Pet Articles
Cats and Colds
Respiratory Infections and the common cold in cats
Cats can get upper respiratory infections or what we call the common cold or flu. However you can not pass a human cold on to your cat and vice versa. The cat ‘cold’ is a completely different cup of tea. If your cat has any of the below symptoms for more than a day or two he/she probably has an upper respiratory infection.
Upper respiratory infections are extremely contagious (infection can be passed through an airborne contagion or through casual contact) and it is very common for all cats within a household to become infected quickly. Although most of the agents that cause URI do not survive very long (from a few hours to a few weeks) in the environment, they can last a very long time in the cat’s respiratory tract in a latent or potent form. Many cats actually will carry the agent in their body for the duration of life. In such a case your cat may suffer from occasional flare-ups when stressed or when the immune system is weak. Such a cat may also pass the agent on to other cats (even if that cat isn’t actively sick). Cats can get URI’s for a variety of reasons just as people do. These reasons can range from:
- A bacteria or virus (Chlamydia, Feline Calicivirus, Feline Herpes virus also known as Feline Rhinotracheitis Virus) a majority of UTI’s are caused by a virus
- A parasitic worm infection
- An allergic reaction
Symptoms to look for:
- Sneezing
- Runny nose
- Coughing
- Wheezing
- Discharge from the nose or mouth
- Respiratory problems
- Oral ulcers
- Conjunctivitis (discharge from the eye)
Treatment:
If you suspect any sort of “cold” take your cat to the vet immediately for an examination. Although URI’s are not terribly serious, your cat can get secondary infections during this time period which could be more serious and can lead to chronic illnesses. Many cats with a cold will also have their appetites suppressed. Cats who do not eat for even just a day or two can be at risk for hepatic lipidosis, which can be a very serious illness. The bottom line is that although a cold in and of itself is not terribly serious, that left untreated, it can turn into a serious illness.
Most cases of URI are taken care of with a course of drug therapy (antibiotics, decongestants, antivirals), rest, lots of food and liquids. Humidification of the nasal passages may also help your cat, you can do this by purchasing a humidifier for the room or bringing your kitty in with you for a nice steaming in the bathroom. However, do not allow your cat to catch a ‘chill’ if you do get him/her wet.
If you do have a cat that has been on therapy for a few weeks and is still not feeling better, or if your pet has finished his/her course of medication and is still ill your vet may have him/her in for another visit to do some more tests. These may include X-rays of the skull which allow you to see the nasal cavity and frontal sinuses. This can help you determine what, if any damage the infection has done to the nasal passages. A nasal flush can also be performed to collect matter from the nasal cavity. This matter can then be analyzed to better determine what is causing your cat to be ill.
Precautionary measures:
Keep your cat indoors and away from other sick animals. Keep your pet in a clean environment which includes clean food and water bowls and a clean home. Keep your home above 70 degrees and if your cat gets wet either dry him off or make sure he stays warm while he dries off. You can also talk to your vet about yearly vaccinations to ward off such infections.
Article courtesy 21cats.org
Reproduced by permission
156 Responses to this Article, So Far
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I have 3 cats in my household that have colds and I decided not to let any of them outside because of their colds… is there a home remedy to help your cats get over their colds… or an over the counter pet meds?
They could have infections and need veterinary medicine, not human medicine. Vet time!
I have 5 cats, all strays. 1 caught a “cold” now all of them have it, only took 2 days now all are sneezing, watery/goopy eyes, and nose. Have them on orbax and tobramycin, but its not helping. Cats are very sharing animals!! Cant seem to get them all well, and the vet wont give them their 2nd set of shots til they are healthy, its a constant battle!:(
My father’s cat just became very lethargic today and sneezing/coughing. We took him to the vet immediately and he also had a fever of almost 105. Take your cat to the vet if symptoms – they can get sicker very quickly. Our’s is on antibiotics to prevent a secondary infection, vitamins and really smelly food so he’ll eat. I guess if they can’t smell it they will not eat when sick.
Lysine is a natural supplement that can be purchased at any drug store or pharmacy! I just open the capsules and mix into their wet food! I work at an animal shelter and have brought home a chronic URI carrier and my other cats have never gotten sick or showed any symtons. My sick little guy went from having his eyes gooped shut with yellow crusty gunk to clear eyes and nose. I honestly believe that yes antibiotics are needed in some cases but in my case it created a super bug! He was transferred from shelter to shelter and they all treated him with different drugs. I took him off all drugs kept wiping his face with a warm cloth and Lysine in the wet food twice a day and have major success! I would reccommend trying some home remedies your common sense goes a long way and you know your cat best!
My cat Kissu was not acting herself last night, and was whining which sounded like she was in pain, and she was walking slowly, was sneezing and sniffling, and vomited last night as well. Now, she sneezed once and had a runny nose for a few minutes, but seems to be walking normally and everything.
Should I go and take her to the vet, or keep her inside at home?
If it we me I’d likely call my vet and ask.
Good luck!
My cat has got severe fever, he is releasing water through his nose & eyes continously. He is also releasing foam from his mouth.
Please tell me what to do?? What medicine should I give
What you need to do is take your cat to a vet for treatment.
Ive adopted a 4 month old cat from the spca, they said that there is always URI’s going around but that hes been treated. He has a little bit of a runny nose, but has a wheezing type noise sometimes when he is breathing. I am a little worried.. should I bring him to the vet or try and wait it out?
Vet time asap – sounds like a respiratory infection to me.
My cat was given blue/grey oval pills with 1141 imprinted on one side. Could help me to identify it?
I can’t but a quick call to your vet should be all it takes.
My cat has been sneezing for a few days and last night was the worst, she came and got in bed with me. All my family have been fighting of colds for a few weeks could she have caught this. should I take her to the vets?
Cats cannot catch human colds as far as i know, But she could well need her own cat antibiotics. If this were my cat, 100% she would be seeing a vet for this.
Good luck!
Thanks Marko got her booked in this morning,
All of my 4 cats (age from 11-16) have these URI symptoms at the same time. (they had fever at first but the temperatures were back to normal after vet’s treatment). the vet gives Enrofloxacin, B Comp, and Ascorbic Acid to them. i have problem feeding the medicine to 2 of them but am able to feed the other two. this is the fourth day of medication now but none of them seem to get better, in fact all of them lost their appetite now (they all ate four days ago). How long does it normally take for them to get well? should i consult another vet?
I’d call this vet and ask additional questions unless you felt you were not getting proper service. Then yes of course, seek another opinion. Good luck Marko
Last week my 5mon old newly adopted Buttons ot of no where started sneezing and his eyes teary. So this past Sat I took him to the vet and was told he has URI and his shots was incomplete (which the Humane Soceity where I got him from told me his shots were up to dated) SMH! Well it been two days my Buttons been on meds Tobramyin, and Clavamox. All my Buttons do is rest he has NOT lost his appetite at all, though his eyes are still somewhat teary and the sneezing still goes on. I brought Buttons a humidifier yesterday.My question how long before I see results and the sneezing frenzy stop.I can’t take seeing my Buttons sick. Also is it possible I can catch his cold??
You cannot catch your cat’s cold.
I would think that 2-4 days might be enough to see a difference.
If I were in your shoes, I’d simply call my vet to ask this question.
They shouldn’t charge you extra if they answer this question by phone.
Good luck.
Thank you Marko for your response!
My 14 year old cat had alot of the same symptoms…she would sneeze 15 times in a row, discharge from her nose, watery eyes and seemed congested in her nose..she was still eating normally and drinking water. I took her to the vet and was told it was likely a upper respiratory infection and they gave me liquid antibiotic to give her in a syringe, as well as L-Lysine..the vet also said I could try Apple Cider Vinegar..put a bit in her waterbowl and rub some on a cotton ball inside her ear, or rub some on the back of her head or dilute some ACV with the gravy from some wet cat food..she seemed to perk up after the antibiotics but a few weeks later the same symptoms were back..i still use the ACV and it does seem to help..sometimes she is puffing and the vet said to definitely bring her back in if she is doing that..so I am taking her back to either do another round of antibiotics or get an x-ray. Some days she is fine, playful and back to her old self but this URI does seem to linger on for awhile. There is also a remedy for cats called Bach Rescue Remedy and it is an oil you can buy to rub in their ear when they are stressed or nervous (ie. like when they have to go to the vet) and I have found that helps so much.
My 1 1/2 year old cat has been in the wars lately. It started with an abscess under his chin from a cat fight. He has lost 4 kilos and some of his hair has been falling out (although could be from our change into summer). He’s now REALLY worrying me as he isnt eating much anymore (he used to scoff down food!) and is always tired!
You SHOULD be worried because sick animals, just like sick humans – need medical care or they tend to die.
Please take your poor cat to see a vet, he is SICK.
i have a siamese cat that will not get out of my china cabinet. i tried everything he will play with but doesnt want to get out of there! what should i do?
Maybe let him stay there till morning and he’ll come out when he’s hungry…..just a thought.
make sure you lock it somehow so it doesn’t happen again. Good luck!
hi, um i have a cat that wont stop sneezing & really isnt drinking or eating what should i do. right now i am using a baby nose cleaner to clean out everything for him. is there any other remodies?
Thanks.
Yes – How about a visit to a doctor. A cat that constantly sneezes and won’t eat or drink….is ILL and needs medical care just like a human.
Please show some compassion and take your cat to a veterinarian.
Marko, you sound like a broken record… “take your cat to the vet” seems like the only advice you can give on this forum… the sad truth about URI’s is NO medication will cure them; some products can lessen symptoms; some cats will always have symptoms, while some cats have symptoms that flare up now & then, usually due to stress. If your cat has a URI & is drinking / eating / being playful, there’s not much a vet can do; on the other hand, if your cat has a URI & your cat is not feeling well (not drinking / eating / playing etc), then by all means take it to a vet & have it checked out.
Most answers on this site are by members not vets….and the problem is many people don’t want to fork out the money to go see a vet so they post here for free…..hoping for a medical cure to a problem without seeing a doctor.
I’m sorry Guy but if people just pretended that their sick pet was a sick CHILD or a sick CAR, they would take their pets in to see the appropriate professional.
Am I wrong here? Seriously?
I agree Guy. The sanctimonious reply he gave you was enough to convince me that he has more money than sense if he thinks we can all run willy nilly to the vet. And contrary to his misguided opinion, not all of us run our children or cars to the ‘appropriate professionals’ when there is a problem as not all of us have an unlimited supply of money. Vets are not cheap and unless you can find one who will accept payments? Your pet is screwed even if you take them to the vet straightaway! Get over yourself. Seriously!
