Cat, kitten intake paused at Guilford County Animal Services due to contagious feline virus

GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Cat intake is on pause once again at Guilford County Animal Services for the third time this year.

This is all due to another outbreak of kittens testing positive for a highly contagious and potentially fatal viral infection.

At GCAS, they have ten cats in quarantine and currently aren’t taking in cats or kittens.

The director said seeing this many cases of the viral infection in a year is not the norm.

“In one cat season, this is the most repetitive,” Guilford County Director of Animal Services Jorge Ortega said.

It’s a 14-day quarantine for cats with feline panleukopenia virus. It’s the third this year. The quarantine has been enforced at GCAS.

In May, it happened twice in one month.

“Unfortunately, it’s something that happens in sheltering environment,” Ortega sid.

What makes it tricky is that some cats with the virus may not have symptoms. This makes it hard to know who is sick.

“The new facility has really helped us in not having to make euthanasia decisions for these cases. So … we’re lucky to have this space where we can isolate and quarantine this group of cats where it doesn’t impact our day-to-day operations,” Ortega said.

Some cases are from cats not having the vaccination for the virus. Others are due to weakened immune systems due to stress after intake. Ortega said pausing intake is the best solution.

“Hopefully, everyone understands that it’s in the best interest of that one cat not bringing them into an environment that is contagious,” Ortega said.

Quarantine for the cats is expected to be lifted on July 14. While intake is on pause, you can still adopt a healthy cat or kitten.

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