Should a cat breeder stop breeding after FPV diagnosis?
The cat breeder has a number of options open after FPV diagnosis: first, no susceptible animals should be introduced to the contaminated environment for at least a year, so that all newcomers should have had a full vaccination course before entering the premises. Secondly, kittens will receive antibodies from their mother’s milk which will protect them for a few weeks (the exact time will depend on how well the kittens suckled and how high the mother’s antibody titre was when she gave birth: the higher the titre, the longer the kittens will be protected). Therefore, an option for cat breeders is to sell their kittens at 5-6 weeks of age, before they lose these antibodies, known as maternal antibodies, and become susceptible to infection. This option of course depends on all of the kittens suckling adequately to obtain the antibodies. Vaccinating kittens from an earlier age, say 6 weeks, usually doesn’t work because the maternal antibodies may interfere with the vaccine, so that the kit
