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March certainly did roar in like a lion. Along with the gusty winds, on the first day of the month we took in 14 cats at the South Jersey Regional Animal Shelter – some of them obviously pregnant already! That would not be unusual at all in the middle of May, but this early in the year it’s a bad sign of things to come.

Although it was wonderful having the warmest winter on record, it won’t bode well for a lot of animals. Cats will be reproducing like rabbits. Fleas, ticks and mosquitoes will come early, and may be more prevalent. Health concerns, such as the Parvovirus, will be intensified. That said, as I mentioned in last week’s column, a little prevention goes a long way.

I’m currently fostering a litter of puppies that came from downtown Bridgeton. Two of them were found in the middle of the busiest road in town and brought in by animal control. The officer knew there were four more loose puppies on the property from which they came, but no one was home and the mother dog would not let anyone near them. The next day was a Saturday, with no animal control officer on duty, so I drove over there myself, fearing the others would end up in the road and come to an unfortunate end. Luckily, the owners were home and we were able to get custody of the rest of the litter.

The puppies are absolutely adorable and we got attached to them very quickly.  On Tuesday, when I greeted them in the morning, one was extremely lethargic. I took him in to the veterinarian, and her first thought, because of his age and the area where he had been found, was that he might have Parvovirus. I was beside myself with worry. Although Parvo can be treated, it requires hospitalization, isn’t always successful and isn’t really affordable with a litter of six.

I was surprised when the vet suspected Parvo. I think of it more as a warm weather problem. The virus goes dormant when the temperature drops below freezing and starts to rear its ugly head as things heat up. Apparently, the warm weather we had in February has allowed the virus to resurface early, and already veterinarians in the area are seeing cases.

By the time I got the pup home after seeing the vet, I was convinced we would lose him. He was whimpering when he moved, crying out when I picked him up, and literally falling over when he stood up. Thankfully, it turns out that my foster pup is a SERIOUS drama king and was simply suffering from an upset belly. Later that evening he managed to eat some chicken, and by the next morning he was bouncing around as if nothing had ever been wrong with him. He’s lucky he’s so darn cute.

My point to this story is that if vets are seeing Parvovirus, and cats are on the move and carrying litters already, we should be preparing our pets for warm weather issues now. First and foremost, if you have pets that need to be spayed or neutered, please get it scheduled as quickly as possible. Dogs that are not on heartworm preventative year-round should start their monthly treatments ASAP. Flea and tick treatment that you normally might not apply until April or May should be started well before then, in order to avoid infestation and disease. Make sure that any young dogs and cats have completed their puppy and kitten vaccine regimen and that your adults are up-to-date. You still have three Saturdays to take advantage of the county-run free rabies vaccine clinics; check with the Cumberland County Health Department for locations.

Source: WARNING: Early spring means early problems for your pets

Posted in 2017, SJRAS Articles