My cat has hepatitis. Can she pass it to her newborn kittens?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I will assume when you say feline hepatitis that these cats are being treated for non specific inflammation of the liver (or cholangiohepatitis). As many things can cause this it is a little challenging to know how to completely answer this question. With that being said, most cats with this syndrome have inflammation that may or may not be associated with a bacterial infection. And often there is no infectious agent that has been diagnosed. I am assuming your kitty is not staying in the same home. If so, the risk of you giving anything to your kitty is low, especially if you are washing your hands after handling the affected kittys/litterbox waste. For yourself, i would just either wear gloves when handling the litterbox waste or do not directly handle with bare hands, and then wash your hands after handling waste and the kitties. It is a little challenging to know fully about risk so i think what would make you feel better is to get a little more information from the pet owner about the diagnosis. I hope this helps!

The liver failure itself isn't contagious, but viruses are typically contagious. Without knowing the specific virus to which you are referring, I can't give you anymore information than that unfortunately. You can post again with the name of the virus for more in depth help. I would keep your sick cat isolated to be safe.

I am assuming that the person is infected with Hepatitis C which is a human virus. It is not typically transmitted to cats so your cat should be fine. If you have any questions or concerns than you should contact your veterinarian and have your cat examined.

It depends on whether the siblings are older or younger. Most of the time, kittens who are leukemia-positive have been born to a leukemia-positive mother. So if kittens from a previous litter tested positive, then it's likely that the mother was positive at that time. Feline leukemia cannot be cured, so if she was positive then, she's likely still positive now - which means any kittens she currently has are likely to be infected as well. You can have a blood test done by your veterinarian to find out for sure.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about your cat. These are all impossible questions to answer maybe even for your vet who has examined her. Time will tell if she conceived. Liver problems can certainly complicate anesthesia but a liver protocol could certainly be followed if you elected to spay her. I would consult with the vet who knows the most about this case. Good luck

Sorry to hear this! Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon situation with small kittens. They usually die suddenly like this due to a heritable defect, poor immunity, or a severe disease like panleukopenia. There are very few diseases that a kitten can pass onto people and considering that she died so quickly, I would not be concerned about any diseases that could be passed to people. Most of the diseases carried by cats that can be passed to people are not a problem for healthy people and would not be nearly as deadly. If you did get a disease like toxoplasmosis or bartenolosis there would be warning signs such as feeling malaise, or Flu-like. Again, it's extremely unlikely for this to happen to you, but if you did feel sick in the next two weeks, then it would be good to mention the kitten to your doctor. Either way, the diseases that you could get from cats can be treated and would not be deadly (besides rabies, which is extremely unlikely in this case). I really wouldn't worry though. I've seen many of these little kittens die suddenly in shelters and have never had a concern about a zoonotic disease (disease passed from animals to people). I hope that helps.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Some illnesses can be transmitted from one cat to another from your hands or clothing. I recommend washing hands and possibly leaving shoes away from your cats if the stray sneezed on or near them. Basic good hygiene will help prevent disease transmission to your kitties. If you are able please take the stray into the vet as soon as you are able as it sounds like she may have a significant respiratory infection. Be sure that she is tested for feline leukemia and FIV before you ever let her near your cats to be safe.