Feline Coronavirus (FCoV) is a common and contagious virus, passed in the faeces of cats. It is more commonly found in multi-cat households and does not affect other animals or people.
FCoV is caught by inadvertently swallowing the virus through contact with other cats, litter trays or soil where other cats have toileted. Cats can also re-infect themselves while grooming or eating following toileting. Up to 40 per cent of all cats will be infected with the virus at some time in their lives and most owners will be unaware of it.
Most cats do not display any sign of being infected with FCoV, although some cats get diarrhoea for a few days. These cats tend to shed the virus in their faeces for a few months and remain healthy.
In a very small percentage of cats, the virus mutates and causes a fatal disease called FIP This is more likely to occur in multi-cat environments and can take weeks or months after the initial infection with FCoV to develop.
Please see these links and our section on FIP for more info.
http://www.dr-addie.com/PreventionS1.htmhttp://www.fabcats.org/cat_group/policy_statements/fip.html
