What are the differences between feline distemper and rabies?

Feline distemper is an acute, highly contagious disease that mainly infects young cats and unvaccinated cats. After being infected with the feline distemper virus, cats mainly show symptoms such as sudden high fever, severe vomiting, and diarrhea. On the other hand, rabies is a zoonotic disease that is common in carnivorous animals such as dogs, wolves, and cats, and people can also be infected by being bitten by infected animals.

What is feline distemper?

Feline distemper, also known as feline panleukopenia or feline infectious enteritis, is a highly contagious disease in cats characterized by high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, and leukopenia. The pathogen of feline distemper is a virus in the Parvoviridae family, which has strong resistance to the environment and can be preserved long-term at low temperatures. The transmission routes of feline distemper mainly include three types: contact with cats in the acute infection period, contact with cats in the virus shedding period, and infection through environments contaminated by the virus. Clinically, it is usually determined whether a cat is infected with feline distemper virus through symptoms, vaccination status, blood routine leukocyte index, and feline distemper test strips.

What is rabies?

Rabies is an acute infectious disease caused by the rabies virus, which is zoonotic and common in dogs, wolves, and cats. People can also be infected by being bitten by infected animals. Because hydrophobia is a prominent symptom after infection, rabies is also known as hydrophobia. After a cat is infected with rabies, it may show symptoms such as mental excitement, restlessness, wild running, screaming, biting things, photophobia, hydrophobia, and even foam-spitting, excessive salivation, stiff limbs, paralysis, and difficulty breathing, eventually leading to death. The rabies virus is mainly transmitted through bites from infected animals, where the virus in the animal's saliva enters the body through the wound.

How to prevent cats from contracting feline distemper and rabies?

First, regularly take your cat to the pet hospital for vaccination against feline infectious diseases such as the cat triple vaccine and rabies vaccine. After vaccination, check the antibody level in the cat's body to ensure that it has sufficient resistance to prevent infection. Second, avoid direct contact with cats suspected of having either feline distemper or rabies. After contacting an infected cat with feline distemper, strict disinfection is necessary before contacting other cats.