Hello,
I got a 6 months old cat last Monday from the SPCA. They had warned me that she might show some symptoms of URI and that if that happens I should just bring her to them to check on her and treat her. The next day she started sneezing, and coughing. She was eating well and drinking too, playing a little bit. Finally, she worsened and I could hear the congestion in her nose. I took her to their vet, who prescribed doxycycline (an anitbiotic) and gave me a pill of tolfedinic acid ( a drug similar to aspirin in the mode of action). The vet also told me that she was feverish. Today she had her first dose of doxy and her pill. I have even tried the steam thing to help her congestion. But so far she is looking only worse to me! Maybe it’s too soon for the medication to start to kick .. but is there anything I should do to help her feel better meanwhile?
Thank you
Hi BiC,
I have no experience with the med’s your cat is taking, so cannot comment on them.
My cats take lysine to help alleviate the symptoms, but it takes a while to show some benefit; this can vary from cat to cat. One cat likes the powder version, while the other only wants the paste version.
The steam treatment should help loosen nasal congestion. We also got a 2 yr old cat from the SPCA in early October, and we (& SPCA) did not know he had a URI (possibly Rhinotracheitis). Within a week, our other cat started sneezing & coughing, even though she was vaccinated. (The vaccines are usually between 50 – 99% effective against URI’s.). Once they have it, they are usually carriers for life, but if your cat is healthy, it’s very rarely fatal. Monitor it’s food/water intake & overall condition, and you’ll be ok. Minimize stress (easier said than done in some households!) Good luck.
I can tell you this – that if I had enough money (and if my cats didn’t HATE being in the car), I’d take then to the vet for any little thing. But in tuis economy and with kids in college, no, I’m not able to just pop off to the vet if it’s just where they’re going to say, “well I would have cleared up on its own in a couple of days, but here’s something that will reduce the symptoms” and then come to find out I might get the same results by taking the cat into the bathroom for some steam therapy. So telling every poster to dash off to the vet even when a home remedy might help isn’t helpful.
We do the best we can for free. There is no staff vet here to answer free questions. PETLOVERS like me answer the questions or send you to the forum to ask questions for free.
Feel free to try to seek out another site that might have veterinarians working 24/7 to answer your questions for free. and if you find one, please let me know.
Good luck.
I have a stray feral cat that I have been taking care of for three years. Recently he has been coming around me more and letting me pet him, I finally caged and took him to have him neutered Sunday a week ago, when I brought him home his right eye was red, runny and it would not dialate. a week later he was lathargic, not eating, eye still pink and wheezing, breathing with his mouth open, I tried to cage him again, but that is not going to happen, ended up just stressing him out more. He still comes around me, last night I sat on our deck for 3 hours petting and talking to him. the poor thing is exhausted, cannot relax his head because of trouble breathing. I finally got him to get in his bed where he could prop his head on the rim, went right to sleep, stayed there all night. I cannot take him to the vet again (although I am getting some antibiotics), he will not come in the house to stay warm. I am at a loss as to what to do to help him now that the weather is getting colder, and everything says to keep him warm. Any suggestions
I’d advise you try posting this in our forum. People there have much more experience in these matters.
Good luck
Sorry additional note, I would gladly take him to the vet again, but remember he is wild, it was a fluke that I got him in the carrier the first time (have tried twice since Sunday to recage) my hands and arms show the blooody signs of it. I even had a Mobile vet (Healthy Wheels) come to the house today to check him, he ran under the deck and would not come out. I wish above anything that I had just left him alone and not had him neutered, I feel as if by doing that all I did was sign his death warrant.
My 1 1/2 year old cat has been sneezing, watery eyes and just generally not feeling well. No fever, eating. Using litterbox. Should I go to vet nd keep an eye on him?
Yup definitely a vet visit especially if it’s been a few days already. Might need some antibiotics is all but you need a vet to make that decision.
Good luck
To those that have tried the Lysine treatment for kitties with runny noses…what is the dosage that you’re using…I that is something I have on hand and can try in the middle of the night and on a Sunday to try and keep my vet costs down.
My female cat has had URI and I have taken her to the vet, given her antibiotics which did not seem to help at all..lysine, and her symptoms (sneezing uncontrollably, listless, congested, she seemed to struggle to breathe at times and I took her back to the vet, had tests done that found she was very low in potassium, i got a potassium paste from the vet and gave it to her by syringe and her symptoms improved a bit..i was reading up on wheatgrass for pets and decided to give it a try. I give her liquid wheatgrass (very important to dilute with water and start out with just a bit of wheatgrass) by syringe and a month later she is like a different cat.No more sneezing, congestion, her energy is back, she is playful and eating well again..she is shedding less fur and its so good to see her not miserable as she was when she was suffering the URI
I have an 8 yr old cat and 3 weeks ago we got a 3 month old kitten who had a cold – sneezing and off her food. She went to the vet and got a shot and tablets and after a week she was better. During this time i kept the kitten away (totally) from the older cat. The Vet told us that it was contagious and to take the older cat along for a shot – i have tried several times to get her into the pet carrier but i just cant do it. She simply hates it. Today, 5 days after the end of the kittens tablets, my older cat is sneezing and generally quiet. She’s eating and drinking but she was really stressful – she spent the last few days growling at the kitten and hissing. I will obviously take her to the Vet if she gets worse by tomorrow – even if that means just carrying her in my arms, but do these things just not clear up themselves. She is very healthy, in fact i can’t remember the last time she was ill. Should i just try giving her Lysine? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Folks- Ive lived with alot of cats and spent thousands at the vet. I love all my cats dearly. My wife and I are in a very bad economic situation right now, but when one of our critters gets sick, we take him to a vet! (Most will work with you if you cant afford it!) So go easy on Marko’ o.k?
These people are trained, see sick cats day in- day out, and hopefully keep up with the latest treatments. Most of them DO care, and know what they are doing.
Cats seldom get better on their own. IF YOU CARE, take that creature who depends on you to a professional! -
I found 4 abandoned kittens on a dirt rd. while staying at my brothers on a very hot day. One died 24 hrs later, maybe dehydrated, but Its eyes were badly encrusted so probably respiratory. I managed to clean the others eyes & gave them all baths to get rid of the fleas. I had to do this twice more & the third time I got rid of most of them with eucalyptus liquid wash & a flea comb + tweezers. You have to work really quickly & dry them fast; I finished them with a hair dryer. They were all pretty clean, eating well & playing after this, and then I took them home. Bad move – 2 of them fell into the pond twice. The strongest one started sneezing & water on their lungs can lead to pneumonia, so I checked the internet for a solution; coupage or percussion treatment the same as for people. Copy & paste the link , to see a video demo of it being applied to a dog, but it is the same for cats too. They don’t like it but it works.
Of course you need to be gentle, but the cupping makes them cough & splutter which forces the water out of their lungs. It took a few minutes for this to happen so be patient. Do it on both sides for best results. The female initially had no sign of sneezing or wheezing so I didn’t do it with her, & now she has a creaky door sound when she breathes, but the male is fine, after he spluttered and coughed for a minute, he jumped down, had some food & then pounced on the other male. I am away at the moment so am hoping my husbands gives it a go because it works. He thinks it is too severe, but death is pretty severe too, & it is final. As I mentioned, be gentle. You don’t want to crack their ribs, but it does need to sound a bit like a drum, & as they are small I only used one hand. Also I read that salt treatment in the air is good but don’t have details for that.
I have read in many articles about using brewers yeast in their food to keep fleas away. Apparently fleas dislike the taste of it in their blood. If you do try it use it in small amounts to get them used to it, & a word of CAUTION: absolutely DO NOT heat it. Only add to slightly warm, or cooled, food as it becomes toxic if you cook it. It is very good for their health though, as it is full of B vitamins, but just remember the warning.
Good luck to happy healthy cats!
My Phone is REALLY MESSING UP & I spent thw past 1.5 hrs trying to send a comment about my 10 year old cat who is very sick. let me start by saying I am a huge animal lover my animals are my kids and Ive had them all since they were babies & been there only owner.. I have 2 dogs & 2 cats all are inside animals. About 3.5 wks ago my 10/11 yr old male cat had class what I thought to be a cold he just laid in his bed 4 the first 3 days without eating or or any other activity.. On the 3rd or 4th day I realize he wasn’t moving around or anything so I began to bring him his food & water to him in bed where he started to eat & drink. He has made a full recoverythat’s his appetite is not back f100%. Now my problem is with my 9 year old male cat. I do realize he needs to go to the vet my only problem is I don’t have the money right now but I am calling around to try and find a place with payment options so I hope to have been seen by tomorrow.. I went out if town LATE on Sat the 26th& noticed he was under my bed when I left.. (I LIVE WITH MY MOM BUT ANY TINE I LESVE OVER NIGHT I HAVE MY BROTHER & HIS GIRLFRIEBD STAY HERE TO WATCH OVER THE ANIMALS AS WELL SO THEY ARE NEVER ALONE).. I came back home monday night & by Tues evening I realized he had not come out for food ANYTIME I POPPED A CAN OF CAT FOOD OPEN & TGATS NIT LIJE HUM HE ALWAYS BEGS FOR FOOD 24HRS A DAY EVEN WHEN HES NOT HUNGRY SO HES A VERY BIG CAT).., Tues night I started looking around for him and I found him under the bed in the same place he was when I left on Sat. I noticed his eyes had a lot of discharge like he had been crying for days so I pulled him out to check on him and try to feed him but he would not eat or drink anything… On Thurd I started giving him SMALL AMOUNT IF LIQUIDS THRU A MEDICATION DROPPE & Fri I started getting him a lot of liquids that way (Chicken Broth, Pedia Lught & water)… I just kept thinking he would get better if I kept liquids in him.. That Fri I took him to his box & he peed I thought everything was getting better and he would be back to normal in a day or 2 but that’s still not the case.. Now here I am 11 days later and he is no better than he was. I have to yeah I’ll give him water through the dropper & he still not eating. Hes licked some liquid cheese off my daughters finger I noticed so I was hopeful view is getting better.. Now again here I am thinking hes getting better because last night he ate a little bit of cat food on his own & alao 2 nughts ago he drank alot of water on his own but it’s like he will do it once and then not again.. I feel like he’s not fully dehydroated because when I take him to the box he will urniate… But the biggest problem is he’s not walking he will take about 3 or 4 that and then lay down or walk from 1 room to the other but that is the farthest.. whatever I lay him down he stays there for hours pretty much stays there until I move him. QUESTION DOES ANYONE KNOW WHY HE CANT REALLY WALK & HIS BODY IS LIKE LIMP WHEN I HOLD HIM?? I wonder if it is because he is weak or something different, and also when I pick him up he knows why is in cried a little bit so I don’t know if his body isn’t any pain
Hi rachel,
Sorry you were having trouble with the message. I can see you took a while to write it. I hate to say this but your pet cannot be diagnosed like this on the Internet – not eating and drinking is incredibly serious I hesitate to speculate what this could be but…..your pet SERIOUSLY needs a vet and every day not seeing one makes this worse and I wish you the best of luck.
Rachel, you really need to get your cat to a vet!
