Cat Cold?

[StevenL]

Hello,

My cat seems to have a cold. He is hiding under the bed and will not eat or drink. This happened the day before yesterday when he stopped eating. Last night he came out from under the bed to sleep between my wife and I, but when I awoke he had retreated to under the bed again. He seems to be sneezing and has a wheeze in his throat, if you know what I mean.

I'm not sure what could've caused this, he is an indoor cat only, and never goes out. The other day we ran out of cat food (Evo, for what its worth), and the store was closed, so we fed him one meal of tuna, and then for his next meal he has some Wellness dry food. Is it possible this sudden change in diet affected him this way? His brother is doing fine and experience the same brief dietary change.

Any tips? Do I just wait it out?

[Winston]

I wouldnt wait. If cats dont eat for a few days it can be big problems. It almost sounds like your cat may have caught an upper respiratory infection. Your cat doesnt necessarily have to go outside to catch it as it can be air born.

A quick check at the vet would not hurt! Good Luck

Cindy

[Winston]

Here is a link I found while googling the symptoms.

http://pets.webmd.com/cats/guide/upp...infection-cats

Cindy

[StevenL]

Thank you for your quick reply - I will call the vet and seek advice.

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by StevenL

Hello,

My cat seems to have a cold. He is hiding under the bed and will not eat or drink. This happened the day before yesterday when he stopped eating. Last night he came out from under the bed to sleep between my wife and I, but when I awoke he had retreated to under the bed again. He seems to be sneezing and has a wheeze in his throat, if you know what I mean.

I'm not sure what could've caused this, he is an indoor cat only, and never goes out. The other day we ran out of cat food (Evo, for what its worth), and the store was closed, so we fed him one meal of tuna, and then for his next meal he has some Wellness dry food. Is it possible this sudden change in diet affected him this way? His brother is doing fine and experience the same brief dietary change.

Any tips? Do I just wait it out?

You need to bring your cat to vet right away if does not drink any water for a few days! Your cat will get dehydrated and that is not good! Call your vet up and let them know what is going on ,you can't let it pass.

[Fivekittymom]

Definitely vet. While a cat cold isn't fatal, the danger is that cats lose their sense of smell and taste and won't eat or drink. As the others said, several days without food and water is not good for kitty. Their liver and kidneys can't handle that.

You may have to syringe feed him and keep him hydrated as he's working through the cold.

[sugarcatmom]

If he does have nasal congestion, and therefore can't smell his food (which puts most cats off eating since their appetites are largely influenced by their sense of smell), you could try some steam therapy to help loosen things up. Hang out in the bathroom with him for 10-15 min while you run a hot shower, a few times a day if possible.

Also feed him the stinkiest foods you can find: sardines, fish-based canned Fancy Feast (the ones with shrimp are particularly fragrant), low-sodium canned salmon.... whatever it takes - don't limit yourself to cat food.

But yes, a vet visit might help figure out what's going on, in case it isn't "just" a URI.

If it is, try adding L-lysine powder (from the health food store or pharmacy) to some wet food (500mg twice a day). That will help prevent the virus that causes most URI's from replicating.