Cat Cold: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Sneezing and coughing can be symptoms of a cold. A cold can cause a lot of discomfort and sometimes even permanent damage.
What is a cat cold?
The term cat cold does not actually stand for a specific disease. It is rather a collective term that is used for different diseases of the respiratory tract and mucous membranes of cats.
Cat cold can be caused by a variety of pathogens. These include in particular viruses, such as caliciviruses or herpes viruses, and bacteria, such as Bordeaux or Chlamydia.
If a cat suffers from cat rhinitis, several of these pathogens are usually responsible. As a result, the course of the infection can look very different. While cat flu in some animals disappears on its own after a few days, in others it can cause massive discomfort and even become a chronic problem.
How your cat gets infected with cat flu
Cat cold is an extremely contagious infectious disease. In most cases, contact with an already infected conspecific leads to infection. However, your cat can also get infected indirectly, for example by eating from the same bowl as a sick animal.
Especially when several cats live together, cat cold often spreads very quickly. Kittens and old cats can get infected particularly easily, as their immune system is usually weaker. For outdoor cats the risk of getting infected with cat flu is normally higher. However, pure indoor cats can also get infected.
These are the symptoms you can recognise by a cat rhinitis
As already mentioned, the course of cat cold cannot be predicted. Accordingly, the symptoms with which the infection manifests itself in your quadruped can be correspondingly different.
Your cat may sneeze and cough, or have fever and respiratory problems in addition to the symptoms.
The following symptoms, among others, can indicate a cat cold infection:
- Mucus discharge from the eyes and nose
- Encrusted eyes and nose
- Swallowing difficulties
- Loss of appetite
- Lassitude
Depending on the course of the disease, untreated cat cold can also cause ulcers on the mucous membranes, blindness and bone loss in your cat's nasal concha.
Cat cold is a case for the vet
In view of the possible risks of cat flu infection, a visit to the vet is mandatory. The vet can examine your cat and decide what treatment is needed.
In addition to a general examination, the vet will listen to your cat's chest and take a mucous membrane smear to determine the exact pathogens responsible for the cat cold.
The vet will most likely prescribe antibiotics to treat the cat cold. He will also remove encrustations from your pet's eyes and nose and give your pet an infusion if necessary. It may also be helpful to give the cat a remedy to strengthen its defences to speed up the healing process.
How you can support recovery
When caring for your cat, you should not limit yourself to administering the antibiotics prescribed by the vet to the quadruped. Because beyond that you can do a lot to support the recovery.
In particular, make sure that your cat rests, drinks enough and is not exposed to excessive stress. If necessary, remove incrustations and discharge from the animal's eyes and nose. You can cleanse the eyes particularly gently with our Eye Care Drops for Cats.
Your cat must refrain from going outdoors during the recovery period and should also have no contact with other cats to prevent the infection from spreading.
I Love My Cat Immune as natural support for cat cold
To overcome a cat cold infection as quickly as possible, your cat needs strong defences. The better your cat's immune system functions, the easier it is to neutralise pathogens.
For this reason, we recommend a food supplement with I love my cat Immun for your cat suffering from cat cold. Thanks to its special composition, this natural product is perfect for supporting your cat's immune system and counteracting the symptoms of cat cold.
Prognosis for cats with cat cold
Unlike human sniffles, cat sniffles are often not limited to your cat sneezing and coughing. Cats with weak immune systems can suffer permanent damage from cat cold and even die from it if their immune system is weak.
Timely treatment by a vet is therefore very important. If your quadruped is treated promptly, the cat cold can usually be controlled well and cured completely.
You can also get infected with cat cold
Some bacteria that can be responsible for cat sniffles also pose a potential risk to humans. If these can't be ruled out, you should be careful about physical contact with your sick cat and pay particular attention to hygiene in your household.
Preventing cat cold with a vaccination
A vaccination against cat cold is possible and also recommended because of the potential dangers of infection. Since different pathogens can be responsible for cat rhinitis, it unfortunately does not offer complete protection against a disease.
Nevertheless, an early basic immunisation and annual booster vaccinations against cat flu are an important preventive measure.
A species-appropriate diet reduces the risk of cat flu
Apart from a vaccination, a strong immune system is the most effective protection against cat cold. In this context, besides sufficient hygiene in the household and the avoidance of stress, the nutrition of your cat plays an important role.
With the 360° Vital Concept from I love my cat, you can ensure that your cat is fed in a manner appropriate to its species and is optimally supplied with all necessary nutrients. The natural cat food guarantees long-lasting vitality as well as strong defences, which make an infection with cat cold much less likely.
Leave your comment