Hi Rachel
You do need to get him to a vet but I understand you not being able to afford it. In this instance carry him as much as possible. He is a mature, heavy cat so carrying him may not be possible, so at least have him curl up on your lap? Twice I have done this now with the kittens and it works wonders, they have bounced back to life…purring. But as your cat is older it may be due to old age…none-the-less vet advice is what you need.
Good luck
just wondering how long a cat cold lasts i have a6 month old british short hair the breeder said he has allergies but i brought to the vet anyway because he had nose discharge and sneezind constantly the vet said it was definately a upper respotory infection and gave him suppliments no improvement then gave him antibiotics and its been a month and he still sneezes every day throughout the day but alot less and no discharge inthe nose except when he sneezes and it has been a month now do you think this will stop or will this be a lifetime thing he eats all natural foods with no by products and my home heating system has a hepa filter any help would be appreciated thank you
I think I might scream. You don’t catch a cold you make it. Only give cats lactose free milk … if you have to… they will drink water… eventually! Ever seen a cat going up to a cow and sucking on it’s teets? Cows have more stomachs to digest milk. We have domesticated these cats into our routine. They don’t go and catch fish either, or bring down bulls. Rodents, small birds, lizards. They will eat grass, and certain fruits. The kittens that I rescued have survived all odds. They are on a vegetarian diet, have fallen into ponds (5 where they are now living-better than being flattened on a hwy) have been through sneezing, creaking lungs and spluttering … try the coupage technique (pummelling) gently on both sides of the rib cage. May need to do it for a few minutes – even when they try to escape. after a few minutes they will start to cat cough & spit water. Eureka! The water is coming out of the lungs…cats way o getting rid of it. Try to get your cat used to you doing this gradually and then build up to a stronger rythym. Cup your hands and it creates a kind of suction. It will move the fluid to a position where the cat can cough it out. CAT COUGHING IS AN ATTEMPT TO GET RID OF FLUID! At fist they tried to escape. Now they allow me to do it…I think this indicates that they know it works. In this state they can’t smell their food either- some don’t usually want to eat. Tempt them with it close to their nose. If they do eat try adding some coconut water in their food too. (avail. in tetra packs for $2 at supermarket). A small amount-1tsp-my kittens love Ayam coconut cream too. Coconuts are full of electrolytes-like when you give babies gastrolyte for diarhoea-dehydration. I know cats can’t crack open a coconut, but it works…and it isn’t a chemical that they have to try to process through their weakened systems. These poor little kittens had no mother so no immune milk for defences. They are fighting fit … last but not least … hold your cat close to your heart when they are not well. These kittens are play-full…every opportunity. They looked rather pathetic in their photos when I first found them. They have had no vet treatments…all natural vegetarian, lactose free, non-mucous forming foods. They are happy, contented, purring cats considering they looked so sick.
Just obey the rules of what they can’t have. Google what you don’t know…I knew nothing when I found them. Are his eyes glueing up? if so, can you get some eye bright herb or tincture? a couple of tsp of herb in some water, bring to the boil and steep for a few hrs. Strain and keep in a container in the fridge. tip small amount into a lid and use a cotton ball steeped into it to wipe across his eyes. The kittens I found couldn’t open their eyes-stuck together. They hated it and struggled violently whe I first used it…then as their eyes opened they let me do it…they all now have
bright eyes. I tried salt water solution…but they glued again…so this worked the best.
Try to go with your intuition and trust it. Your cat will trust you for it. Get diagnosis sure, but have faith in yourself too…and research…google heaps
google owes me royalties!
Hope your cat gets better soon and have a good Xmas.
thanks for the reply and i googled all about this breed of cat thats why i bought him its just time for his next round of needles and getting him fixed i just want him to be able to survive the operation as you know cats breathe through thier nose and there is no fluid in his lungs hes been through the snap test and x rays he just has astuffed nose that is why he sounds like darth vader its just its been a month now you would think it would have cleared by now again thinks for the reply
@Rick
I had the same thing happen with my cat..she had upper respiratory illness off and on for over 3 months..antibiotics were not very effective for her and after xrays and blood tests at the vet I found out my cat was very low on potassium and i bought a potassium gel via the vet and gave my cat one dose a day via syringe and it helped so much, the sneezing, the discharge from her nose cleared up..i also gave her diluted wheatgrass juice via syringe every few days and she is doing very well now,no more symptoms…fingers crossed and hoping she stays well
thanks janet will try that thank you vm happy holidays
I just read most of the above comments and am HORRIFIED at the fact that a lot of people are oblivious whether they should take their pet to the vet or “wait it out and see what happens” ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Making your pet go thru an illness/injury for even just one day is animal cruelty if you ask me. To come here and ask questions and get advice is great, don’t get me wrong. It’s sites like these that could make the difference in many situations. I totally understand there’s a lot of people that just don’t have the money to take them to the vet, and I’m not doubting at all whether or not you love your pet, but seriously, common sense helps so use it!! Also, if you can’t afford to get proper care for your animals THEN DON’T OWN THEM!!!!! I wish all the stupid pet owners out there much luck on getting the proper care for that poor, suffering animal that didn’t ask you to own them in the first place.
So my kitty had his URI issue, I had trouble getting him into the vet so I used the advice here…guess what…my cat had a virus you can’t do anything but make them as comfortable as possible…due to his weakened immune system he did get a secondary bacterial sinus infection…so for that he got put on an antibiotic by the vet. The point is when I took him in, everything I was doing was exactly spot on for what my vet said….Here’s what to start with for those that need to make your kitty comfortable while dealing with a viral cold…
Keep them in a warm humid environment just like you’d do for a baby with a cold.
Give them warm broths/gravy (not too hot, cause you don’t want them to burn themselves and loose interest) The heat and limited steam will help loosen the congestion.
Saline nose drops (be careful you don’t want it to have anything but salt and water for ingredients in the saline solution…look for baby saline nose drops) Kitties aren’t fond of shoving droppers of cold wet stuff in their nose (also remember to let it drain out of nose doing this in a sink or bathtub will save you a mess), so have someone help you hold them and their claws.
The antihistamine Chlorpheniramine can be bought over the counter at any drug store (Walgreens CVG….found mine at the pharmacy at the grocery store but keep in mind grocery stores tend to keep most profitable drugs on the shelf…this one is fairly cheap) crushed in food didn’t work for my cat…tasted it hated it…gotta leave it in tablet form, max of 2mg per dose (mine were 4mg tablets so had to cut in half for 2mg and quarters for 1mg…easier for kitty to swallow too) Vet suggested 1-2mg doses…but neglected to tell me how often I could dose the kitty and max per day using my judgement I would assume that half the children’s max dosage would be correct since it works out to the same ratio…This works similar to a human for breaking up congestion. Also best to have a partner hold the cat when administering a pill sharp teeth and claws really hurt…you can do it by yourself (I did) but use a towel/blanket to wrap the snugly to keep the 4 paws of sharpness away from you…
For the secondary bacterial infection, yes seeing your vet is a required step because even if you can get your hands on black market antibiotics, they do not attack all bacterias the same and may not work (ALSO USUALLY MORE EXPENSIVE AND RISKY THAN TAKING YOUR ANIMAL TO A VET DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS) To do this effectively you also need to have a knowledge on how to dose properly for the variance in kitty sizes. ***Antibiotics will not fix a virus*** if you choose to take the risk of self diagnosis your animal you need to be diligent with the antibiotics and finish a week (even if the kitty seems better after 2 days) of proper doses. Antibiotics are a prescription for a reason, you can create super bug and bigger more expensive problems or even death to your fuzzy one if you guess wrong.
So my advice…if cold is a new thing its probably a virus, but even if its bacterial….Humid warm environment is the single cheapest thing you can do to help your kitty be comfortable, and can save you money by avoiding an emergency middle of the night on a holiday weekend fees. Picking up a humidifier is a good investment because when you or your family get sick warm humid environment will help them too…
If your cat isn’t eating/drinking you have a serious problem that does require a vet’s attention.
My cat caught a respritory infection last week. I think she is getting it from when we visit my aunts house. She has had lots of cats and dogs. Some have died there at one time or another. My question is how can I get rid of this virus once and for all? My vet felt it was something we were bringing in the house. This is the second time she has gotten this. And now I think her mom is getting sick too. Both times have happened when we visited my aunt. I want to get rid of this virus. It is hard to see both my cats sick.
Why do people give “advice” when their only advice is to go see the vet? Most of us are aware of the existence of veterinary medicine already, but there are many people who offer pets good and loving homes who can’t afford professional care. This idiotic assumption that every pet-owner can afford a multi-hundred dollar vet visit is asinine. If you want to give advice, then learn something about animal care (which OFTEN includes over-the-counter drugs per my VET), and actually say something helpful.
My kittens are full of energy now, but 2 of them make a weezy sound when they breathe. They possibly have cat flu, but as a student pensioner I can’t afford vet bills. And I agree that you shouldn’t have pets who didn’t ask to be trapped by us if you aren’t prepared to take care of them. But I found these cats, they would have died; no water; no food; 3wks old; no mother; foxes; eyes glued together. I can’t afford to keep 3 cats really but I am doing it. I am not into pharmaceuticals at all, I am vegan, and allergic to cat hair, so I am doing my best. They are delightful and I am glad I have saved their lives.
As for treatment there are alternatives to what the vet may offer. I am trying Colloidal Silver (health shop) as it kills viral type problems. The naturopath said 1/2 tsp per day is enough for all 3 in their food, milk or water. I will post to let you know how it goes. Olive leaf extract is also another possibility as it is very good for the immune system. They may not like the taste though so syringe is an option. Green barley and wheat grass pwd are excellent in their food. I think I mentioned in an earlier post to include Brewers yeast as well to keep fleas away. DO NOT COOK IT. Mix it in when food has cooled. They love Sanitarium products made with TVP, also Nutmeat. I only give them cat milk, but they also love Ayam coconut cream. Ayam (full cream) coconut is 3 1/2 coconuts per tin. Coconut is excellent for electrolytes, it is also great for the immune system.
I had to give them standard milk once and they started sneezing and had diahorrea.
I think that the sound of 3 purring cats is an indication that they are happy, and these 3 purr all day long.
First let me say, one of the main reasons I work is to support my 5 cats! If anything serious were to happen to any of them, I want to be in a good enough financial position that I won’t have to make a decision on whether or not they get the proper care, whatever the cost. They are my children.
Isabella is at least 11 years old. She has had a chronic runny and snotty nose for years. The vet has tested for every feline disease in the book. Notta. She’s been put under and had her nose flushed and checked for polyps. Notta. I have changed the cat litter, changed the food, used lysine, used Little Noses saline drops, tried various antibiotics and over the counter decongestants. Nothing works. If it goes away at all, it comes back.
It is not contagious as none of the other 4 cats have ever exhibited the same or similar symptoms over the years. There has never been an issue with eye problems – just the nasal discharge.
Some of the threads above talk about potassium and wheatgrass. I’m going to try those. Any other suggestions are welcomed!
