough to get rid of it. We always bleached his blankets and bottles, but when we cleaned the floor – with a bleach solution, mind you – we didn’t let it sit for ten minutes, which is what it takes to kill the virus, it’s disgustingly hardy.

So anyways, we had an INCREDIBLY lucky outcome. Even the kitten with the severe eye infection, whose eye seemed like it was about to rupture despite us trying to treat it, is almost completely back to normal. We are so extremely fortunate, we care about these kittens so much and hated to see them suffer.

I’m very very superstitious (just last week I was talking to someone about how we’re so lucky to not have encountered ringworm this season, and just two days ago a litter of five plus mom that have literally been completely isolated with one of our fosters for TWO MONTHS came down with it – we know with complete certainty this came from the vet), so I don’t want to get completely comfortable yet. We’ve heard conflicting info from vets- one saying once they’re on the upswing they’re okay, another saying they can likely relapse, so it’s possible the saga continues. For now, they’re completely back to normal, and growing as they should. We will retest them for panleuk in a couple of weeks to see if they are still shedding the virus, and we’re going to hold off on vaccinating/spaying for a while as well. For now I’m hopeful that we somehow made it through.

Sorry for the long post, I just thought it was an interesting story, and hopefully gives hope to someone in the future.

Thank you to Kittyzee and Pussigato for your replies, I never responded because I was so completely overwhelmed with stress and the task ahead, but I did read your responses and took away new info from each.

If anyone finds this in the future and has questions, please feel free to reach out to me. I’ve learned a lot about panleuk through this experience both firsthand and from vets and research, even though my particular experience was atypical.