Kirsten,

Your friend shouldn't feel bad. She had absolutely no way of knowing that was going to happen.

Panleukopenia, aka Feline Distemper is fatal to cats and is highly contagious. It stays airborne for up to 1 year if the shelter is not cleaned properly with and ONLY with Chlorox brand bleach and hot water.

I had an outbreak of it in my spare room when I lived in CT. I had taken in 2 mamas with kittens. One set went to my friends house for fostering. Well, ALL of them came down with it and died within a week. I was devastated, as was my friend, because she ended up putting 2 of the kittens in with another lactating mother (their mama bit me and had to be quarantined at the vet for 2 weeks). The lactating mama and HER kittens caught it as well and they all died. It's a very bad disease.


I'm sorry for your friend. It effects kittens more because their immune systems aren't fully developed. Older cats can fight it off.