Updated
Updated · WISN Milwaukee · Aug 11
MADACC Quarantines All Cat Rooms as FPV Outbreak Hits Overcapacity Shelter
Updated
Updated · WISN Milwaukee · Aug 11

MADACC Quarantines All Cat Rooms as FPV Outbreak Hits Overcapacity Shelter

1 articles · Updated · WISN Milwaukee · Aug 11

Summary

  • MADACC placed every cat room under quarantine after feline panleukopenia spread through its Milwaukee shelter, which has been over capacity for more than a week.
  • FPV has no cure, can be especially dangerous for kittens, and can survive in the environment for a year or longer, making crowded-shelter outbreaks hard to contain.
  • The agency said it has intensified cleaning and other biosecurity steps while keeping adoptable cats in a separate room where none have shown symptoms.
  • MADACC urged residents not to bring in healthy stray cats or kittens during the crunch, instead checking for microchips, posting online and asking nearby homes and businesses first.
  • Sick, injured or endangered animals should still be brought for help, and cat owners were told to keep pets vaccinated and indoors to reduce further spread.

Insights

Why are healthy stray cats suddenly being turned away from Milwaukee's largest shelter during a deadly viral outbreak?
How does a shelter halt a highly contagious, environmentally hardy virus when it is already bursting over capacity?
Could your shoes be carrying a fatal, incurable virus into your home to infect your strictly indoor cat?