The colloidal silver is great, need to give something like yogurt with probiotics though as it will kill good bacteria off too.
my husband has been looking after the cats and reports that the weezing sound has completely gone in one of them. He uses 1/2 tsp of colloidal silver in their food (for 3 cats).
And just like you Marilyn they are like my babies. One of them will find the best spot to sit so he can see what my husband is doing when they are in the sun room.
Hope it wks for you too.
One of the male cats seems to be hyperactive. He continues to play when the other 2 have had enough. In fact he never stops. We are starting to think that he has ADD. Anyone got any suggestions?
Yes! Simply enjoy him. We had one male stray that decided to keep us. We named him Izzy. Very soon, his name became Busy Izzy … he was into everything!
He quickly became the love of the household. Unfortunately, he also developed severe urinary problems and after several thousand dollars worth of surgery, when the problem returned the following year, we said a humane goodbye to our little guy. He was two years old.
It’s been three years and not a day goes by without us mentioning some little memory of him.
With Izzy, we developed a few little games for him … a piece of string in a basket. The string “didn’t belong there” so he would retrieve it. Simple things like that. Repeat it until he slows down a bit, meaning boredom. Give him a little ear scratching and walk away. For Izzy, he would usually find a sunny spot to rest.
Enjoy your busy guy!
Reply
Thanks for your response! I have never heard of colloidal silver. You think it will help with a chronic runny and snotty nose? Where do you buy it? Did you use 1/2 t. altogether for the 3 cats, or 1/2 t. each?
!/2 tsp altogether for the 3 cats. This was the dosage recommended by the Naturopath at the health shop. I read in one of the articles that cats will be attracted to the bowl of water with CS rather than without when they aren’t well. It has many applications and there are sites which refer to successful use with cats; goats; dogs. My niece had a stye on her eye and it healed in day using it. I remember being told to use a gold ring as a child and it always worked. Colloidal Gold is similar. You can also get copper and platinum or all four combined. Google Colloidal Silver and you will find various brands and suppliers as well as info. As I mentioned in an earlier post you need to include some bifidus friendly bacteria to diet as it will kill all bacteria good and bad. There is a spray avail which may be easier to administer. I have seen it by another co. in health shops.
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Read opinion 4: .
and the next posts are from this forum: .
03/21/2009: Kate from Hervey Bay, QLD writes: “colloidal silver has been wonderful, i take about a tablespoon neat, i hold it under my tongue as long as possible, gargle then swallow it. i have’nt been near a doctor in almost 6 months and it was only two years ago i almost died from respirtory problems. i even give it to my cat, i took her to the vet thinking she had cat flu, the vet told me she was ok but she continued sneezing, coughing and vomiting. now nearly 3 months of giving her colloidal silver she is much improved. love…it”
Replies
[YEA] 06/30/2009: Nic from Sydney, NSW Australia replies: “Colloidal Silver restored my cat’s health.
My girl cat was very thin and was vomiting her food. She had become crabby and tense. She was also scratching her ears a lot and losing fur on her belly and legs. A month ago I began giving her colloidal silver by syringe in the mouth, starting with 1/4 teaspoon twice a day, working up to 1/2 teaspoon twice a day. It has worked a treat – she now eats all her food at one sitting, keeps it down, and is gaining weight fast, scratching is much better and fur is growing back. She is now much more relaxed so she must feel a lot better.
Giving the solution by mouth all the time is a bit tedious after a while so I have started pouring the dose onto her tinned food. However, I think giving it into the mouth is probably important for really sick animals as it gets absorbed into the bloodstream faster.”
There is a post re coconut oil too. One of the cats loves coconut cream and it has many health benefits.
I ‘google’ whatever I need to find out. Add the word ‘Natural’ to ‘treatment for cat fleas’, for example, and you will get alternatives rather than standard options.
Good luck with treating your cats.
I included URL’s but when I submitted it took them out. google The house of courtney Colloidal Silver. Earthclinic.com is the forum the posts came from. (Ignore ‘Read option 4′)
Hi. I have took in a stray cat (stays outside) and I’ve had her about 3 months. For the past couple days she was coughing, almost like a hairball but now its wheezing. She ia opening her mouth to breathe. Im.worried. don’t have much.money
This is an emergency – please borrow the money or make an arrangement with a vet….
Make ‘arrangements’ with a Vet? What country do you live in? NO vet I have been to will accept payment plans, reduced fees or anything. You know what they will do? Point you towards the credit account applications so you can also pay interest (if you’re even approved) on their $700.00 fees.
What on earth has happened to vet medicine costs? They are far more expensive in office costs than routine Dr. office visits for humans. It has become impossible to walk out of these places for less than 200-300. That is why folks on this forum are desperately looking for alternatives, not because they are stupid, or shouldn’t own pets. 10 yrs ago even, vet medicine was affordable. Now, forget it.
I too, have 3 cats now all with URi due to a new adoption. The Animal Humane of Albuquerque was heartless in their refusal to assist me with their own reduced cost clinics, or take any responsibility for adopting out a sick cat. Why not allow the cat to stay there and go their routine time of meds, instead of adopting to all of us? Simple. It’s cheaper to dump sick animals on us, and make space for another animal, and possibly save food costs. Makes their adoption numbers look better, too.
I have finally seen the light about the shelters. I have spent 1000s on my animals, and feel financially violated every time I leave a vet clinic. I’m currently unemployed and disabled, but not on SSDI, so I have some stress with money-and am pretty mad this little new cat is sick and got my older cats infected, too. Bad policy from the shelter. ‘Move ‘em thru’, that’s the plan…
You poor thing, what an experience. Invest in a bottle of Coloidal silver. It is fantastic and you can use it yourself as well. My brother and partner had the flu badly during winter, 2 days CS – gone. My 3 dumped, sickly, wheezing, sneezing kits are now fine. We spend more on them than we do on ourselves, but they are adorable. I am with you on the vet costs, it is outrageous. I have read on some forums of people trying all types of medication on their cats and finding that the natural altenatives have been best anyway. Colloidal silver kills all viruses and bacteria, and parasites. in animals and humans. make sure to give/take the probiotics with it though.(yogurt is cheapest and ok if it has one of the strains)
try making a broth with garlic and onions and thickening with gravy and some soaked dry food. keeps them healthy.
Even if I could afford vets i would still do my best to treat them myself with natural remedies. Rescue remedy is great to have on hand too for situations of stress.
hope it works for yours too.
Terri, you admit to being disabled, unemployed, and with very little income… Why did you adopt another cat? Every adoption center I have ever been to requires you to write out how much money you are able or willing to spend on vet bills per year… Did you lie? Coz it sure sounds like you cannot afford a third cat. Furthermore, adoption centers do provide low cost services but in my experience these only apply to spays, neuters and shots, not so much one on ome care. Also adopion typically includes a free local vet visit…
At any rate, my local vet costs me about $50/visit. Are you sure you are looking at all the options in the area? I realize some grossly overcharge, but that is also an untrue blanket statement. Not all vets are evil money lovers.
Finally, antibiotics were developed for a reason. They work. Some of the responses here alarm me. Letting a cat with labored breathing sit for ten days? Ugh. Animals are a financial responsibility… Why do some people not acknowledge this???
The only acceptable reason for not providing proper care is when you are dealing with a semi-feral; there are humane traps, that could be used to catch them, but those do not always work. If you keep an animal in your home you should be striving to provide the best care possible.
Finally…. You do realize that while some of these cases could be benign, the problems described by people here can often point to more SERIOUS underlying issues or may spiral out of control, right? If your cat is behaving abnormally for a prolonged period of time, Google does not make you a vet expert. You need a trained professional to check on your animal.
@Nancy
It really is obnoxious of you to basically call someone a liar, as implied in your holier-than-thou post. You made some good points but the judgmental tone of your post voids any good intention you may have had. Your point is lost when you feel you have the right to scold someone and make assumptions and by the way, no, antibiotics do not always work so perhaps you should make less broad statements and refrain from being so judgemental ETC
With responses like Nancy’s that basically implying someone is lying, it really deters people from posting and if I may say Nancy, you really could be alot less judgemental and harsh in your criticism
I forgot to also add that antibiotics do not always work.. as you claim Nancy.. and thankfully there is alot of information from posters on this site that give other options/experiences that can be effective
Just spent $190 on them for 3 bottles of antibiotics, exams and Lysine. Nancy, your post reeks a of ableism, as in if I’m not 100% like you, or have your economic situation, I shouldn’t have pets. Maybe if applied to our whole country, 80% of the people having children would not have them, either? Rest assured, I am spending what little money I have on my cats. I am using Lysine and some other herbal stuff, too.
Oh, on the lie part, no I didn’t lie. None of the shelters in New Mexico require income statements., tax returns, pre nup agreements or a financial statement.
I’m with ya Terri on an adoption leading to other cats getting sick. I adopted a Ragdoll about 3 weeks ago from my local shelter. She had the sneezies, but I thought it was due to me spraying air freshner right when she came into the room one day.
Today my Jinx is just showing signs on sneezies and his eyes watering a little bit. He’s not coughing or anything. But you can tell he feels just blah. I just gave him a steam bath and he will spend the night in the bathroom with a humidifier.
I wanted to try the colloidial silver on him. But how much do I give him?? How many drops lets say in 1 cup of water and is there one brand better than the other??
Obviously a vet visit will happen if this natural remedy doesn’t make him feel a little better(i’ll give it 2 days max). Thanks.
Wow! I guess Nancy has a crystal ball, too, so she can see into the future to make sure she’s going to have good fortune for the next 15-20 years before adopting or rescuing an animal. Or maybe she just believes we should all dispose of our animals when they get sicker than we can afford to pay vet bills for? I can’t imagine how overrun the shelters would be if we all did that! While I agree that we shouldn’t intentionally fill our homes with animals we can’t afford basic vet care for, anything beyond basic vet care — such as repeated or major illnesses, cancer care, surgical procedures, etc. — would prohibit MOST animal lovers from adopting, if those were required to be “affordable” prior to adoption. The cost of vet care has gone completely out of reason in the past 10 years or so, and I don’t guarantee my beloved adoptees that I will be able to provide anything beyond basic care as a result. Nobody guarantees exceptional care to me, so how can I do so for my pets? Most people adopt pets who would otherwise be euthanized or live horrible lives without human intervention, and we do our very best to care for only a reasonable number of animals. I for one will not kick my animals to the curb if I can’t afford repeated vet visits, surgery or other major expenses on them. I’ll do my best to give them the best care I can afford, which is MUCH more than they would have had without my intervention. Shame on the Nancys of this world for being so judgmental of people who provide loving, safe homes and the best medical care they can afford (or, God forbid, euthanasia for major problems so the animal doesn’t have to suffer). Nancy is apparently in the government sector, where violent changes to the economy have no effect on her lavish lifestyle & she is provided with top-notch disability insurance so she can continue that lifestyle even if her physical health fails. The rest of us are limited by real life. Wow, wow, wow — never thought I’d see such high & mighty postings in this forum!
