Chlamydia in Cats
Chlamydia is a very small bacterium that can infect not only cats but also many other mammals and humans. Chlamydia has some similarities to viruses. They preferentially infect the cells of the mucous membranes, inside which they then multiply.
The immune system of the cat does not recognize the pathogens. If the host cell bursts open, the chlamydia can spread further in the body. In cats, chlamydia can lead to conjunctivitis, cat colds and bronchitis.
How your cat gets infected with chlamydia
Chlamydia is usually transmitted by a so-called droplet infection. Your cat can therefore become infected, for example, through physical contact with a conspecific. It’s also possible for a wild animal carrying chlamydia to become infected.
It’s also possible that the pathogens are transmitted from the mother to the kittens during birth. As people can also become infected with Chlamydia, if your cat falls ill, you should limit physical contact if possible and ensure that hygiene is adequate.
Symptoms of a chlamydia infection
It’s not possible to know exactly what symptoms chlamydia will cause in your cat, as the symptoms can vary greatly depending on the part of the body that is affected.
Chlamydia in cats often leads to conjunctivitis. Typical symptoms in this case include watery, reddened and swollen eyes. As the disease progresses, the eye discharge becomes increasingly viscous and your cat may develop a prolapsed nictitating membrane and, in the worst case, permanent eye damage.
If the chlamydia affects the respiratory tract and causes bronchitis, your cat may cough and sneeze. In addition, your pet may make rattling noises when breathing and choke up mucus from his airways.
In addition, chlamydia can, together with other pathogens, cause your cat to develop a cat cold. If this happens, your cat will probably look exhausted and may develop a fever. Other typical symptoms of a cat cold include loss of appetite and mucus discharge from the nose and eyes.
Diagnosing chlamydia in cats
In general, the symptoms that Chlamydia causes in your cat are hard to miss. If you think that your quadruped is suffering from a disease such as feline rhinitis or conjunctivitis due to a Chlamydia infection, a timely appointment with your vet is advisable.
The vet can take a smear from your cat's throat or conjunctiva and test it for Chlamydia. Often a quick look through the microscope is enough to diagnose an existing infection.
Treating cats with chlamydia
If the veterinarian has found your cat to be infected with chlamydia, treatment is usually with antibiotics. In the case of conjunctivitis, antibiotic-containing ointments or eye drops are usually used. Otherwise, your four-legged friend receives the medication in the form of tablets or injections.
Prognosis for cats with chlamydia
As a rule, a Chlamydia infection in cats can be treated well, so that the administration of antibiotics usually shows the desired effect quite quickly and the pathogens are reliably killed.
However, prompt treatment is important in any case, as eye infections caused by Chlamydia can easily cause permanent damage, especially in kittens. In addition, your cat can spread the pathogens without treatment and may even transmit them to you.
Natural eye care for cats with chlamydia
For both eye infections and cat rhinitis, it is important to clean the cat's eyes daily if possible. For this reason we recommend that you accompany the veterinary treatment of Chlamydia with eye care drops from I love my cat.
These high-quality eye drops for cats contain selected ingredients such as camomile extract and aloe vera, which make it possible to clean the sensitive cat's eyes particularly gently. The natural eye care drops from I Love My Cat can thus make an important contribution to the speedy recovery of your four-legged friend.
Support for the immune system of cats with chlamydia
Especially if the chlamydia in your cat has led to an infection with cat cold, this is a considerable strain on the immune system of your quadruped. In order to support the recovery, it is therefore important to strengthen your cat's defences.
With Immun by I Love My Cat you will find the ideal food supplement for this purpose in our range of products. Carefully selected ingredients such as insect protein, nettle seed and propolis provide your quadruped with numerous important nutrients.
In this way the natural food supplement can make a valuable contribution to supporting the immune system and help your cat to survive the infection with chlamydia quickly and unharmed.
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