Local animal shelters temporarily halt cat adoptions due to illness
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- The Indianapolis shelter identified cats with symptoms of mycoplasma, upper respiratory infections, calicivirus or panleukopenia.
- Shelters give information on what to do if you think your cat is sick.
- IndyStar called several local shelters to see if others were affected. So far, only Marion and Johnson counties have reported issues
- Learn more about the symptoms of these diseases from PetMD at bottom of article.
Animal shelters in Marion and Johnson counties have temporarily closed their cat rooms and halted intakes due to an illness outbreak among their feline populations.
The Indianapolis Animal Care Services alerted the public to this sudden outbreak on Sept. 19 in a social media post, where it explained that a “critical level” of cats had tested positive for highly contagious and life-threatening diseases.
Veterinarians confirmed that cats had tested positive for mycoplasma, upper respiratory infections, calicivirus or panleukopenia.
What shelters are doing to stop spread
To reduce the spread of these diseases, the shelter decided it would temporarily close the public’s access to its cat rooms and hold off on accepting any new cat intake for the next 10 days and is expected to reopen on Sept. 29.
“We know this is difficult news, but it is absolutely necessary to protect the health and safety of our animals and the public,” the Indianapolis Animal Care Services said on a Facebook post.
The Indianapolis Animal Care Services did say dogs are still available for adoption and some cats that were kept separate from those infected remain available to adopt.
The Indianapolis shelter will also accept cats that require urgent medical care or treatment for injuries.
“This pause allows our team to focus on treating sick cats, containing the outbreak, and implementing enhanced disease-control protocols,” the Indianapolis Animal Care Services said on a Facebook post. “Our highest priority is protecting the health of the animals in our care and preventing further spread of disease.”
A few days after the shelter made its social media post, the Humane Society of Johnson County announced it would also be stopping intake and adoptions of cats from its facility.
“We have an unprecedented number of kitties getting sick with a variety of things,” the Humane Society of Johnson County social media post reads. “We feel like we are raking a fire. Our staff and dedicated team, all the vets are doing everything in our power to stop the spread and care for all of them.”
The Humane Society of Johnson County did not specify what diseases its feline population was dealing with, but the shelter did temporarily close its doors on Sept. 24 to conduct a deep clean of its facility.
What to do if your cat might be sick?
It’s unclear how long these diseases may have been present at the shelters. Some residents shared on Facebook that their recently adopted cats had been sick with upper respiratory symptoms.
The Indianapolis Animal Care Services recommends pet owners take their cats to visit a veterinarian if they are presenting any symptoms that may be related to mycoplasma, upper respiratory infections, calicivirus or panleukopenia.
Symptoms according to PetMD:
Mycoplasma – inflammation of several joints, inflammation of tendon sheaths, difficulty moving, fever and general signs of discomfort
Cat upper respiratory infections – sneezing, drainage from the eyes, conjunctivitis (swelling or redness of the membranes around the eyes), squinting, nasal drainage or crust, nasal congestion, decreased or absent appetite, cough, lethargy, fever, ulcers in the mouth, lymph node swelling or difficulty breathing.
Calicivirus – sneezing, nasal discharge, ulceration of the surface of the nose, conjunctivitis (eye inflammation), eye discharge, ulcers on the lip, tongue or elsewhere in the mouth, fever, lethargy, dehydration, pneumonia, joint inflammation or signs related to blood vessel wall inflammation.
Panleukopenia – lethargy, depression, vomiting, diarrhea, painful abdomen, dehydration, weight loss, rough or unkempt hair coat, fever, decreased to absent appetite or collapse.
Noe Padilla is a public safety reporter for IndyStar. Contact him at [email protected], follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social.
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