canine distemper in ferrets

[Lee C 55]

Hi I have been reading that ferrets can get canine distemper, has anyone had this in their ferrets and does anyone on here vaccinate their ferrets / dog against this.

I would be very interested in hearing what everyone has to say on the matter.

Many thanks

Lee c

[Col_c88 41]

A post a couple days ago mentioned about Innoculations and I think every reply was there not needed for ferrets.... yet you look at pet ferret information (sometimes its all i can find when im looking for a certain information before asking here) they all say about shots.. so I really dont know.

 

I trust the people on here though so chances are there not neccisary..

[Kay 3,709]

Lots of people have there ferrets inoculated, i have never had mine done though, some vets don't recommend it, some seemingly do , also there's no clear time when they need a booster, some folks have said there vets say yearly, others say 2 years , 3 years etc

[Lee C 55]

Could new ferrets pass this on to a dog?

[paulus 26]

i thought ferrets were feline? mustalid? do cats get canine (dog) distemper?

[scott7877 0]

Generally I wouldn't go for inoculations for ferrets, unless you live in an area that has had an outbreak of distemper. A pet/rescue ferret forum that I go on has a list that gets updated regular with outbreak areas.

[Elmer Fudd 2011 39]

ferrets can get it from cats,dogs and dogs and cats from ferrets and it will go to all your stock like wild fire ,be very carefull if its about in your area . if you see a cat or dog around your ferrets and its not one of yours it time to

[The one 8,445]

More chance of your ferret catching cat flu from your cat . A vet will probably advise you to get your ferret inoculated at £25 a consultation then the shots But i don't know anybody that does get there ferrets inoculated . Same with worming ect ferrets seem to thrive with due care and attention and dont need boosters ever year

[ferret100 47]

i thought ferrets were feline? mustalid? do cats get canine (dog) distemper?

 

Ferrets are more closely related to dogs than cats. Dogs, cats, foxes & ferrets are all susceptable. Lions/hyenas/African hunting dogs are even infected by it. Personally, I have my dog and ferrets vaccinated against it, because usually by the time an outbreak of CDV in an area is made public, many infected animals are already dead. I wasn't charged a consultation fee for any of my animals, just for the vaccs, even though the vets gave them all a thorough checkover before they were given the shot. The vet also kept them for 30mins after the vacc to ensure they didn't have any adverse reactions, again this was free of charge. I'd prefer to pay for vaccines than end up with dead animals. Plus I don't think the farmers would be too happy if my ferrets/dogs brought CDV onto their land.

[paulus 26]

i thought ferrets were feline? mustalid? do cats get canine (dog) distemper?

 

Ferrets are more closely related to dogs than cats. Dogs, cats, foxes & ferrets are all susceptible. Lions/hyenas/African hunting dogs are even infected by it. Personally, I have my dog and ferrets vaccinated against it, because usually by the time an outbreak of CDV in an area is made public, many infected animals are already dead. I wasn't charged a consultation fee for any of my animals, just for the vaccs, even though the vets gave them all a thorough checkover before they were given the shot. The vet also kept them for 30mins after the vacc to ensure they didn't have any adverse reactions, again this was free of charge. I'd prefer to pay for vaccines than end up with dead animals. Plus I don't think the farmers would be too happy if my ferrets/dogs brought CDV onto their land.

 

 

sorry mate ferrets are members of the mustelidae family which includes everything from weasel to badger, they can contract canine and feline distemper how ever know cases are a rarity, they relate more to feline than canine in as much as they have porous skin and small stomachs that contain high concentrations of acid hence the lack of worms and the need for an high protein diet and why either spot on or front line for cats are advised. personally ive been involved with ferrets for over 40 years and have never had one vacinated or encounterd any problems.

