# treating possible exposure to distemper



## mj702002 (Apr 5, 2009)

Hi,
Not sure if my concern belongs here or in the health forum.

Our neighbor asked me today if I knew what could be wrong with their cat and her kittens and described what I think to be distemper-sickly looking (the way they described it it sounded like dehydration),"funky" looking eyes, not eating, the mom cat has sores on her belly--not sure what the sores would be from. The momma cat has not had any vaccinations is approximately 1 year old. Some of the kittens-almost 2 weeks old- have died in the last couple of days. They cannot (or won't, I did offer to take her in with a couple of the ferals last fall to get vetted at a spay/neuter clinic) afford to take her and the kittens to the vet. They live quite close to us, not sure how many feet away, but I could walk to their house in about a minute. Even if it is not distemper, she and the kittens have something, that we will probably never know what it is unless they do take her to a vet. Whatever it is it is too close to my cats for my comfort.

There are 5 ferals that live at the barn and 3 ferals that live near my house that have been trapped, vetted, spayed/neutered, vaccinated 2-4 years ago. All of these cats are over 3 years old (I claim responsibility for the 3 at my house, my boss claims the ones that live at the barn). There are 4 other cats that live in and out of my house that are up to date on their vetting. All of these cats appear healthy.

Does anyone know anything about the herbal/homeopathic remedies that we could put in their food as a preventive if this is distemper? I have found a couple of websites but neither state if it will help if the cat hasn't had a vaccination in the last year.

Do you think I have reason to be pulling my hair out worrying about this?

Any ideas on treatments preventatives that we can offer in their food/water. 

My boss and I are cringing at the thought of trying to trap all of these cats and would like to explore what we could possibly do ourselves. It is Saturday night here, we have to wait until Monday to talk with our vet.

Thanks in Advance!!
MJ


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Welcome, and I'm sorry it is under these circumstances; where you are so worried about your kitties.
I've flashed through a few websites and it appears this is a disease that can remain active and viable in the surrounding area for a long time. It seems to target kittens who are just developing an immune system and unvaccinated cats. I *think* if your cat has been vaccinated it will have the antibodies to be able to fight it off. It appears there is no 'cure', only a treatment of symptoms and supportive care for the affected cat. 
This disease is highly contagious and it appears vaccination is the best defense. 
Wishing the best for you and your kitties. 
Heidi
_ps...I just wanted to say that the symptoms you are describing are not sounding like what I am reading at these sites:_
http://www.marvistavet.net/html/body_fe ... emper.html


> Virtually every cat will be exposed to this virus.
> Infection occurs when the virus enters the body through the mouth or nose of the victim. Whether illness results depends on the immunity present in the victim vs. the number of individual virus particles entering the body.


http://cats.about.com/od/diseasesandcon ... anleuk.htm
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... 52&aid=222


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