Feline Panleukopenia - Complications

Complications

Complications are quite common in feline panleukopenia . The most prevalent one is dehydration, which develops in almost all FPL-infected cats that are clinically ill. Hyponatremia and other electrolyte disturbances are also quite common, as is hypotension, hyperpyrexia or, late in the disease, hypothermia. The patients' severe leukocytopenia predispose them to secondary infections, especially bacterial and fungal, though secondary viral infections also occur with some frequency. Disseminated intravascular coagulation may also occur, and is often fatal. Extreme thrombocytopenia may also occur, and can lead to severe hemorrhagic complications. Even if a cat survives acute FPL, late complications such as cardiomyopathy and myocarditis can occur, though there have never been any reported cases of hematologic or gastrointestinal sequalae, and it seems that late myocarditis or cardiomyopathy is extremely rare in feline panleukopenia-affected cats. Overall, any long-term sequalae in survivors of feline panleukopenia is extremely rare, with almost all cats who survive making a full recovery.