Hi
according to Maria from ‘The House of Courtenay’ you place about 1 tsp in the humidifier where you would normally put the medicine. She also say’s that a dentist who orders from her uses C. Silver in her clinic with clients. There are many positive testimonials regarding it’s use. The product they sell is high quality, and she packs it in small cardboard boxes to ensure it arrives safely, but there are other brands on the market which I haven’t tried. If you have any further questions you can contact her through their website and she will reply.
http://www.thehouseofcourtenay.com/
Good luck with it.
Cheri, while I agree with everything you wrote regarding Nancy’s holier-than-thou attitude regarding animal care, please lay off attacking government employees. First, I’d say that a 5-year pay freeze, as well as an increase in our portion of benefits shows that we are not immune to the financial disaster affecting us ALL. And, without my husband’s government paycheck, I could not afford to spend upward of $500 per MONTH on care for stray animals.
This is not a political forum. We all love our animals. Let’s agree on that!
hello
My cat has been sick for nearly a month, her symptoms started with sneezing, and clear runny nose then she reached to stage that she cant hold her self up and fall down & she looked like she was cyanosed , my mother is a dr. she injected her with lincocin 5 doses and she got better but few days later every movement and effort she makes she started falling again and also became cyanosed ,after few days later she started drinking a lot of water and milk every 15 mins she hardly move and she wet her face and neck ,I had a check up on her mouth and found that she had gingivitis according to my sister who is a dentist we then wiped her hydrogen peroxide and gave her nidazole serum 250mg ( for children ) she is not improving at all , her symptoms become worse , she is now chocking when ever she eats or drink its like something is blocking her throat , all this time she is conscious btw up till today , she pays attention when we eat and purrs when i pat her and she has become extremely sensitive to any sudden surrounding noise , she is lying most of the time as she don’t have the strength to stand up her eyes half open not asleep , Today she has reached the worst moment i have ever seen her she had a strong chock after a very tinny peace of meat as if its like she cant swallow now at all and I’m afraid the next time she does she want make it through , please i need help immediately , I cant turn to a vet here in my country as there is not much vets here in Jordan and they are not professional at all, please i really need your help ! I really am hurting to see her like this
sincerely yours
Yasser Al Saffar
Even in Jordan there must be vets. Get a recommendation and find one – nobody on the net can diagnose a pet like this and this is VERY serious.
Make the time in your day or week to find a professional vet.
Good luck.
Hello Marko
Thank you for your reply, but believe me vets her in jordan only know how to kill your pet !
it happened to two of my friends, they gave thier cat a shot which cased them to die the second day.
Untill now my cat is still breathing but same symptoms, my dad is an anotomist, he says she has a heart condition & because of that she cant move and that eventually she will die.
maybe she had a heart stroke !
It pains me to see her like this, she is one special cat, had her for 9 years.
Hi Yasser
So sorry to hear that your cat is so ill. At 9yrs of age it sounds as if she is making a valiant effort and struggling to keep going (I know some cats live a lot longer and age isn’t always the criteria but 9yrs is a mature cat). I can understand your frustration too as I have been in your situation and ended up with a dead pet. For this reason I stopped having pets as I found it too distressing when they die. To me they are animal friends and if they come into my path and need assistance then I do my best. One of the kittens I found went floppy and nearly died one morning when I picked her up, so I carried her around on my chest near my heart in a sling for about 6hrs, she then jumped down to get a drink and was fine. She absolutely loved me after that, sat on my shoulders and head, purred constantly and it was such a warm, fuzzy feeling. My husband looks after them now and either they think he is their mother or they think they are people.
Are you able to take her to the vet for diagnosis only. Insist that you only want to know what is wrong with her and that you don’t want her to have any shot’s. At least you won’t be guessing any longer. Have google’d ‘heart disease in older cats’? I would only give her liquid type foods too. I read on another forum that you can use Bach flower remedies with very positive results-one of the rescue remedy types. Even if her scenario is her passing at least this may make it easier and less stressful for her.
I am a Uni student (externally) and have done a few units in Aboriginal studies. Part of their ‘Dreaming’ belief system is that when you die there is a continuous cycle of animal, human, animal-and that whatever animal you have been will be the totem to which you are then responsible for as a human. This gave me solace when my mother died last year.
She is lucky to have someone care for her like you as you sound like you lover her dearly. Give her a kiss from me here in South Australia.
Warm regards
Leanda
Hello Elvo
Thank you for your dearly concern , most of the cats I’ve had where the type with a flat face & white color & blue eyes, i’ve had generations of them and I’ve named them cool names like “Akeela, Pluto, Toot, Mestica, Simba,Ginger, Sab-ta-tee-tis ^-^, Perl, Cristy, Bashabeesh, Kholyo, Tweeta, Furfur, and Bulbul”.
I’ve loved them all and enjoyed their time with me and i miss them all.
The name of the cat i have now is “Toalaye”, she is a brown Himalayan cat just like this one ” http://www.ehow.com/about_6599617_tortie-himalayan-cat-behavior.html“, her nick name is “Poopee”, and she is still alive till now, but she is sleeping most of the time, she can’t swallow food well and chocks from time to time, she is so far the oldest cat I’ve had till this day, she is a very special cat, she never steels food, in fact she won’t eat unless i have to feed her myself and only special cat food, she also doesn’t like anyone playing with her, and she knows how to open closed doors !.
Regarding taking her to a vet, vets her in Jordan have no experience at all when it comes to animals in critical conditions, they only can help when your pet has parasites or putting them out of their misery by giving them a deadly shot. Believe me here animals have no rights at all, so there is nothing they can do for my poor cat, I’ve already asked some of them.
The only thing i can do is to take good care of her, feed her well, keep her warm, and show her that she is not alone, her symptoms so far are as follows:
- Difficulty to swallow.
- Clear runny nose.
- Difficulty to breath.
_ Balance issues “she can’t walk much”
If anyone can help me identifying her problem so i may get the proper drug for healing her from the pharmacy, i would really appreciate it.
Hi Yasser
Under the circumstances it sounds as if you are doing the best you can and letting her know you are there is probably comforting to her. If she had a choice between being put down by the vet or passing away with you beside her then I am sure she would choose to be around you. Considering that the vets are not helpful then you are doing more than they are which is nothing. All you can do is be strong for her, make her comfortable. It sounds as if you love her very much by how you talk about her and I am sure she knows that you do. A humidifier may help with her breathing perhaps and make her more comfortable if you can get hold of one.
Thinking of you and your kitty
hello wondering if you can help with my cat he is 8 months old and has diahrea and blood in his stool hes been to the vet and tested for feline leukemia and other tests and came up fine im thinking he has cancer or something he acts fine purrs eats and drinks otherwise fine and acts purfetly this has been going on for two weeks except he has allways had diahrea never solid any ideas would be appreciated thanks has anyone else had this problem with there cat
Hi Rick, are you feeding him anything different? The blood could be due to bones for example, especially chicken. What colour is the blood? Bright red or dark? Do you give him ordinary milk as that can cause diahorea. With the kittens I found I gave them cat milk and they pooped all over my car seats…YUK!!! I then got onto cat milk and no more problems until my husband thought they were old enough to tolerate ordinary milk and started giving it to them and you guessed it. No more standard milk. Allbran and psyllium husks will work both ways with people for constipation and diahorea, but not sure about cat’s. I would try getting some cat milk first though. It has Taurine in it. You could try changing his food and see if that makes any difference.
hope this helps
thanks for reply i have never given him milk as for food i willtry that ihave two cats one is 6 yrs and has no problem with her stool and never gave her milk either but i will try changing the food i think if it continues any longer im going to go to the vet for an x ray to see if there is something wrong with his bowels
I went rounds with my vet over one of my cats continuing to have bloody loose stools. Kitty would have an accident I’d bag it drag it to the vet have them send it to the lab…inconclusive every time…finally convinced them to give me tape worm medicine fixed the problem…but keep in mind that if it is tapeworms you need to make sure that they don’t have fleas…cause fleas will reinfect them.
my question is what is lysine ? how is it used in the aid of a cat.?
Please post this on our forum beverly. it’s a good topic.
I adopted a couple of kittens from a shelter they had colds when I got them but where treated with two rounds of medications I also used Lydosil sorry spelling? I have had them in my home now for almost 3 months and have cleaned their food dishes, kept my house washed and all surfaces cleaned more then normal, sprayed down furniture with lysol every few days, mopped floors.
My concern is this they are still sick, nothing to bad they each have one eye that still needs to be cleaned at least once a day. And one kitten i still hear sneeze at least a couple times a day but nothing like when i first got them. I have stuff to put on their eyes that the shelter gave me. My vet also was concerned that that had feline leukemia so even though at the shelter they tested negative I had the test re-done to put my mind at ease. I also contacted a local pharmacy that also deals with pets and they suggested euchanesia for two weeks mixed with water. I even thought maybe it is allergies but where there are two kittens with the same issue. The third that I left at the shelter was also sick and was not better a few weeks ago when he was adopted.
The kittens eat well and drink and play like there is no tomorrow they seem healthy and have no congestion in their chest. They are at the age now that they should be fixed and i don’t want to run into they starting to spray in my house.
Any other suggestions on what i can try to clear this up so i can get the little guys fixed. Most sites say 10 days a cold could last my vet said it could last up to 6 weeks i am way past that time now. My vet said that they need to be better before they will neuter them to prevent them from getting sick again. I am just in a waiting game that doesn’t seem to end.
Thanks for any further suggestions.
I have a Question. I have a 2yr old cat, normally very happy, loves on me, follows everywhere & talks to me alot..but the last couple of days he hasnt been his self, since he has been going out side, which I normally dont let him. He came in with nothing but bur’s, everyday. He acts down, sad & I noticed he keeps on swallowing alot & his mouth & whiskers are twitching alot. he isnt eating or drinking like he normally does, I am very scared. I dont have much money to take him to the vet, & Im afraid he has something very bad, because he’ll sit with his head pointed down which I know means pain & wants to sleep alot & have squinty eyes. I think it maybe his stomach I dont know. He isnt fixed & I do believe he has been going outside fighting with another male cat since I’ve seen marks here & there on him. Does anyone know what could be going on? like something he could have gotten from that stray cat? Can someone put some kind of name too his symptoms..anything please, I’m scared my baby will get sick & die, & I just couldnt live with it, cause I dont have money to help him right now, My heart is breaking & I dont know what to do.. He is just like my child, He loves me like crazy, ppl say he is too inlove with me by the way he acts,, BUT he hasn’t been doing this..or being his normal self. Im so scared! A mother knows when her child is sick.
If you love him like your child…..and he is sick, then please borrow the money and go see a vet.
Nobody can tell you what’s wrong with these very general symptoms, but the cat DOES sound like it needs a doctor….sounds like the cat needs to be fixed and sounds like you should try to make him into an indoor cat.
