Feline Herpesvirus

[CatWhisperer]

I volunteer for a shelter and have fallen in love with one of our kittens. I'd love to bring him home but I have 2 purebred ragdolls, each about a year and a half and FHV free, with a 3rd one coming in July. The shelter kitten has FHV, although he is not showing signs of it at the moment. I don't want my current cats to get sick if I bring the shelter kitten home. Especially since one of my babies is coping with HCM -- the last thing he needs is more stress on the body. Should I really be this worried about the transmission of FHV to my furkids? I noticed something written about a vaccine, but that it can't really prevent FHV. How effective is it? Is it effective enough to ease my worries? Or should I face the facts and hope the cutie shelter boy finds a good home elsewhere? Thanks in advance.

[xray_beth]

I've gone thru the exact same thoughts. Everything i've read and my vets recommendation was to not bring a nonFHV into your house because they will contract the virus thru sharing feed/ water dishes. I also worry that the stress of a new cat might cause my cat to relapse. I don't know about the vaccine you've mentioned. Let us know how you make out.