BEAUMONT, Texas — Officials with the Beaumont Animal Care shelter are asking people to not bring cats to their facilities until they can get a hold on a Parvovirus outbreak.
The announcement is coming during what is typically known as kitten season.
In total, over 40 cats were affected by the Parvovirus. Beaumont Animal Care said the Parvovirus problem got so bad that they were losing one to two kittens a day. It was something they weren't use to at the shelter.
Shelter officials say they don't know how exactly the Parvovirus outbreak happened, but they had been treating sick kittens more frequently than usual.
They warned adopters to look out for illness in cats and to go get them checked by a veterinarian. One adopter listened to the advice and got their cat tested, and it was positive for Parvovirus.
That's how Beaumont Animal Care found out all 40 of their cats were exposed.
“Unfortunately, there's not one specific medication to treat Parvo," Viviana Lopez with Beaumont Animal Care said. "You have to treat symptoms as you go, so it’s kind of a costly and timely manner to treat them. Fortunately, we were able to have a local rescue and they have the time and resources to treat them.”
As of right now Beaumont Animal Care will not be taking in anymore owner surrender or stray cats from the public due to the risk of them catching or bringing in Parvovirus. Lopez said they will be taking advantage of no cats in the shelter to thoroughly disinfect the cages and cat rooms.
Beaumont Animal Care recommends if you find a stray cat take it to the vet before bringing it into a shelter.