Sometimes it’s not as serious as you think….but it normally gets worse when people do nothing and just hope it goes away.
Good luck.
I really wish Marko would quit posting….Duh we know vet CAN BE the best solution…but haven’t you realized that this is a global recession…Not all vets are created equally and some are thieves like people doctors with equally high fees and you still have a sick animal… AND NO MONEY…
If you don’t have anything encouraging and beneficial to say to others please walk away from the key board.
Now Amber-
Burs shouldn’t be a problem, nuisance yes, help you kitty out by kindly getting as many off without pulling at his hair and hurting him…my cats have always been indoor/outdoor honestly they don’t have the same life expectancy if they’re allowed out near predators/cars etc. but cats are still wild, cats are the only creature that self domesticated themselves to live with humans…I understand the over loving a cat can give…my Charlie, loves on me more than my very affectionate husband
at times…I think you kitty just got a taste of grass under his toes and wants to be outside plus its spring…if your having problems with him being a roamer and getting into fights having him altered (some shelters will do this at a reduced or free price) will help keep him closer to home, the only other option is to have supervised outdoor time with your kitty, I hope you like gardening or just rolling around in the grass with your love-bug, cause there is nothing like quality time like that with your cat, you could even just grab a book and an iced tea and hang outside with him odds are a strange cat won’t come up to both of you to beat on your cat in his backyard since you’re present.
As far as wounds from other cats goes as long as your cat can get to the sores and is trying to keep them clean and they improve quickly a vet isn’t super necessary. If a wound is on the head for example try to keep it open if puss-filled and rinse with rubbing alcohol as needed. Cats will pull out their hair around hurt areas.
My cat Is sick he’s coughing snezzing and I can’t afford to take him to the vet right now any suggjestions?
Yes please borrow some cash and take your pet to the vet. Sounds like it may be simple to treat with antibiotics.
Good luck!
Guess what Marko antibiotics don’t fix everything…my cat had major face swelling last week, turns out I spent nearly a $1000 earlier this year on a tumor that began in his sinuses a vet had convinced me was just a cold…now I have a kitty that might not live very long because the initial vet didn’t take a damn xray…will you please stop telling people that every vet is created equal…Not everyone can afford a $1000 mistake, but I should feel better, in your opinion, that I made my cat suffer through over a month of antibiotics and weekly trips to the vet because he still wasn’t better. The only reason I found out what was wrong was because the tumor finally ate through his skull and we thought it was just a major abscess from a fight…
I have a ten week kitten with a uri and is currently on clavamox since last Sunday and yesterday she started losing her appetite. She has conjunctivitis in her eyes and is on antibiotics also but is there any suggestions on how to get her to eat? She won’t eat or drink at the moment, should I hand feed her?
If the food is canned, you can try to heat it up just a touch (5-10 seconds) in the microwave. If the antibiotics don’t kick in very soon, please give your vet a call.
Good luck!
First, let me say that I do a small bit of animal rescue and take all the cats to the vet as a routine thing. I pay a small fortune! It is also important to note that I currently live in Greece. While my vet speaks great English (thank goodness), their idea of care is different than what I’m used to … for instance, my vet refuses to euthanize a poor kitty with severe breathing problems from a damaged diaphram, nor will he neuter her because she can’t survive anesthesia. His love of animals, in this case, is overriding his common sense and compassion.
Anyway, I’m currently trying to help a nursing mother cat. She’s less than a year old and had 5 kittens with her first litter last week. The runt was pushed out, although it seemed healthy to me. The other 4 seem to be doing very well. As of two days ago, Mom is not. She seems to have some sort of URI … goopy eyes, runny nose, thick discharge from the mouth and that smell of sickness. She’s weak, has a bit of runny bowel, and will only drink water very rarely. I’ve been giving her water with a dropper, as well as antibiotics for the past 24 hours. Today, she took a bit of wet food mixed liberally with a lot of warm water.
She is part of my outside colony, all of whom have had this off and on for the past several months. Am I doing enough for her? Should I take the kittens away from her? Since the vet just gives me the antibiotics along with a wait-and-see attitude, I’m at my wit’s end. Believe me, he’s the best vet in the area! It might be of note that another young mother cat, also less than a year old and having 4 kittens with her first litter lost all 4 of her kittens. They were doing well, but one by one, they started having breathing issues and died within hours. Mom was healthy.
Any advice would be appreciated. Please don’t tell me to take her to the vet … that is NOT helpful as I’m already doing what he suggested, which is next to nothing. Please help!
I’m quite sure our neighbour put some sort of pepper on her garden to deter our cat from going over there. Today our cat is sneezing constantly and breathing through her mouth and understandably not at all happy. At a guess i would say her nasal passages are burned. It’s the weekend so no vet service unless real emergencies. Is there some steam treatment i could perhaps i could use to help her ? Thank you.
Don’t worry about a reply , it’s Sunday night now.. we’ll take her to the vet tomorrow morning. Thank you anyway.
Hope the vet visit went well. Good luck
My 9 week old kitten has yellow pus in his eyes and sounded a little congested, I took him to the vet last night who confirmed he also has a fever. She’s given him antibiotics but I’m so so worried about him, he seems really tired, hes still eating and drinking well. I’m so worried I haven’t slept all night and have had to call in sick to work. Is there anything I can do for my kitten to help him? I’m so scared he’ll die.
Cats don’t die from these things, the antibiotics should kick in soon and he’ll be fine.
Good luck!
Yes, Marko, cats DO die from these things. See my earlier post about the nursing mommy. She was on antibiotics for a week, seemed to be getting better, and then one day crawled under my car and DIED. I began bottle-feeding/hand-raising four week-old kittens that same night. I continued them on antibiotics and they are now fine … and they were like Rebecca’s kitty.
Rebecca, as well as doing the antibiotics, continue making sure he eats and drinks. Usually, if a cat has a fever it will NOT eat or drink. Lethargy can be normal whether they are sick or not. Now, I want you to get off this site and do a search for Kitten Glop (Evaporated milk, karo syrup, Knox gelatin, mayo, yogurt and Pedialyte … or Smart Water – it has electrolytes like Pedialyte). For bottle feeding, this is 100% better than kitten formula. For older kitties, it provides complete nutrition and lots of calories to keep their strength up.
Those week old kittens are now 7 weeks old, fat and happy. There was a huge difference in their health within 24 hours of starting them on the Glop … they still get it 4 times a day, and the only “solid” food they eat is infant rice cereal with a tiny bit of canned wet cat food (premium brand). They are doing GREAT … even cute little Jenny who was under the weather a couple of days last week. Added cuddles was all she wanted.
I live on a farm and over the past few years have accumulated many abandoned cats. The majority of them came half starved or in need of veterinary care. I have been able to nurture many of them back to health with tender loving care. Strays also find me because I feed and have shelter to offer them. Recently almost all of the cats have developed most of the signs of URI. I’m unable to take them to the vet as there are too many of them. I could use any and all suggestions to try and help them.
Barbara: If you can corral one of the kitties that shows the symptoms that most of your little guys are showing, try to take that one to the vet if possible. Many times a vet will prescribe or provide enough medicine for all cats in a colony after he/she sees one cat with the symptoms. You might also try adding lysine to their diet for a while, which should help with the symptoms. Hand feed them whatever they will eat, if necessary, and make sure they are hydrated (water by eyedropper if needed), to help keep their strength up enough that they can help fight off any nasty bugs they may have caught.
Unfortunately, the best thing you could do once they’re all well again would be to have a big vaccination “party” to protect them all from the most deadly illnesses. Again, sometimes you can find a vet who is willing to instruct you on how to give injections, then will provide you with the vaccines or meds your cats need in bulk, allowing you to do the injections. This may or may not be helpful, depending on whether or not you can find a cooperative vet who understands it is impractical to bring all of the cats to the clinic or pay for that many office calls. Most of us don’t mind paying a vet for professional services, but I wish more of them would focus on helping keep rescued kitties healthy by providing this type of “bulk” veterinary care when it’s needed.
One other thing. It’s highly unlikely that you have that many cats who all have allergies, but do be aware that allergies can be the reason for URI symptoms up to a point. Sometimes a kitty with what appears to be repetitive URIs is simply a kitty with allergies that flare up periodically. Allergies are more common in cats than most people think, so watch for patterns in a cat or a related group of cats with repeat URI symptoms. They can be allergic to everything from mildew to pollen or dander from other animals, and even food additives.
Good luck. I hope your babies all recover quickly!
Try using colloidal silver in a humidifier/respirator and put them somewhere like a laundry or bathroom. Also use something like the steam oils for chest problems. I read an article I googled recently on lung disease being cured with coloidal silver in a humidifier. It is a natural antibiotic. You can get it on the internet and in health shops. You can also find a lot of info of this nature if you google it.
Also, spiralina is excellent along with brewers yeast (do not heat it). My husband gives 2 cats 1 tablet of Spiralina per day and they love to chew on them. It smells fishy and it is like a lolly treat. You can buy the powder and just mix it in with their food. It is full of B12 and is also recommended for feline diabetes. I googled this only a few days ago. You could make little treats using Brewers Yeast, yogurt (one of the probiotic types when it is discounted or make your own) and spiralina. If you make it thick enough you could try putting it into a biscuit maker…the one like a syringe. Put them onto some cling wrap on a tray. Keep them tiny or they will take too long to dry. I spread some spiralina pwd mixed to a thick paste onto cling wrap the other day and left it on a sunny window. I peeled it of today and broke it into pieces. A cheap treat which has therapeutic benefits.
Have you tried the kitten glop recipe for abandoned kittens? It was what I used when I found these kittens at 4wks old. I can’t keep them here on my brothers property, they would be flat cats on the hwy.
Good luck with it
found this on another site …My female cat has had URI and I have taken her to the vet, given her antibiotics which did not seem to help at all..lysine, and her symptoms (sneezing uncontrollably, listless, congested, she seemed to struggle to breathe at times and I took her back to the vet, had tests done that found she was very low in potassium, i got a potassium paste from the vet and gave it to her by syringe and her symptoms improved a bit..i was reading up on wheatgrass for pets and decided to give it a try. I give her liquid wheatgrass (very important to dilute with water and start out with just a bit of wheatgrass) by syringe and a month later she is like a different cat.No more sneezing, congestion, her energy is back, she is playful and eating well again..she is shedding less fur and its so good to see her not miserable as she was when she was suffering the URI
I have also found that Taurine is very important in their diet as it balances the potassium/ phosporous levels. It is in Cat milk plus or similar but you can also get it as an amino acid from health shop and use small amounts. Add some kelp pwd or granules to the diet too…it smells like fish which makes them attracted to food when their appetite is poor and it is full of vitamins and minerals. B12 is also very important and Spiralina pwd- which also smells fishy – is excellent is great for B12. The tablet form are excellent little treats for them as well. Bit costly but as I said, a treat. I make my own from the pwd and make a goo and then make little blobs of it – set aside to dry. Nori (seaweed) sheets from asian grocer are cheap and torn pieces are great cheap treats. Brewers yeast is also great for B vitamins, but do not cook it. Use a small amount until used to it and mix with the kelp and some cat milk. Yogurt with probiotics is good too and if they won’t eat it add some kelp…it seems to be the key to getting these 2 picky eaters to eat almost anything. They are healthy now but were poor little wretched things when I found them.
