Made with 
There’s a virus going around, aAnd it’s not the Covid
Just as all the hooms were getting vaccinated and starting to feel better, Boo caught a virus that we’ve never heard of before called the Calicivirus. We thought this was a made-up virus because it sure did sound like a character from a TV show, but it’s real. Calicivirus is an upper respiratory virus that is spread through saliva when a cat sneezes or using the same water bowl. Or grooming each other. It can also possibly be passed through urine and poop if cats share a litter box. We aren’t sure how Boo caught it, but she did and she brought it into the house.
Calicivirus has an incubation period of 2- 6 days from the time they are infected until the time they begin showing symptoms, then the symptoms can last from 2 weeks to 21 days and during that entire time, the cat is contagious. Infected kitties should be quarantined until the infection has passed. After that, the infected kitty may still carry the virus for a few months and continue to infect other kitties. Infected kitties can also carry the calicivirus the rest of their life without showing symptoms, similar to the feline herpes virus. Hoomans who pet infected kitties should wash their hands before petting other kitties to avoid spreading the virus.
The first symptom we noticed in Boo was that her nose looked weird. It looked like it was falling off! The second sign we noticed was she was sneezing more than usual. She sneezes when it’s windy, but now she was sneezing when it wasn’t windy. The third sign we saw a few days after we noticed the first symptom, Boo’s eyes were goopy. She also slept more than usual and didn’t move around a whole lot.
There is no cure for the calicivirus, and the best way to care for an infected kitty is to make sure they’re comfortable and have everything they need. We supplemented Boo’s food with Reishi and Turkey Tail mushroom powders and applied an all-natural topical ointment we made for her nose. A few days later we noticed Pooh Bierre showing the same symptoms, but we caught it in the beginning and were able to stop the symptoms in their tracks. We gave Pooh Bierre the same supplement and applied the same ointment and he felt better right away. We kept an eye on the other kitties in case they started showing symptoms, so far they haven’t and Boo and Pooh Bierre are on the mend.
