Has Dunedin's stray cat population been devastated by a highly infectious virus? A lack of young cats coming into Dunedin's SPCA sanctuary might indicate that. Star reporter JONATHAN CHILTON-TOWLE talked to the SPCA, vets and the council.
Otago SPCA general manager Sophie McSkimming said the SPCA was not as busy as was usual at this time of year - and cat numbers especially were down.
Ms McSkimming suspected the cat scarcity might have been caused by an outbreak of the disease feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) earlier in the year. She did not have figures on the decline in numbers but said the centre was not as busy as it had been at this time in previous years.''
We're not seeing the same numbers of young cats coming through,'' she said.''
This is pure speculation though. You might talk to me in a month and we might have kittens everywhere.''
FPV, also known as feline infectious enteritis, or ''cat plague'', is a viral infection.
The virus causes internal ulceration followed by bloody diarrhoea, severe dehydration, malnutrition, anaemia, and often death.
It is caused by feline parvovirus and is spread through contact with an infected animal's bodily fluids, faeces, and other fomites. There is a vaccine that can protect against the virus but if cats have not been vaccinated, the virus has a high fatality rate. It cannot be spread to humans or dogs.
The SPCA Opoho Sanctuary suffered an outbreak of FPV in April. The centre was quarantined but it was reported at least six cats died before the outbreak was controlled. Ms McSkimming declined to say how many cats had died in total during the outbreak, only saying that it had been ''a number''.
Ms McSkimming believed the wild population of cats had also been ravaged by the disease, which would explain why fewer cats were being presented.
People had not been reporting discovering a large number of dead cats but this did not mean anything as cats usually found a secluded place to hide while they died, she said.
It was impossible to measure any decline in stray cat population because no-one was responsible for controlling it, she said. Since the outbreak at the SPCA, no FPV had been seen at the centre but Ms McSkimming thought it would still be in the city.
Dunedin City Council environmental health team leader Ros MacGill said the council did not monitor stray cat numbers so she could not comment on whether there had been any decline in population.
Council staff had not noticed any difference as they still got calls about stray cats, she said.
Pet Planet director Russell Brown said his practice did get some cases of FPV but he was not aware of an epidemic.
The best way to protect a cat against FPV was to get it vaccinated by the time it was 8 weeks old.
If a cat did get FPV it was possible for it to survive if it went through a fairly intensive treatment.
How to protect your cat from FPV:Get your cat vaccinated against FPV and other illnesses.
If your cat shows any signs of sickness, especially vomiting or diarrhoea, take it to a vet.
The FPV virus can stay in your house for up to a year, so if you have a cat that had FPV, do not get another cat for at least a year. Even vaccinated cats can be vulnerable to FPV if they are young.
