Canine distemper (sometimes termed
hardpad disease in canine) is a
viral disease that affects a wide variety of animal families, including domestic and wild species of dogs, coyotes, foxes, pandas, wolves, ferrets, skunks, raccoons, and large cats, as well as pinnipeds, some primates, and a variety of other species. It was long believed that animals in the family
Felidae, including many species of large cat as well as domestic cats, were resistant to canine distemper, until some researchers reported the prevalence of CDV infection in large felids. It is now known that both large
Felidae and domestic cats can be infected, usually through close housing with dogs or possibly blood transfusion from infected cats, but such infections appear to be self-limiting and largely without symptoms.