I came to this site, found all of this by using google, and have gradually built up my knowledge base by trial and error.
Hope it all helps.
has anyone tried giving human lysine supplements to cats with uri? i was just wondering if it helped. i’ve been researching about that but nothing much ever comes up. i would not want to try it if it hasn’t been done before but im sure it has so if anyone knows anything about it it would really help me out, thanks
Hi Pippie
I reckon you would be safe with Lysine…I haven’t seen it as listed as one of things which is harmful.
I googled Is it safe to give L Lysine to cats and found this:
http://www.thensome.com/herpes.htm
Scroll down to the bullet point which say’s
“possibly l-lysine which is antagonistic to arginine and appears to halt viral replication…………” It states that in large doses that it interferes with arginine and that it is required for protein digestion. Arginine and Lysine are Amino Acids. We need them all. Taurine is another one and is essential for cats…maintains the potassium/phosphorous ratio.
In my last post I posted a section from another site re URI. It mentions success with using wheatgrass. Cats naturally go for grass when they require it. Why is it good? Here’s the trick…wheatgrass is complete in the amino acid chain. I could really go on here, but will limit it to this.
I googled ‘what foods are not safe to feed cats”? I came up with so many sites and youtubes…and I changed the whole feeding regime. I had previously read it was OK to give them garlic and onions…this site said NO NO NO.
Not that I did, but no avocado,dry cat food, and never dog food. There were other things too. If taurine is recommended I google taurine and find out what foods it is in. Phosphorous and what foods it is in…then see if these foods are OK for cats. I thought that one of the cats might be diabetic because it kept drinking heaps of water, but it turned out to be the taurine because it wasn’t drinking the cat milk with the taurine in it. So I bought some taurine – amino – and it made a heap of difference. It is good for people too. Just small amounts addes to their diet is great. No taste. I make yogurt for them and add kelp powder and spiralina for the B12 and they go crazy for it. And they love Nori – seaweed – sheets. I swear they would take it out of my mouth. So funny.
I am studying at Uni and good with research. My husband is a clinical therapist and is very good with how all of these things work for us and cats!
Good luck and if you need any help just ask, it comes through to my email, I will try to look it up for you.
Cheers
I gave my kittens lysine 1/4 tbsp every day mixed with wet food every day for two weeks. Not sure if it helped as my kittens had symptoms of colds for 6 months of their lives. they are now almost a year and doing very well. So I tired everything steam in the bathroom, high heat in a room and I cleaned my house and everything they touched every few days.Lysine is suppose to help build their immune systems to eventually fight the infection. I also had my kittens to the vet a few times so as long as they are eating and not struggling to breath I would try the lysine for 2 weeks then take a break for a few weeks from it.
hope things work out
Hello I adopted a three month old kitten from the pound about five days ago she was absolutely fine until she started sneezing about two days ago. I thought nothing of it because she was still eating and drinking and being playful until today. She is eating a little but not as much and she won’t leave my bed and just wants to sleep. I usually wouldn’t hesitate to take her to the vet but since it’s a weekend they charge almost double for everything and I don’t know if I should wait until Monday or just pay and get the treatment now?
If after a few days it doesn’t get better, if this were my cat it would get a vet checkup. Good luck!
I have a cat that has had these symptoms (difficulty in breathing, sounding like a constant hairball is in his throat that won’t come up, a lite pink, slightly bloody discharge from nostril) So I took him to our vet. They thought he had lymphoma and did lots of testing which anyone knows costs lots of money. All tests were inconclusive. I took my cat back to the vet after the results came back because I wanted to know what was wrong. Finally, after more testing. They figured out my cat has “Rhinitus” and it can be treated with a steroid injection. So if you or your vet is having trouble figuring out what is wrong with your cat, ask about “Rhinitus”. It could save you and the vet some time and save you some money as well. I hope this information can help someone.
Sorry, it’s called RHINITIS.
I’ve noticed one recurring post by the same person, “see a vet.” I think people are here in part because vets are expensive and a lot of people are out of work. I just pulled a cat from a shelter and he’s got a horrible cold. Gave him 250 mg of L-Lysine for two days and he’s almost well.
Lots of times when the problem isn’t obvious or lasts more than a day – the answer is go see a vet.
If you are not a vet then and you treat your pets medically, you do so at your own risk.
A “Cold” can mean different things to different people who are not vets…just like humans need doctors when they are sick…pets also need doctors.
The fact that vets are expensive doesn’t mean that it’s better to treat your pet by yourself.
When cars get sick they need to go in for a checkup or they get worse.
If you know something about cars maybe you can solve the problem yourself. If you mess up, it’s only a car.
Pets are more complicated than cars and occasionally they need to see a specialist that was trained in treating them.
Good luck.
Who is this Marko? Are you a vet? A secret poster? A marketing person who funnels readers to vets?
Who are you, come into the light with some background…
You’re kidding right. I share what I know for free and I am not a vet. When I don’t know the answer and it seems medically related – I tell people to go to a vet.
I am astonished with these comments! I cannot believe there are people out there who find themselves qualified to diagnose poor sick cats. Do you know that these animals are natural predators and habitually hide all signs of illness until its too late! Veterinary medicine is a profession not something you can pick up on google. I forked up the $80 and took my sick little one to the vet. They listened to her heart rate, breathing and felt her abdomen. A regular check up by a qualified professional who obviously cared about my little kitty. I have to keep a close watch on her and I will continue treating her herbally as I don’t believe in hyped up pharmaceuticals unless absolutely necessary. But at least I know she’s not in serious danger and as well read as I am, no, I am not a medical doctor and not licensed. The know it all attitude my some of these people is so counter productive. Why don’t you let the vet diagnose them properly and then you can do something the vet can’t… Care for then lovingly as a responsible pet parent who helps their little one recover. Astonished!
Thank you Marko for referring all cats who will not eat or drink to the vet. This is a very serious medical symptom and should be treated by someone who knows the amazing anatomy of these creatures
My 11 year old cat Louie has been fighting an upper respiratory infection. I took him to my vet a week ago, he had a shot of antibiotics. He is still acting sick, the fluid he’s sneezing is clear, his eyes are watery,not gummy and he is eating and drinking . He’ s laying on the hard f loor a lot and in front of the litter box. That’s unusual for him as he normally picks the comfy, warm bed. I have a scheduled vet appointment for my other cat to see if her thyroid meds are working. Im thinking about taking Louie along with me. It’s not an issue of spending money at the vets. I don’t want to stress him and expose him to the elements if I don’t have to. I guess my question is how long does it usually take for a dose of antibiotic to work? I have 4 cats ages ranging from 10-17 and this is my first time dealing with kitty colds.
For Louie the antibiotics do not cure the cold just helps the symptoms. If he is still eating and drinking that is a good sign. I woudl maybe touch base with the vet if I recall the needle is good for 2 weeks or 10 days but I could be wrong. . Try some other natural remodies you can find on the internet as well. I had locked my cats in the bathroom and steamed it up for 20 minutes a night. gave lysine which helps boost the immune system and helps them fight the cold. What I learned from my experience is it takes time but with your cat being a bit older I would still stay in touch with your vet clinic and whtch for signs of the food and water not being touched. It took my kittens almost 5 months to get over their colds and a few vet appointments since there eyes were infected. Good luck with Louie hope he feels better soon.
I have an outdoor cat, who was foaming at the mouth and not moving. He is fine today, acting normal, showing none of the symptoms of rabies. I was wondering if anyone has ever seen this in a sick cat, Thanks
I have a male cat who is a year old. He had an abscess on his lower side. Well he got out, & when I finally found him, the abscess must have broken. He has been sneezing, and twice a very small amount of blood came out. He is eating & drinking water fine.Should I be worried? And before you tell me to take him to the Vet, I am on disability, with a very limited income. I do care, & borrowing money is out of the question.
We cannot guess what is wrong with your pet or how to heal your pet or tell you if you should or should not be worried. If this happened to your child would you bring it to the doctor?
If the answer is yes, then that is what is in the best interest of your dog. Good luck
My yr old handsome boy Jasper has a nasty UTI. Was seen by our vet and is on Clavamox. He had a UTI 3 months ago to. Same meds also. My questions and concerns are how can I make him more comfortable until the medication kicks in. He will not eat nor drink at all. He sounds terrible and looks pathetic. This is day 2 of no food or water. Vet prescribed a medicated cat treat to boost his system which he will have nothing to do with whatsoever. Mouse, my other boy devours them. I’m thinking I will try the steam. He is wheezing so bad and appears to have tightness in chest and rib area. I’m in constant contact with our vet but they really didn’t have any suggestions aside from “waiting” for antibiotics to work. Any and all help and/or advice would be appreciated. I just want to make him immediatley comfortable.
Hello….I just adopted a Turkish Angora all white female cat that was rescued and has never been spay. I am adopting her from the Humane Society. She is 2 years & 1 month old. She was just spay two days ago and was very loving and alert when I last visited with her. They just called me today and told me that she has an upper respiratory infection and is very dehydrated and is not eating at this time. They are of course doing everything they can with the proper medication and I am sure she is being fed intravenously. I just spoke with them and they said that she is not eating as yet and maybe a little responsive. My poor Suki (meaning beloved) kitty. I hope she makes it. It may be too soon to tell.
After my second cat died a year ago I am ready for another precious cat. Doesn’t seem fair. 
Please advise and thank you.
Leslie A. Hall
Hi everyone, I am the same situation as everyone else here, a bad case of URI running through my cats. I understand how most of you feel about cost. I foster for a local shelter, I receive no funding or vet care through them. I currently have 11 cats that all have URI’s. 2 are at the vet because I could not treat them at home. They have been at the vet for 2 days and I have paid over $1300 and they need at least 1 more day at the vet. For those that keep saying that we need to take our pets to the vet or degrade us for not being able to afford vet care, you don’t know our situation so please don’t judge.
Anyway, the reason for my post. My vet has been helping me treat my cats to prevent the URI from getting worse. They are not prescribing antibiotics. This is what we’ve been doing.
30 minute steam bath every 2 hours. Turn on your bath as hot as you can, fill the tub about 2 inches, add 6 drops of Eucalyptus oil, then turn on the shower head. Close the bathroom door, close the vent, and let your cat(s) sit in there for 30 minutes, leave the water on! The more steam, the better!
Hydration is important, give 6mL bottled water by mouth using a syringe every 2 hours.
