Officers with the Savannah-Chatham police department’s Animal Control division have quarantined cats at their own shelter after identifying a serious illness in the feline areas.
Shelter employees noticed some of the cats had become ill and sent cultures to be analyzed, said Julian Miller, police spokesman. Results received this morning indicated the presence of feline herpes virus infection, microplasma and bordetella, he said.
Officers reported the situation the Georgia Department of Agriculture and initiated a self-imposed quarantine for cats over the next three weeks. Cats will not be accepted or adopted out during this period but they will be taken in cases of injured animals, bite cases, feral and obviously ill cats, Miller said.
Medical staff have advised that cats displaying signs of the illness be euthanized upon arrival to prevent the spread of the illnesses, Miller said.