QUARANTINE / ISOLATION PROCEDURES

What is a quarantine?

Quarantine, by definition, is the act of keeping (people or) animals isolated for a period of time, to limit the spreading of disease. Some diseases, by their nature, are hard to see and some may not show symptoms for weeks! In the meantime, “germs”, such as worms, coccidia, giardia, mites, fleas, ringworm, or “cat flu”, are spreading!

How to do a quarantine:

Where?

You will need a separate room for a quarantine space. Ideally, this room will have a sink, exhausting air flow and be separate from your other animal’s living space. Ideally, you will seal the furnace intake vents, put a rolled up towel at the base of the closed door and install a low cost exhaust fan in the window. If you use a bathroom, please ensure that it is not used for any other purpose besides the quarantine. In your quarantine, you may want to use a cage to confine the rescue for the first while. This will allow you to watch it more carefully and the cage will give it a more secure feeling…a “retreat”.

Why?

Keeping a cat in quarantine will give you time to evaluate the overall health of the cat. It will also limit any problems to only the quarantined cat, instead of jeopardizing other animals. It is much easier to nurse one cat back to health, rather than nursing several!

Cat “flu”, or the Upper Respiratory (viral) diseases which a cat may succumb to, are spread somewhat like a human flu. That is, they can be spread by a sneeze (air-borne) or by touch. This is the reasoning behind exhausting the air from your quarantine room. You will, however, want to ensure that the exhausted air does not meet with your other animal’s air. It is this “mixing” of air that may cause another cat to catch a cat flu.

Please keep in mind, that although vaccines are necessary, to attempt to keep a cat healthy, they are not nearly 100% effective.

Preventative measures, such as a quarantine, will ensure your resident cat’s health!

How?

Do not have anything in the quarantine that cannot be well sanitized. If you have furniture, make sure that it can be wiped down with a disinfectant. Also remember that human hands, clothing and footwear can also carry infection. Hands should be washed frequently with an anti-bacterial/anti-viral wash, while protective clothing and overshoes should be sanitized, or changed, before you exit the quarantine space, leaving these items in the quarantine area. In terms of virus survival, herpes virus lasts for up to 18 hours, whilst calici virus, which is much hardier, can survive for up to seven days or even longer in damp conditions. When cleaning, don’t forget everyday objects such as toys, feeding bowls, water dishes, beds, carriers, etc.

You will need spray disinfectants such as A33, Roccal D or Virkon, which can be purchased from Vet supply businesses. A solution of 1 part Bleach to 32 parts hot water is a very good all-purpose disinfectant that is economical to use and kills many germs. Use the antiviral spray first and then dip in the bleach solution. A good bleach formula for washing hands (and cats) is: 8 ounces of bleach, 8 ounces povodone iodine, 8 ounces dawn in a gallon jug, then add water to a gallon. Keep this solution tightly capped when not using and it should last 3-4 weeks.

What you will need in a quarantine area:

An isolation area requires its own equipment, which must be kept separate from other cat/human equipment. Disposable or sterilize-able items include: food and water dishes, bedding, litter boxes, utensils (such as litter scoop). You may also want disposable gloves (recommended when handling infectious cats), disposable plastic or nylon aprons (which can be fashioned from large plastic garbage bags.

What not to have in a quarantine area:

• Upholstered or rattan/unsealed wood furniture - Use only wood which has been painted and fully sealed. Ensure there are no cracks in the wood, where bacteria or fungus can grow.

• Carpet - Use linoleum, wood, ceramic or some other other surface that is sealed and easy to clean.

• Cat furniture, which is carpeted. This is hard to disinfect. Use painted/urethaned wood boxes with bedding that can be removed and washed (disinfected). Use small, inexpensive scratching posts, which can be disposed of, after each cat. Use a plastic scratching post wrapped with sisal, which can be dipped in cleaning solutions.

• Any shared toys, food, dishes, litter box. Keep all of these items ONLY for the quarantine area and disinfect daily.

While the cat is in quarantine…

Keep a diary! It’s so much easier to recall information if everything has been documented! Use a binder with loose-leaf paper and have “sheet protectors” for all other information, such as Vet test results. This keeps all information about the cat together! You may also want to back up all information on your computer, either in a word processing  document or a spreadsheet.

You will need to ensure that vaccines are up to date on the rescue cat. Many times, no background info is available for the rescue. In this case, we should assume that no recent vaccines have been given. Often, vaccines are done at the shelter, before release to rescue. Check the shelter records!

The quarantined cat will need to be de-wormed. At the very least, de-worming for roundworms would be in order. If there are fleas or flea dirt present, the cat should be treated for tapeworms, as well as applying a flea treatment. To determine if a speck is flea dirt, put a piece on a wet paper towel. If it is red around the speck, it’s flea dirt.

Eyes and ears should be checked to ensure they are clean. Yellow or green goop coming out of eyes would indicate an infection. You will need either an oral or topical antibiotic from the Vet. Black goop in the ears (and scratching) could indicate ear mites. Realize that even a quarantine and washing/sanitizing will not stop the spread of mites. Please ensure all animals are on a product such as Revolution, as a preventative.

The mouth should be checked for gum inflammation, tartar build up, and loose or rotting teeth.

Groom, if at all possible. Check for any open cuts, or wounds, or old scars and report them to the rescue coordinator.

Check the coat for parasites and texture, and look for patches of hair loss. A coat will tell a lot about the overall health of the cat. Grooming also helps with bonding.

A toothbrush culture, to check for ringworm spores, may be necessary. To do one, you will need a sterile toothbrush. This toothbrush will be run over the body, between paw pads, through the tail, then stuck in ringworm culture media and checked two weeks later for color change and, if there is color change, it is checked for microscopic evidence of ringworm or re-cultured if there is evidence of contamination.

It helps to arrange your routine so that you do not handle sick cats or enter the isolation area until you have dealt with all the healthy cats (unless a veterinary emergency arises) and then can jump into the shower.

Please realize that these could be overly cautious suggestions, which may be needed at some point in your “rescue career”.

How else can I identify problems?

Signs of  illness in cats may include:

• Change in coat color or normal "feel" over time

• Loss of appetite or loss of weight

• Lethargy or unusual restlessness

• Change of "feel" of the skin.. loss of substance or elasticity

• Difficulty in eliminating, straining

• Change in frequency of litter box use

• Inappropriate urination or elimination

• Vomiting and/or diarrhea

• Excessive drooling

• Difficulty in swallowing

• Difficulty in moving or unusual movements

• Difficult or labored breathing

• Excessive eye or nasal discharge

• Coughing, wheezing, or sneezing

• Elevated temperature or sudden drop in temperature, shivering

• Rapid or extremely slow pulse

• Rapid swellings, especially about the head or abdomen

• Excessive water consumption

• Any marked changes in behavior

Report anything of concern to your rescue coordinator! It’s better to be safe, than sorry.

How long do I do a quarantine?

Most health problems, either apparent or carried, will have expressed themselves within 3 weeks. It is usually safe to end a quarantine at that point. However, ringworm or cat flu which has been complicated by a secondary bacterial infection (remember the yellow or green goop?) will obviously require a much longer quarantine period. It is absolutely necessary to be given the okay to stop a quarantine, by the rescue coordinator. 

Any outbreak of disease may necessitate a longer quarantine period.