BRUNSWICK — Midcoast Humane’s Kittenfest adoption event will continue this weekend while the shelter continues to treat several cats that recently fell ill with an upper respiratory infection in the shelter’s adoption areas.
The event is slated for 1-4 p.m. Sunday at Moderation Brewing in Brunswick. Kittens available at the event have been quarantined since entering the shelter so they haven’t been exposed to the illness, according to shelter officials.
The Range Road shelter closed to the public Tuesday so staff and volunteers could clean and disinfect its four cat adoption rooms. Exactly when the cats will be up for adoption once again depends on the results of test samples Midcoast Humane sent to a laboratory on Tuesday to identify the illness.
The shelter has reopened to dog adoptions and cats are available for adoption at its satellite locations and are listed on the website. One cat adoption room should reopen in Brunswick Saturday with cats that never lived with the sick cats and weren’t exposed to the illness, according to Mandie Wehr, the veterinarian in charge of shelter operations.
Wehr confirmed Tuesday that six of the roughly 50 cats up for adoption at the shelter were showing signs of an upper respiratory illness — essentially a cold. While the cats are vaccinated against respiratory infections, it’s not 100% effective against all strains.
Thursday, she said two more cats have symptoms.
“It just seems that many of them are coming down with the symptoms,” she said. “It can be a sign that it’s something that is not a typical virus … and that’s what we’re going to check for to make sure it’s not one of the more atypical viruses.”
Wehr said she hopes the cats will be ready for adoption again by the end of next week, “but we really will be waiting for the test results before making any of those definitive decisions on those kitties that were in the adoption area at the time we saw this level of illness.”
So far, the cats are responding well to traditional treatment for an upper respiratory infection, Wehr said.
Wehr said none of the current illnesses are feline infectious peritonitis, or FIP, which has no cure and no vaccination. Symptoms of FIP can include a fever that doesn’t respond to antibiotics, anorexia, weighted loss and lethargy.
Most cats have been exposed to the coronavirus virus that causes FIP, whether they’ve come from a barn, shelter or cat breeding environment, she said. The virus is spread through direct contact via the nose and mouth with infected feces.
“We have definitely seen cats with FIP,” Wehr said Thursday. “That’s not what we’re dealing with right now.”
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less