What kinds of diseases are most commonly found in stray cats?
Many cat diseases are transmitted from cat-to-cat, often from mother to kitten. This can happen through biting, or, like the common cold, by air. In my opinion, Felv/FIV retroviral infections, which are related to cancer and immunosuppression, are some of the most prevalent diseases found in stray cat populations.Other infectious diseases found in these populations are the same ones your cat is vaccinated against. These include calicivirus and rhinotracheitis, which are upper respiratory viruses. These diseases make cats sick, but they probably won’t kill the cat unless it has other concurrent problems or is a severely affected kitten. Panleukopenia is another serious intestinal infection that destroys white blood cells, reducing a cat’s ability to fight off opportunistic infections. It’s totally preventable by vaccination, but cats that get the disease rarely survive, even with veterinary intervention.
