My dog has parvo. Can my kitten catch the virus from my dog?

Question

My dog has parvo ,and I also have a kitten,can my dog spread the parvo to my kittie? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Male | unneutered | 3 years and 3 months old

David Darvishian · Accepted Answer

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Great question. Sorry to hear about Poohtee. The parvovirus in dogs is very similar to the Distemper virus in cats (Panleukopenia). In fact when the parvovirus was first identified in dogs and was causing many many problems including deaths, there was no dog vaccine available but we started vaccinating dogs with Cat Distemper vaccines since the 2 viruses are very similar. The good news for cats is they cannot develop Parvo from dogs but since the virus is so similar to the Cat Distemper virus, cats or kittens exposed to Parvo will develop a cross immunity towards the Cat Distemper virus. So bottom line, the kitten cannot get Parvo from Poohtee and will gain some immunity against the Cat Distemper virus. Now we do vaccinate kittens and cats against the Cat Distemper virus and a few of the upper respiratory viruses that can affect them. Kittens get vaccinated every 3-4 weeks from the age of about 8-16 weeks then either once a year or once every 3 years after that. Great question. I wish Poohtee the best. It's pretty uncommon for a dog of his age to get Parvo unless they are not vaccinated or vaccinated properly.

My dog has parvo. Can my kitten catch the virus from my dog?

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