[DogMagic 461]

Iv kept ferrets a long time. As a kid i remember a fox got into my dads pigeon shed and killed nearly all of his pigeons. A practical sort of bloke my dad decided that rather than waste the dead pigeons he would let me have them for my ferrets. Might as well really, they were dead anyway, better than wasting um. Well i bagged them up 7 to a bag and was planning on getting a bag out the freezer every monday as the weeks ferret food. It wasnt long before the ferrets started getting ill (including 2 litters of cracking kits) and dying. Off to the vets and a diagnosis of distemper. The vet said the fox must of had it and its saliva was obviously on the dead pigeons and thats how the ferrets got it. He gave me some medicine for them but over the course of a week the whole lot died anyway. Distemper is a c**t of a thing for a ferret to get.

[ferret100 47]

i thought ferrets were feline? mustalid? do cats get canine (dog) distemper?

 

Ferrets are more closely related to dogs than cats. Dogs, cats, foxes & ferrets are all susceptible. Lions/hyenas/African hunting dogs are even infected by it. Personally, I have my dog and ferrets vaccinated against it, because usually by the time an outbreak of CDV in an area is made public, many infected animals are already dead. I wasn't charged a consultation fee for any of my animals, just for the vaccs, even though the vets gave them all a thorough checkover before they were given the shot. The vet also kept them for 30mins after the vacc to ensure they didn't have any adverse reactions, again this was free of charge. I'd prefer to pay for vaccines than end up with dead animals. Plus I don't think the farmers would be too happy if my ferrets/dogs brought CDV onto their land.

 

 

sorry mate ferrets are members of the mustelidae family which includes everything from weasel to badger, they can contract canine and feline distemper how ever know cases are a rarity, they relate more to feline than canine in as much as they have porous skin and small stomachs that contain high concentrations of acid hence the lack of worms and the need for an high protein diet and why either spot on or front line for cats are advised. personally ive been involved with ferrets for over 40 years and have never had one vacinated or encounterd any problems.

 

 

I am aware which family ferrets belong to. Feline Panleukopenia Virus (FPV), known under various names including Feline Distemper, is a member of the Parvoviridae family, closely related to Mink Enteritis and Canine Parvovirus and is not to be confused with Canine Distemper Virus (CDV), which belongs to the Paramyxoviridae family. FPV & CDV are caused by different viral agents. It is questionable as to whether domestic ferrets are conclusively susceptible to FPV, or even Mink Enteritis, however domestic ferrets are, without doubt, highly susceptible to CDV, although domestic cats are not. If only CDV was rare in ferrets, as I know many ferret owners would have wished to enjoy your good fortune regarding CDV. CDV is not only highly contagious but carries a severe mortality rate in ferrets. I chose to vaccinate my ferrets as prevention is better than cure.

 

Could you please define what you meant when you stated '...they relate more to feline than canine in as much as they have porous skin and small stomachs...', as I am yet to find a dog, cat or ferret that has non-porous skin and I'm very sure a ferret has a small stomach, well, because a ferret is quite small.

 

Ferrets require a high protein diet due to their metabolic rate, which is notibly different to the metabolic rate & dietary protein requirement of both dogs and cats.

 

Would you also mind explaining what you meant when you stated '...stomachs that contain high concentrations of acid hence the lack of worms...' as this indicates you believe ferrets are immune to worms? If you believe the hydrochorlic acid concentration of a ferrets stomach prevents them from being infected by internal parasites such as roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms, flukes, lungworms & heartworms, then that is a worrying fact. The concentration of stomach acid is not a constant, it fluctuates, never mind ingested bacteria that thrive in an acidic environment.

 

Frontline/Spot-On etc contain an active ingredient relevant to the targeted external/internal parasites specific to the product description, i.e Frontline: active ingredient is Fipronil, Spot-On: active ingredient is Ivermectin. It is not the necessarily the active ingredient that influences the product use in ferrets, it often concerns the 'potency' of the active ingredient, with bodyweight being the influencial factor. As an average sized ferret is more similar to an average size cat in bodyweight, rather than an average size ferret to an average size dog!

 

But what do I know, you've been involved with ferrets for longer than I've been alive....