Dogs well; cats ill
Humane Society puts cat adoptions on holdBy KATIE WILLIAMS Messenger staff writer
Dog adoptions resumed Monday at the Humane Society of North Central Iowa. However, the shelter's separate facility housing cats has been closed.
Laurie Hagey, interim executive director, said five cats began showing signs of illness on Friday, and three of those died over the weekend.
"We've now quarantined the cat house," she said. "No cats in, no cats out."
She said they have not been able to identify the virus infecting the cats and have sent a culture to Iowa State University for testing. Symptoms are sneezing, coughing, running nose and eventually the mucus becomes bloody, said Hagey.
A representative at Holm Animal Hospital, 1914 First Ave. S., said it will take several days for the tests to identify the virus. The remaining two cats appear to be recovering from the symptoms.
"We don't know enough about this virus yet," said Hagey. "We don't know how serious it is at this point."
She said until she knows what kind of antibiotics to use they will stop the adoption of cats in an effort to contain the disease.
The cat building will remain closed until further notice, she said. The Humane Society needs to know, and properly treat, the illness before it lets the felines go to new homes.
The cat facility may have been closed, but the building housing dogs is now open.
"It's a good news, bad news, situation," she said. "The dogs are looking great."
The dogs are recovering from parvovirus - which is not transmittable to cats -and are now eligible for adoption again, Hagey said.
Of the nine dogs that were diagnosed with parvo, four died.
"That's pretty successful," she said. "We did catch it early and were able to save a majority of the dogs."
Parvo attacks a dog's intestinal tract, leading to loss of appetite, vomiting, weakness and bloody diarrhea. In the worst cases, it can lead to death, said Culley Holm, a veterinarian at Holm Animal Hospital. It is contracted through oral contact with infested stools.
Adult dogs are less susceptible to the disease and there is a vaccine available. Keeping a pet up to date on shots is the best protection against parvo, he said.
"If your dog has been vaccinated, it shouldn't be an issue," Holm said.
A dog that begins to show parvo symptoms should be taken to a vet for treatment and care, he said.
The virus most commonly attacks puppies whose immune system can't fight off the disease. Symptoms begin to appear within three to seven days of infection, Holm said.
Hagey said the virus lives on many surfaces and is very difficult to kill, but a bleach and water cleaning solution will work.
Contact Katie Williams at (515) 573-2141 or katie@messengernews.net
|
robinr
|
|
|---|---|
|
12-05-08 2:20 AM
|
The shelter does recieve strays from private citizens. They are always held 7 days to give owners a chance to claim them. The shelter does not have to turn them over to Town and Country where they are euthanized after 7 days. The adoption fee for a dog has never been $200. The adoption fees for all animals cover their basic care, spay/neuter costs, vaccinations, microchipping and any special medical care. If you get a free pet from the paper the costs to properly care for the animal are much higher than the adoption fee of $80 to $130. BTW thinkaboutit ask your groomer if Parvo is transmittable to cats. It is not. If people are going to complain then at least get the facts straight and stop making things up.
|
|
robinr
|
|
|
12-05-08 2:11 AM
|
I think the people that are still bringing up the 2 million dollars that the shelter did not recieve have an agenda that needs to be investigated. Are you a former employee that was fired? Are you someone that hates animals and wants all strays euthanized? There aren't any pics of your so called spoiled pets anywhere. What could possibly be your motive for only commenting on shelter articles with non truths?
|
|
Marty123
|
|
|
12-04-08 10:56 AM
|
You can not blame the shelter for illnesses that come in there. With all the stray animals that come in there no one has any idea what they bring in. If they had a better facility they would have room to quanine the new coming animls until they had been seen by the vet. The fee for my kitten was very reasonable, $75. She had all her shots, flea medication was applied and she was spayed. You can not take a free kitten to a vet and get it all done for $75. We need to support our shelter and not critize them. They are hard working and really do care for all the animals. Please help our shelter anyway you can instead of complaining, help fix the problem.
|
|
Marty123
|
|
|
12-04-08 8:40 AM
|
The money that thinkaboutit is referring to is for the shelter to build a new facility and has not been given to them yet. The shelter needs to have matching funds before they see any money. I adopted a beautiful kitten from the shelter this fall. She is the most loving cat that I have ever had. She was very well taken care of my the staff at the shelter and I am very proud to say that both of my cats have come from the shelter.
|
|
angelickitty1981
|
|
|
12-04-08 8:38 AM
|
The humane society is going to be building a new shelter as soon as possible as the money went into an account that donates money to different charities around the community and they have the money just need to break ground is all!!! I love being able to adopt animals from the shelter!!! They have wonderful animals!!!! Plus they recently had a state inspection and they passed!!! Thinkaboutit, I dont believe that all that you say negative about the shelter as you truely dont understtand what is really going on. I suggest that you just go to the shelter and talk to someone that works there and they will tell you what is going on...
|
|
thinkaboutit
|
|
|
12-04-08 12:49 AM
|
Oh BTW I have 2 dogs 3 cats and a hermit crab. All of which are completely spoiled rotten. My dogs have more clothes than I do, they get vet checks at least twice a year and are groomed monthly. All of my animals either sleep with me or my kids. They all have their own blankets and I was even told today that by my groomer that I take very very good care of my animals. I have a big heart for my 4 legged friends and it breaks my heart to see animals dying needlessly!
|
|
thinkaboutit
|
|
|
12-04-08 12:43 AM
|
This is such a traqedy, Dying dogs; Dying Cats?? Is it coincidence that the dogs had parvovirus then the cats immediately get sick and start dying too? I don't think so!! Why is there no investigation being done into this? The humane Society was GIVEN over 2 million dollars towards a new shelter and where the heck is all of that money? This situation makes me sick and sadly I'd imagine that adoptions are going to plummet at best for awhile. I know I will not be adopting any animals for awhile. I would like to see something being done about the care and sanitation issues going on at the humane society. What a pity that these poor animals had to die. Lets get some real experienced people working at the humane society!
|