Food is necessary. My cats are not eating, so my vet has been having me do this. 1 jar baby food (chicken and rice with sweet potatoes was recommended) mixed with 2 tablespoons bottled water. Syringe feed 6mL every 2 hours.
To help bring down fever, wrap an ice pack in a towel and apply to belly for 5 minutes. Repeat every 30 minutes. Also, dip a cotton ball in Isopropyl rubbing alcohol and wipe your cat’s pads with it. Repeat every 30 minutes.
This is having a great bit of success in my home. So far, only 2 have needed vet care and the others seem to be recovering. Their fevers are gone, their eyes are not as weepy, they are sneezing less, and they are not having as much difficulty breathing.
I hope this helps some of you, I haven’t seen a whole lot of helpful advice on this forum or on any other website. Luckily my vet believes in holistic care and understands my financial situation!
Hello, I’m not new to this wonderful world of cats however this is the first time in years that I’ve found myself with a kitten that has the never ending sickness. When I got her she was about 2 months old and the person I got her from told me that she had an URI and she gave me some antibiotics that she’d been giving her. She claimed that once those were done my kitten should be fine. Well we’re six months and five vet visits later and my kitten hasn’t gotten any better. She has an eye that constantly runs, she’s constantly weezing, her nose is extremely congested when it’s not running, she has a huge appetite but doesn’t seem to gain any weight and excuse me I’m not a cat but shouldn’t she have meowed at some point. I feel extremely terrible because my cats are like my kids and It saddens me that she is so terribly sick and I’m at my wits end with what to do next.
My cats will be 3 in the fall and had uri for 6 months before they got better. I got eye cream from the vet to clear there eyes up. I had one for each eye. Then I kept the kittens in a room which was kept warmer. I cleaned this room daily to kill all the germs. I also did steam in the bathroom every night with them. Also gave them lysine with canned food to help boast there immune systems. It took about a month once I did all these things. Good luck hope your cats get better soon.
My 7 year old cat stayed outside all night on Froday night because he would not come inside. (He is indoor and outdoor.). He is now wheezing and having difficulty breathing. He has also had discharge from the eye for a week or so. (Before and after he stayed outside). He is also laying around a lot and wanting to lay on some one constantly. He has had previous ear problems as well. Should we take him to the vet or are there home remedies to help him?
This is a vet situation, please go asap. Good luck.
My 2 1/2 year old cat has been having the symptoms of a UTI lately. She has been sneezing a lot but another thing is that she is refusing to eat (so has gotten very thin) and can not breathe through her nose. Is this part of a UTI or something else? I love this cat and am very concerned so what should I do?
You should bring her to a vet to be examined because she is sick. It may be as simple as some antibiotics.
Good luck
Hi all,
We have a sick stray cat here at the office and he has all of the above symptoms. I took him to the vet 2 weeks ago and they gave me antibiotics to give to him, it’s now 2 weeks later and no sign of recovery. I’m taking him back to the vet today as I am worried as his condition is deterioating rapidly and I should have taken him back sooner. I’m thinking of adopting him as I do not want him to sit out in the cold every night and to have a good and loving home, but I am worried as there is another cat that lives near by, Im affraid that he might get the virus. Also should I be worried about my 2 dogs getting flu? Please HELP!
You are going to the vet – the vet will be able to help more than anyone reading this.
Sometimes a different course of antibiotics is required to combat these things.
Good luck and please post this on our forum for a better back and forth.
Hi I have a 4 year old cat who went missing for 9 days she came home sat morn skinny and nose running and a bit of a hard time breathing to her to vet right way.. They said she was deydrated!!so they put her on Iv fluids and antibiotics over night!! Gave her something to stimulate eating!! So went picked her up today at 5 now keep in mind due to some recent hard ships this was all I could do for the moment as I had 400.00 to my name for 5 days that was for good and gas well that what I paid out but the vet sent me home with antibiotics also!! So it’s not quite been a day that she has been out.. My question is with a bad respitory infection can it make it hard for them to eat? And can ghey act like they have something stuck in there throut especially with a lot of nasel discharge
Thank you in advance
Hello, I have 2 cats that I think they have a “cold” not sure. We dont have the money to go to the vet, is there anything I can so though home? They sneeze, have running nose, and stuffy nose, please help!!
How much l-lysine do you give a cat? Only size pills I could find was 1000mg
Hello, My cat had respitory infection and has taken antibiotics for the requested time. After the medication was empty the cat seemed better her sneezing stopped so I thought she was fine. But after a week she started wheezing when being active. My question is if it’s possible for a cat to get asthma? Or should I go back and get more antibiotics?
Thank you for your timel
Have a nice day!
DEFINITELY possible for cats to get asthma and definitely possible kitty needs a second round of antibiotics.
Good luck!
Even though it appears the cold is gone may not be 100 percent clear. If the cold has not relapsed too much maybe try lysine if not already tried it is suppose to help the immune system.i would also make sure you clean all dishes the cat uses for food and water and wash blankets and beds. My kittens were sick for 6 months but with rest and me cleaning everything everyday as well lysine the colds finally passed. I do find that stress does cause issues even now 2 years later they get runny eyes when stressed. If he gets worse then take him back to the vet.
I have 4 kittens, all adopted, one of them had upper respiratory inffection and we took her to a bad vet that didn’t medicate her the right way, when we realized that and took her to te right vet, it was late. She almost became blind, and we are still using an ointment in her eyes, trying to recover her Vision. Her eyes are way much better now after almost 1 month of treatment. The kittens are all together as they came vaccinated (FVRC), my question is: How often do they have to be vaccinated against URI as they live with an infected kitten?And are the cats going to be ok just with FVRC vaccine or they need any additional vaccine to have more protection against URI? Thank you in advance.
If feline is just sneezy, even has a tiiny siifflle with clear discharge, no high temp,just shiny eyes, no gooey discharge, still eating and drinking, breathing fine and just has a few more naps you can leave off seeing the vet for that stage. Vets won’t and can’t treat a basic virus in a normal cat.That’s while cat seems not worse or have any hints of a secondary infection or other problems.That’s for around 4 to 7 days at most. If cat seems super fit again with no signs that it had been off colour by the end of a eek and stays that way you can skip seeing vet.
If not getting better, though even if not showing any overt secondary infection, it’s best to get cat to vet if you can. Generally it is because something is cooking a problem, wether secondary bugs in ears, even lungs, or mouth ulcers,anywhere. Unfinished knocking off pathogens or delaying till cat is really more crook take a lot longer to eradicate such and are costlier.
It may happen that the cat did get more sick, but over time evntually recovers without vet check or treatments. Problem with this is that the areas that the secondry bugs or other stesses to certain parts of the system may well unknown to the owner though had become weakned in areas that then can come back to haunt you and feline later on.
At the same time I sympathise and understand that there are times there is no $ or vets that will accept deferred or instalment payments readily.
So if feline hasn’t pneumonia, not dehydrated, still eats some, though had a stint of having bit less food,surviving his snotty discharge, gooey eyes wiped by owner,feline still quite mobile while had a patch of staying in cat bed more……yes looked a bit woe-begone scruff for a stint…..yet improving eventually..to looking well again.
Thats still a pass, Feline and you still made it through this hurdle. Sometimes the ideal treating is out of range and brink of crisis care is
all that can be contemplated.
One tip, that I was unaware of before.
If your feline got through a sickly flu, some secondary infection untreated and not vet checked, try to keep that feline from being in the position of catching any future sniffles, getting rundwn, stressed and keep conditions for it as pure as you would for an asthmatic kid.
That’s so no residual minor respiratory system cracks get stressed and play up badly later on becoming chronic vulnerabilities.
Earlier people mentioned collapsed cats that couldn’tmoe far or much.Get feline to a vet ASAP. Feline has severe hypercalcemia most likety and needs to have it’s potassium levels addressed pronto or will be dead quite soon.
Hello again, also wanted to know how many times a day, how much do I give, and how do you know and tell if your cat has a fever? Also my other cat seems fine, he gets the stuff in his eyes, but so do we, and he doesn’t sneeze or anything, but the kitten I’m also talking about, her nose is wet I’ve noticed, but never any discharge, foam snot or anything out of her nose, but it’s been since November when I got her that she’s pretty much been like that, it’s like it’s off and on, sometimes she has more junk in her eyes for a day or so then nothing, then she has it, same with the sneezing. So does anyone know what that means? Thanks again
My cat has been started on antivirals, antibiotics & a mucolytic. I need to give her the tabs every day. Ivbeen crushing them into her food but because she doesn’t feel great shes not eating a lot. I cant put them down her throat because her nose is blocked & she might choke. Has anyone any tips on how to give her the tabs??
This video might help you. Good luck!
I am a woman who grew up on a farm. Life and death are both something that I have grown up around. The old saying that the weak die and the strong survive is a hard truth to handle but we do. Even human beings must leave this place in the end… not one of us gets a free ride to eternal mortal life. With all that said I am not into watching suffering and doing nothing but sometimes witnessing that can be a very fine line sometimes. I have had tons of cats.. I have had cats that lived long healthy lives.. and I have seen accidents that seemed hopeless for the animal and yet by God’s grace they pulled through and lived on… and all of this with a little good common sense, mother nature’s good humor and the love of a caregiver.
There is a ton of good information on the web… and there are those who would take advantage of your love and compassion due to your ignorance too… there are good doctors out there who could guide you and would be willing to work with you and there are veterinarian university’s that will talk to you on the phone and give good solid advise for free….but not every sniffle requires a veterinarian.. and not every veterinarian can cure what your animal may have. So don’t fall into feeling guilty about your decision to take your cat into the vet or not…. Trust your own gut feelings and listen to your own heart…and don’t ever give up hope….you will know what to do and when to do it…we all know what the right thing to do is… Good luck to you and to your little friend.
My cat is sick….do not tell me to take her to the vet. I have spent over $2000 in the past few months at the vet. My cat was poisoned before I got her BY A VET, and almost died….Instead of getting a kitten, I ended up getting one of the breeders, I knew she was sick, and she has been okay for 5 years…..other than she keeps a cold most of the time…..I also have a cat with liver problems that I have spent $450 on in the past 4 days…..NOW….Im trying to figure out anything I can do that I haven’t done already to unplug her nose…..I have tried shower steam, humidifier, saline drops, she is on l-lysine, medrol (she has to have this the rest of her life to live) and docycycline, which is proven to shrink the nasal passages , and zyrtec…..
Is there anything that anyone knows of that I haven’t mentioned that could help dry her nose up….Thanks
I have a cat with similar problems due to something completely different – so far zyrtec and doxycycline are helping at a small level. You are doing everything I have tried. Good luck!
Sounds like you are doing everything. Only other suggestion is to make sure you wash all food and water dishes. I kept my kittens in a room with a heater and a humidifer and cleaned the room from top to bottom everyday also stress plays a very big role with cats with infections so a calm environment is a must. Hang on and hope your kitty feels better soon.