Temporary reduction in services due to potential exposure to Calicivirus

At the Madison-Oglethorpe Animal Shelter (MOAS) we serve our community by assuming the responsibility and care of the homeless pet population in both Madison and Oglethorpe counties.  We consistently place the health and well-being of our animals as our highest priority.  On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, a cat in our care tested positive for a common feline upper respiratory infection (URI), the Calicivirus.  This is a low-mortality virus commonly spread throughout high-population boarding, shelter, and veterinary environments. Although we vaccinate every cat in our care for this virus upon intake, we determined that out of an abundance of caution that we should  make the difficult decision to close intake and adoptions of any further cats residing in our facility.  This decision was carefully made in order to limit the potential spread of the Calicivirus to  our adoptable cat population in addition to  owned animals coming in for surgery or that would come into contact with a newly adopted cat..  

We are taking every necessary precaution, and in addition to seeking advice from the Georgia State Veterinarian and the Georgia Department of Agriculture, we have sought out the advice of local veterinarian partners to determine the best procedures.  As only one cat has currently tested positive, it is by no means certain that the remainder of the shelter cat population has been or will be affected. We are awaiting further test results to help evaluate this potential risk. Even if those tests return positive results, it is still not certain that the Calicivirus is the ultimate cause of any URI symptoms. “This is because up to 25% of clinically normal cats will test positive for [Calicivirus] infection via oropharyngeal swab, especially cats from a multiple cat household or those recently adopted from a shelter, pet store, or breeder. Recent vaccination with a modified live vaccine can also cause positive results.”* 

After consulting with our veterinarians, we are resuming surgeries as of this week after having completed a precautionary deep clean of our entire surgery suite. We are also allowing adoptions of cats who are in foster care and have been since before September 30th. Shelter staff will work with adopters and our foster parents to coordinate a safe meet and greet. We anticipate having more information later this week after receiving further test results, and we will continue to keep you informed. We hope to be back to offering adoptions for our non-foster cats and intake services to our community as quickly as possible, and we are grateful for all of the support that we’ve received as we address this situation.  Should you have any questions, please reach out to our staff at (706) 795-2868.

*For more information on the Calicivirus visit https://www.sheltermedicine.com/library/resources/?r=feline-calicivirus-virulent-systemic-feline-calicivirus-vs-fcv&fbclid=IwAR05T1nhxDv_oW6ViQNExw3kYAGyN-76R4pP7VyvqU3XJgrbZ2VcfuiJ-No#spread