Infectious Causes of Abortion in the Cat

Several infectious diseases are the cause or associated with the female and occasionally the male reproductive system of the cat.1>2,3,4,5,6^7,a Most notable are the viral diseases that cause infertility, embryonal-fetal death and resorption, malformations, abortion, mummification, stillborns and kitten neonatal death. Two classical viral infections, panleukopenia and feline viral rhinotracheitis (Feline herpesvirus-1) cause the above clinical manifestations by transplacental fetal viral infections. Feline leukemia virus and feline infectious peritonitis virus have been associated with the above clinical manifestations but have not been directly incriminated. Since both of these viruses cause immunosuppression in cats, this mechanism may be involved in the above clinical reproductive disorders.