And then there were none. New Westminster's animal services branch was forced to put down the remaining 16 cats in the city's animal shelter on Thursday because of an outbreak of calicivirus, an infectious feline viral disease.
"The decision to euthanize the cats at the shelter was not taken lightly," said Dave Cole, supervisor of animal services. "We took this action on the advice of our veterinarians to prevent spread of the virus to other cats in the community."
The strain of calicivirus found at the shelter has a more than 70 per cent mortality rate. All of the shelter's cats tested positive for the virus.
According to the City of New Westminster, shelter staff first saw evidence of calicivirus on Nov. 6. When it was confirmed by a veterinarian, staff took steps to contain the outbreak, which included isolating the cat population onsite at the Queensborough shelter and redirecting any new cat intakes to other animal shelters in the region.
On Nov. 9, staff closed the shelter to the public after the virus was detected. The shelter will remain closed for up to three more weeks while staff decontaminate the facility.
"We won't re-open the shelter until we are certain it is safe to do so," said Cole. "While it's been a very tough couple of weeks for our staff and volunteers, we look forward to getting back to normal and providing animal services to the community."
In an earlier interview with The Record, Cole described the virus's symptoms.
"It starts with upper respiratory. They end up with what's like a cat cold," he said about sniffles and runny noses. "The biggest symptom they have is the ulcers. They are in their eyes, noses and mouths."
Because cats' sense of smell encourages them to eat, the ulcers are deterring the cats from eating. Some have to be force-fed water and food.
According to Cole, the virus eventually progresses to the point where some of the cats' organs begin to shut down. At that point they appear lethargic and weak.
"This is what we are fighting with ourselves. With medication we can cure the symptoms they are suffering from. But they still have the virus," he said. "It is spreadable. The symptoms they have will reoccur, or it is going to be passed on to other cats."
With files from Theresa McManus
